He’s worked with Gorillaz, Massive Attack, Brian Eno, and Can’s Damo Suzuki, and now, Jeff Wootton is going solo. He always knew he had the ability to write a song, but explains it wasn’t until going to Mali with Damon Albarn as part of the Africa Express collective that his appetite to produce solo material grew.

Completely modest, Wootton speaks of everything he’s learnt from the musicians around him in the highest regard, and talks about the release of his debut record, The Way The Light, with urgency. Taken with Brian Eno’s philosophy, Wootton enlisted Mark Howard to engineer the album between two locations, in a variety of different makeshift studio settings. And this measured approach translates from the sonic to the physical, a 28-page booklet featuring original artwork by Damien Hirst for each track completes a limited 12” vinyl LP to accompany traditional formats. The multi-instrumentalist’s unique method harks back to when records were a tangible creation, with Wootton’s approach not only considered, but matched by depth that isn’t compromised in favour of innovative tendencies.

Clementine Zawadzki: Why did it feel like the right time for your debut as a solo artist?
Jeff Wootton: I always wanted to make a record that kind of stood out and would stand the test of time, and I think it takes time to do that. I would’ve made something different if I tried to make a record five years ago, or it just wouldn’t have been this good. I felt as though I’d picked up a lot of things from the bands and musicians I’d played with. If someone can take something from what I’ve done, then that’s great, and that was kind of the mission with it, really.

CZ: You recorded this album in quite an unusual way, switching between two cities, and there’s quite a contrast between Manchester and Topanga, California.
JW: I know, totally. Mark Howard engineered the record, and I’m a real big fan of his, he’s done some amazing things. I just called him up because I like his way of working. I’ve worked similarly before when I did a record with Brian Eno and him, you set up these studio installations in different areas. He’s done records like that with Neil Young and Bob Dylan (Time Out Of Mind and Oh Mercy), you just set up in a house, and he’s kind of a real wiz at that. You record the sessions and then you take it down. I really like it because each sound is just really unique, and you get a character and flavour to it, I guess. It’s just a cooler way to work, rather than going into a standard studio.

CZ: How did the songs change given the environment you were in?JW: Mark’s thing was, “Hey man, I’m really inspired by the way you just want to make something really out there and kind of different, sonically speaking,” because he can do that. There’s this record called Le Noise that he did with Neil Young and Daniel Lanois, and he gave Neil Young a new guitar sound. Like, how can you do that, really? So, our main thing was sonic experimentation, obviously not just for the sake of it, but we really wanted to make a visionary piece of work.

CZ: That’s definitely something I noticed when listening to the album. There are a lot of layers and nuances that I imagine would’ve taken a while to build and balance.
JW: Yeah, I’d say the process of the songs took two years, but Mark works pretty quick, so it was like two weeks in Manchester, and then two weeks in LA for recording. He would even mix on the spot, straight after we’d done something, which is usually the one we’d end up with.

CZ: Did you want to play all of the instruments yourself – apart from drums [supplied by Mark Heaney] – from the outset?
JW: I was quite conscious that it would’ve been far easier for me to have just phoned up Damon [Albarn], or whoever, and just got them, but I wanted to do something myself. They could be collaborations that I get to in the future, but I wanted this one to be on my own and create my own name.

CZ: What influenced you?
JW: I think each song has got something different, whether it’s Krautrock, Funkadelic, or Folk. It’s got everything I’ve picked up over the years, so it did take a while for it to come together. I was talking to someone the other day about how Joy Division’s Unknown Pleasures – which is a favourite record of mine – didn’t chart. I knew this record wouldn’t be a radio horn smash, but that wasn’t important to me. I think that’s the problem today, if you go in to make a record with that attitude, it’s never going to last. It’s all about the music for me. Growing up in Manchester is great as a musician, because when you’re younger you’re exposed to all this music history that you can draw from.

CZ: What lyrically stands out for you?
JW: It’s a whole journey, but definitely the last track The Way The Light Bends Around You, that’s kind of my tribute to Bert Jansch, really. There are all different things in each song, but I’m quite proud of the lyrics in that one. I wanted to take guitar music somewhere else; to sound different within songs, and production, and I didn’t want to do what everyone else is doing.

CZ: And you’ve got some live shows coming up.
JW: With the live thing, I don’t want to just throw it down people’s faces. We did a gig before Christmas at a place called Red Gallery, which was really special, and Paul Simonon got up and we had a bit of fun. That’s been our only headline show, but we’ve learnt so much from that, so we’re going to extend it. The album did take a while to figure out how to play live. It was like: “Shit, how am I going to do this?”

CZ: I was just picturing you in the middle of the room, surrounded by instruments.
JW: Totally. I mean, if it had been the ‘60s, I would’ve had a fucking huge band, but with equipment now you can sample and do things, trigger stuff, but yeah, really looking forward to it. I think it’s a headphone record, but I also think for some people it’s a grower, and you get it eventually. Maybe live it’d be easier for people to understand. We’ve got a good set together. The bass player in Damon’s band and I have got this bond, and we’ve done enough shows together, so live performance is kind of our thing.

CZ: So, the artwork for the release also aligns with what you wanted to achieve musically.
JW: Yeah, it was like, “How can I do something different and make this record be worth something and matter?” Because so many records just get stuck on iTunes nowadays. I love art and its relationship with music, and I love the whole Warhol and Velvet Underground thing. I think record sleeves are really inspiring and I wanted to get back to that. I was lucky enough to meet Damien and we’d become friends. It doesn’t matter who you are, he’ll give you inspiration and help you. I didn’t want it to just be a cover, so I said to him: “How about you do an art piece for each track?” And it’s come out really good. The actual front cover is by a young photographer called Ash Kingston, and he’s an up-and-coming talent. I think we killed it with that too, but as a package it’s very unique. You take notice of it visually before you even get to it, which is hard to do. It’s a beautiful vinyl. We’ve only done 500, and we won’t do anymore, that’ll be it.

Jeff Wootton‘s The Way the Light is available now