With his debut album complete and hitting the shelves later this month, we got the opportunity to interview James Rutledge AKA Pedro, about his forthcoming self-titled release and influences. After 3 years in the making it's sure to be something quite special.

'Pedro' is released on Melodic, 21st July 2003.

Hi James, how are things?

Good. The sun is shining.

How happy are you with the new album?

Now there has been some distance between me making the music and sitting down to listen to it, I really quite like it. I got good feedback from friends and acquaintances but I guess the most important thing is that I think of it as an honest musical expression.

Your music uses a lot of different and varied styles, who are your main influences?

I tend to be really enthusiastic about certain aspects of different music - I will read an interview with a musician and get inspired by a certain methodology that they adopt.

With the Pedro album I was trying to take a hip-hop aesthetic and expand the range of references to stuff like 20th Century classical, fire jazz, 2 step, early electronic music, dub, folk recordings - all the stuff I get inspired by. I wanted to move on from the sound of my two eps and, although I know it is not a drastic change in sound, I think I am progressing.

Quite a few years ago, the first stuff that made me want to start making music were things like Badly Drawn Boy's first EP just because it made me realise that you really did not need anything but a four track to make music. In a similar way, the early DJ Shadow records made me realise that you could take a bunch of records and a sampler and create something beautiful. I think I have always been into the idea of a minimal equipment set up not preventing people from making music. You know, DJ Shadow and RZA going on an MPC, electronic musicians just using a PC. It is quite liberating to think that you do not need loads of keyboards and samplers to make records.

I think with the Pedro album I was listening to a lot of processed music like Oval, Autechre, Nuno Canavarro, Fennesz but listening to freer things like No Neck Blues Band, Jackie O Motherfucker, Maher Shalal Hash Baz and then Steinski, Nucleus, EL-P for hip-hop.

After completing the debut DOT album and a collaboration with Kathryn Williams, do you have any other projects on the go?

Yes, there are a few things in the pipeline. I am looking to start a group with a musical peer which will be like Sonic Youth, but with songs: Fugazi meets EMO meets Sun Ra, or something. Basically, a group I can play loud guitar with again. I am being offered production work also. I would like to take the Jim O Rourke route and do lots of stuff that would sell well in Europe, you know - improvising, tape edits, really weird music. There is a film out later in the year that I play on the soundtrack to, "The Last Great Wilderness". I think that is being released on Domino.

If you could collaborate with anyone at all in the future who would it be?

Sonic Youth, Neptunes, Rodney Jerkins, EL-P, Pharoah Sanders, Autechre, Steve Albini, Wil Oldham etc.

You're playing live as part of the Sonar Festival, is this a full on live set or a DJ set? Any plans for a live tour in the near future?

I will be playing 'live'. Hopefully this means that I can try and improvise on a laptop. I would like to try and work out something good for it; there is a lot I think I could do. I am not sure how good it will be to watch. Unless you like looking at me. There are some vague plans for a tour.

Are there any records you've bought lately that you could recommend to the readers?

Sure.

Autechre: Draft 7.0 (Warp)
Four Tet: Rounds (Domino)
Wil Malone: Death Line Soundtrack (Spinney)
The Memory Band: Calling On EP (Spinney)
Boom Bip: From Left To Right EP (Lex)
James Yorkston: Moving Up Country (Domino)
50 Cent: In Da Club (Shady)
Toolshed: LP (Twisted Nerve)

And lastly. Why the name Pedro? You can't help but picture a Spanish waiter.

It came after a late night discussion with a friend about Alex Cox's film "Highway Patrolman". Pedro is the name of the central character, a luckless chap.