Why are you 'Spacedog'?
It's in honour of Laika, the first cosmonaut. Laika was a stray dog, found on the streets of Moscow and sent into orbit in Sputnik II, November 1957. Sadly for Laika, it was a one way trip. I'm fascinated by the mixture of technological excitement and sheer terror that typified the Cold War.
How many instruments do you play, and what is it you like so much
about the theremin?
I play loads of instruments - the main ones are keyboards, theremin, recorder (don't laugh) and musical saw. I have a stash of old analogue synths that make unexpected farting noises during quiet numbers in our set, if I accidentally leave them on. The theremin and saw are great because they're so expressive - every tiny movement with your fingers or arms translates into fine variations in the sound.
Have you come across many other women working in robotics?
Sadly we're still in the minority (I suppose around 1 in 10 roboticists are female) but it's getting better every year.
Do you have any sonic arts or robotics idols who inspire you - or
influenced you when you first set out?
As a kid, I taped something off the radio, performed by the BBC Radiophonic Workshop. I think it was an interpretation of Ray Bradbury's There Will Come Soft Rains, about a robotic house that continues functioning after all the inhabitants have been killed in a nuclear war. I was utterly chilled by this cheery little tale, fascinated by the poetic use of electronic sound. I haven't heard it for years now - I wonder if it still would have the same impact, all these years later. As I grew up, I learned more about the workshop which of course included audio pioneers Daphne Oram and Delia Derbyshire, two of my heroes. I also had a crush on Carl Sagan.
Of all the projects you've worked on, which has been your favourite and why?
I do love performing as the Spacedog band because it's so entertaining doing music with really good musicians who have the same sense of humour, enjoy the same doggy old films and so on. I also loved our trip to the reverb chamber of the National Physical Laboratory as it was the perfect project - loads of fun with very little preparation. I saw the chambers, said I'd love to play in them one day and to my amazement, was invited in. In the bass range, the chambers have a 32-second reverb, about three times as long as the reverb in St Paul's Cathedral.
Have you always been interested in this kind of thing?
Yes - since I can remember. I was a Meccano girl. When I was very little, maybe 8 or 9, I used to string up cable cars to transport my teddy across the garden. And I can remember having an old record player and a tape recorder and using them to create little shows about trips into space. My sister Jenny used to do the voiceover and I'd cue the records and sound effects in and out. I suppose I'm doing what I've done since I was an 8-year-old, only now I sometimes get paid for it.
What kind of music do you listen to recreationally? (or: what's on
your ipod!)
At the moment, I'm driving my friends mad with The In Kraut, a selection of 'hip shaking grooves' from early 70s Germany. My favourite is Wildkatze (Christer Bladin). I'm also listening to Marions les roses (Les Fin'Amoureuses) and In Rainbows (Radiohead) both of which are bloody lovely. And I can highly recommend Robin Richmond's The Hammond Organist Entertains. Er, I don't have an ipod because those little earphones make my ears itchy.
Do you think of yourself as an artist, an engineer, a musician - or
something else?
I think I'm a little bit of all three. I really don't like being pigeonholed. On bad days I feel like a complete fraud - a Jill of all trades - but on good days I love the fact that I can pick and mix the interesting bits from seemingly disparate fields.
What are you working on at the moment, and can you give us a taster of any future projects?
This afternoon, I'm editing Spacedog the band's latest recording: Ekranoplan, about the Caspian Sea Monster. I'm also continuing work with theremin-playing robot doll Clara 2.0 to make her easier to work with live. Over the summer I'm heavily into a writing project and putting some sounds - and possibly some wearable electronics - together for a contortionist. Oh and I'm making an automatic ouija board - one where the planchette will movie eerily on its own and spell out words. Only if you stand near it and take it really, really seriously.
Where might readers be able to catch you performing live?
Well, Spacedog the band have just about recovered from the Brighton Festival Fringe but have been pretty hopeless at promoting ourselves at other festivals this summer. To be honest, a lot of bookers don't really get what we do - we were offered a gig in the children's tent the other day (they obviously haven't met Clara 2.0). We're also in the early stages of planning a big shindig for Halloween, in conjunction with Michael 'Atters' Attree (editor of roguishness for Chap magazine) and Richard Wiseman, a psychologist who stages fake Victorian seances. If you'd like to know more, keep an eye on the Spacedog website: www.spacedog.biz
