Saul Williams Interview
with DJ Matt Werner on Fresh Air: The Alternative
http://freshair.org.uk, http://mattswriting.com
Phone interview recorded on November 21, 2008, show aired on December 9, 2008.
Transcript by Korin McGinty, edited by DJ Matt Werner
This transcript can be downloaded as a PDF by clicking here
The audio of DJ Matt Werner’s interview with Saul Williams can be found here
DJ MATT WERNER: Saul, I was wondering if you could come on the line now and discuss a little bit about your latest album Niggy Tardust.
SAUL WILLIAMS: Sure, well the name of the album is The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of Niggy Tardust! And it’s a concept album where I am essentially exploring the idea and reality of liberation, of freedom, and what it means in the face of, or under the context of our existing definition of race, and how that relates to music and identity, and what have you.
It’s essentially a very danceable dialogue, you know, self-exploration, and the need to step beyond the boundaries imposed by society as far as what people come to expect of someone when they assume that they’re from a particular place or look a particular way or talk a particular way, or what have you. So yeah it’s basically me finding the freedom to just break out of my shell and make the music that I want to make regardless of the executive who says, “Well this doesn’t actually fit the formulaic mold of what we’re expecting from you, of what we would need in order to get this to these people over here.” It’s about just breaking those boundaries.
DJ MATT WERNER: How was it collaborating with Trent Reznor on the album?