Travelling, of course, although not much time for it anymore, reading, eating (and cooking), swimming, cycling, walking in the mountains, sailing... I like my work because it's very varied. I'm a crap barman, but I'm a great glass-collector and ashtray cleaner (ask Esther at City Hall :-)). I love a big night out with friends: a nice dinner, a few drinks, out clubbing somewhere where the music's spot-on and everyone's smiling, then to the beach or someone's terrace to chill out, watch the sunrise and talk shit... ahhh! Quality, not quantity; everything in moderation and collaboration not confrontation... cliches, I know, but that's because they're true!
Charles Dickens, FDR, Ellen MacArthur, Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder, Gil Scott Heron, Genghis Khan, Eddie Izzard, Louis Armstrong, Neil Armstrong, Socrates, Captain Cook, Leonardo Da Vinci, Albert Einstein, Roberto Benigni, Scarlett Johansson, Matthew Herbert, Marco Polo, Joan of Arc, Mohammed Ali, Buddha, William Wallace, Salvador Dali, The Dalai Lama, Ernest Shackleton, Beethoven, Francisco Pizarro, Jeff Mills, Fritjof Capra... and interesting people who believe that we only live once so we'd better make the most of it!
Bit of everything, I like a lot of the German and Austrian downtempo/nu-jazz stuff like Jazzanova, Tosca, Boozoo Bajou, Trüby Trio, Kruder & Dorfmeister remixes, etc. Bought both of Parov Stelar's albums recently which are beautiful. Gilles Peterson is amazing...Was in NZ for the first time last November and brought back some great music: Rhombus, Fat Freddy's Drop, The Black Seeds, Hollie Smith, Bic Runga, Salmonella Dub...What else?... Fila Brazillia, Leftfield, Massive Attack, Air, Saint Germain, Groove Armada, Kid Loco, Matthew Herbert, Múm, Lali Puna, Boards of Canada, Sigur Ros, Gotan Project, Chemical Brothers, Radiohead, Coldplay, Keane, Bob Dylan, Tom Waits, Beatles, Stones, Van the Man, Led Zep, Simon & Garfunkel, all the stuff from the 70's and 80's that I grew up with like The Clash, Iggy Pop, Joy Division, Velvet Underground, Roxy Music, Brian Eno, The Cure, The Pretenders, The Stranglers, The Police, The Jam, David Bowie, Gary Numan, The Pogues, Violent Femmes, Pixies, Kraftwerk, The Doors, Hendrix, Depeche Mode, OMD, King Crimson, Pink Floyd, Squeeze, The Specials, Madness.I recently heard the first Nouvelle Vague album which I really like: I mean the originals are classic songs and the covers are excellent.I tend to listen to a lot of compliations because of work: I love the Everything But The Girl 'Back to Mine', Hi Fidelity Dub Sessions Vol 3, Buena Vista Social Club... well, a bit of everything
Scorsese/De Niro films: Mean Streets, Goodfellas, Taxi Driver, etc. The Godfather (I, II and III), Down By Law, Buffalo 66, Clerks, Withnail & I, The Deer Hunter, The Matrix, Mi Vida Sin Mi, Amores Perros, Y Tu Mama También, Pulp Fiction, True Romance, Buena Vista Social Club, MarÃa y el Sexo, La Lengua de las Mariposas, The Wall, Hable con Ella, Cinema Paradiso, Blue Velvet, A Clockwork Orange, The Hit, Jean de Florette & Manon des Sources, The Big Blue, Leon, Subway, Diva, Life is Beautiful, Amelie, Mulholland Drive, Monsoon Wedding, Fargo, Shawshank Redemption, Shine, Requiem for a Dream, 24 Hour Party People, Apocalypse Now, Trainspotting... Films by Mike Leigh and Ken Loach
Don't watch much TV, if I do it's for news, sport and that's about it. When I'm in the UK I'll watch anything because it's in English so I don't have to concentrate. I love The Sopranos, South Park, The Simpsons, Extras
I read a lot, but don't often buy books: I tend to get given them for Christmas which is great because they're books that other people enjoyed and have selected. Books I've read recently: Everything is Illuminated, The Poisonwood Bible, A Brief History of Everything, Bleak House, Northern Lights, Snow, For Whom the Bell Tolls, Perfume, New York Trilogy
Mohammed Ali, Paul Daley