Bruce Smih and Lu Edmonds, both members of Public Image Ltd.

Playlist :

P.I.L. : This Is P.I.L.

P.I.L. Open & Revolving

Interview Lu Edmonds & Bruce Smith : part 1

The Pop Group : Thief Of Fire

Interview Lu Edmonds & Bruce Smith : part 2

The Slits : Earthbeat

Interview Lu Edmonds & Bruce Smith : part 3

Rip Rig + Panic : Those Eskimo Speak Frankly

Interview Lu Edmonds & Bruce Smith : part 4

P.I.L. : Ease

Interview Lu Edmonds & Bruce Smith : part 5

P.I.L. : Lollidrop Opera

Interview Lu Edmonds & Bruce Smith : part 6

The Pop Group : Forces Of Oppression

Interview Lu Edmonds & Bruce Smith : part 7

P.I.L. : Double Trouble

Interview Lu Edmonds & Bruce Smith : part 8

P.I.L. : Disappointed

Interview Lu Edmonds : part 9

Mekons : Geeshie

Interview Lu Edmonds : part 10

Ganelin Trio Priority : Solution part 6

Interview Lu Edmonds : part 11

Vladimir Chekasin : Natural Rock-Boogie

P.I.L. : Out Of The Woods

Photo (c) extrait d'un photo de Gregory Vlieghe

 

Bruce Smith :

The Pop Group

Rip Rig + Panic

Public Image Ltd

Others

 

Lu Edmonds : 

Robert ("Lu") Edmonds is a musician, composer, and producer based in London. Since his start in the 1970s as a guitarist for the punk band the Damned, he has been maintaining an active presence as a well-respected artist in a variety of genres. In recent years, he has been best known for his contributions to world music. Background and Musicianship Lu was born in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire. He acquired the name "Lu" after successfully auditioning for the Damned. After having made his name as a guitarist in the punk and New Wave scenes, he expanded his oeuvre to include other musical instruments and genres (including folk, roots, world music, jazz, and avant). He has been known to play the guitar, bass, piano/keyboards, bass-pulur, bozok, bouzouk, saz, cümbüş (and its variants: tarbush, tenorbush), ud, darbuka, mazhar, Norwegian flute, tüngür, drums, melodica, and bagpipes. He has also learned throat singing. Having taken up the bouzouk and saz (including the electric saz he now uses) in the 1980s, he now also builds his own cümbüşes.

In recent years, Lu has been an active member of a number of bands, including Billy Bragg & the Blokes, the Mekons, the Blue Blokes 3, Les Triaboliques, and PiL. He is also a member of Shriekback, and frequently collaborates with jazz soprano saxophonist Lol Coxhill. He has been recording and performing squeaky-bonky acoustic "anti-music" in Raz3, a trio with K-Space's Ken Hyder and Tim Hodgkinson. He and Mark Roberts have also performed with Babar Luck (from King Prawn).

More on Lu's instruments »

Songwriting Over the years, Lu has accrued a number of songwriting credits. He has co-written songs with Kirsty MacColl, Carl Marsh, and members of PiL, Billy Bragg & the Blokes, the Edge, and the Spizzles. He has also written music for advertising. More recently, he has written an album's worth of original songs. Production Credits Lu has had an active role in producing many of the albums on which he has played. He has produced albums by artists such as Yat-Kha and Babar Luck. He recently mixed Natural, the Mekons' latest release. Contributions to World Music At this time, Lu is probably best known for his work in world music. In addition to having recorded and performed with world music acts, he has tour managed a number of world music bands, including Alaap, ¡Cubanismo!, the Klezmatics, and the Afro-Cuban All Stars. His involvement in Cuban music led to his writing the liner notes to the 1998 compilation album Pinareño: From the Tobacco Road of Cuba on Alula Records. He also managed the Tuvan band Yat-Kha in the 1990s, and is acknowledged on Susheela Raman's 2003 album Love Trap.

Lu is also known for his contributions to the world music community. He was responsible for setting up the precursor to WOMEX, arguably the largest annual international music conference and trade fair. He participates in a number of world music-related conferences and festivals, often as a speaker or a member of the jury. He was also part of the 2005 and 2007 Sayan Ring Festival's jury in Siberia. On 25 July 2009, Lu, Tarhana, Labess, and Pacifika led the Global Mashup workshop at the Calgary Folk Music Festival.

One of Lu's current focuses is Central Asia. Following research trips to Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Kashgar, he has been giving talks on the state of the region's music industry. He has also worked with Restorers without Borders to initiate the Tusovki project in 2006 to manage, promote, and develop a venue for musicians in the Gurminj Museum in Dushanbe.

Digital Culture Lu maintains active involvement in the digital community, particularly with regard to the expansion of music into the digital realm. He was involved in the Ellipsis PORT: Navigating Digital Culture project in 1997, and the MPEG-7 project CUIDADO. Having worked with CEO Dagfinn Bach since 1993, he is one of the founders of Artspages, having written the User Requirements for Artspages 1.0 in 1999, and more recently being responsible for Eastern Europe, Russia, and Middle East coordination and artist contacts. Lu also participates in conferences for music and technology, including Résonances, MIR, and the Future of Music Coalition. He is also the webmaster for Yat-Kha's site. Trivia
  • Lu knows and speaks numerous languages, including Spanish, French, Russian, Turkish, and Mandarin. The number of languages he knows has reached the double digits and continues to grow.
  • He is a fan of Tarkovsky's film Stalker.
  • Over the course of his career, Lu has gone by several different names:
    • Mekons: Mr. (Lu) Knee, Lu Cipher, Blind Lugh, Lü, Lu Headmonds, Organic Lu-cose.
    • Lu, Lu Patrel, Uncle Patrel Mustapha bin Mustapha, Uncle X, Akym.
  • His name is often erroneously listed as Lu Edmunds, Lou Edmonds, and Lu Edwards.