Kornel: In his autobiography, Eric Clapton mentioned hanging out with you in 1965 and described you as follows: “Ted was the most extraordinary man. A poet and a visionary … he was the first person I ever saw physically interpreting music … to enact it with his entire being, dancing and employing facial expressions to interpret what he was hearing. Watching him, I understood for the first time how you could really live music, how you could listen to it and completely make it come alive, so that it was part of your life. It was a real awakening.” Can you comment on this and share some of your memories from the 1960s in the UK, particularly regarding the music and art scenes?
Ted: “How you could really live music…” If anybody lived music, it was Eric in Cream! See some of those live shows on YouTube—unparalleled intensity!
Memories of the ’60s… Jesus! Do me a favor! Was I really alive then?
Kornel: You are known for your charismatic stage presence, somewhat akin to Captain Beefheart. Are you a fan of Beefheart, and did you have the opportunity to see any of his shows back in the day?
Ted: Not a fan, no. His texts are sometimes brilliant, but I don’t like his vocals. Was he influenced by Wolf? Maybe. But I’m a massive fan of the latter—’Smokestack Lightning’! Have to hear it every day!
Kornel: When describing Blurt, journalists often mention James Chance, who recently passed away. Do you see any similarities between his music and yours?
Ted: Guess I’ve more in common with him than with Taylor Swift, that’s for sure. Funny thing is, the first review we ever got in the music press put me in the context of James Chance and Captain Beefheart—I’d not heard of either of them. Rushed down to the record shop and played them both. Something, for sure, yes…
Klemen: You grew up in a variety of places, including Africa and Canada. How did these different environments shape your artistic vision and creative process?
Pre-teen years in Nigeria—under the colonial mosquito net all night long, listening to drumming from a nearby island. Who knows? Canada—very young at the time indeed. First icicles in the heart!
Klemen: You started with puppetry before delving into music and poetry.
As I have already mentioned, one thing leads to another. Someone who’d seen many of my puppet performances said—after witnessing the first-ever Blurt show—”Can’t see the difference…”
Kornel: You founded Blurt with your brother Jake, who played in the psychedelic prog band Quintessence during the 1960s. The drumming style in Quintessence is quite different from Blurt’s hypnotic beats. How did Jake transition his style, and was it influenced by you?
Different context brought about a different approach. “Tribal,” it’s been called. Yes, he slept in the same room under his own mosquito net!