MM: After the demise of M&E and my years in the doldrums, once again you were there to re-inspire me back to the fold. I think I’d seen my name mentioned (when I’d, er, accidentally Googled it, ahem) in a post on a Yahoo group called “Cassette Culture”, so I’d posted a humorous response saying I’d heard I was dead. You were, I think, one of the first to jump in and tell me I wasn’t. It was nice to know I’d been missed and amazing to see that your enthusiasm for the underground hadn’t diminished one iota. I kind of gradually crept back into a low level of involvement, ultimately putting together The Magic Net as a kind of homage to that global phenomenon we were privileged to be a part of, and took no little inspiration from your own Living Archive Of Underground Music. Whilst my website doesn’t stray far from the bounds of Music & Elsewhere, your project is rapidly building into an encyclopaedia of the whole vast global network. An amazing body of work, it must be said. What got you started on such a grand project, what continues to drive you and exactly how far do you plan to take it?

DC:  When I retired in 2007 I knew I wanted to establish some type of archive and history of this small but important home taping scene. At first I thought it might be a book, but then realized that a book is fixed in time and cannot “live” and change. Plus, who would really publish such a book or buy it? Since I am always about saving money and being practical, the idea of a web site that could grow over time, and have support and input by others, became the thing to do. I struggled the first few years because I had no web design experience, but a couple years ago enlisted the services of Jim Santo ( who  formerly wrote the blog Demo Universe about indie music) and he taught me how to manage my own site. Since I am so busy with so many projects, I tend to let this web site slide at times, and for that I am not pleased. I have plans to keep it running for at least 10 years after I am gone. I guess then it won’t be “The Living” Archive any longer. The whole point of The Living Archive is that it will never be finished. And it was never meant to simply be a trip down memory lane to the good old home taping cassette days. It is not meant to glorify anything but as a document to a small slice of socio-musical history. The Social part is as important to me as the music. The characters, the in fighting, the allegiances, the stories, deaths, and musically; the unrealized projects, cataloging, promotion headaches, etc.

MM: Of course, you’ve entered your sixties now, but somehow, I don’t see you ever sitting back in a pipe and slippers. It seems to me that age can sometimes present one with a second wind, it certainly has with me. I mean, only a handful of years younger than you and I’ve become a father for the first time. Though I get much less free time now I’m chasing young Twizz around the house, my second wind is driving me to record again, for the first time in 19 years. You, of course, simply never stopped. How do you feel the music you are recording now has evolved from that you first began your career with and where do you see the musical future going for you?

DC: I sing better and more effectively now. I understand production and mastering better as well. However, the largest part of what I do now musically is experimental and improvised music with my duo with Russell Leach called “inside/outside”. My own solo music progress is slower now. Instead of doing three albums a year I do one album every three years and in the meantime I post new songs on Soundcloud. The bad part is that the arthritis in my hands is so bad now I cannot make a D Chord or any type of bar chord on guitar. I can still play lead so that’s what I do mostly when I do solo material. Over the years I have done a great many collaborative projects. I really like that way of working and I am lucky because I am not a perfectionist. In fact, musically, I like and pursue surprise. I enjoy the flavor that other people bring to shared projects. I also do a lot of radio management and production for 5 different stations now. In addition to my regular “No Pigeonholes” show of eclectic home taping and underground music, I also do a spin off called “No Pigeonholes EXP” where I focus on experimental music, which is what I mainly listen to in my own time. All of these shows are available and much more at my website.

MM: And I'll be delighted to add a bit of contact and link information at the end for ya. Don, many thanks for taking the time out of a busy schedule to talk to us, been an absolute pleasure, here's wishing you every good fortune with The Living Archive and any other projects you may choose to run with. Send Robin our love, and if the two of you ever fancy a nice holiday on the Irish Sea coast, we would love to have you.

CONTACT / FURTHER INFORMATION:

Don Campau - Official Website / Lonely Whistle Music

No Pigeonholes Radioshow / No Pigeonholes EXP Radioshow

The Living Archive Of Underground Music

The eternal triangle, still inseparable after all these years; Robin, Don and Kevyn. We have no idea if Kevyn's given up yet or still fancies his chances.