DEVIL'S ISLAND featuring Tete Essien
Welcome to this weeks edition of Devil's Island! Every week we maroon a band or artist on the island and see what they get up to, how they cope with being all alone on a small island in the middle of the ocean. It's not your average desert island and we'll see just how each person copes with the extreme conditions.
This week when we arrived at Devil's Island we found Tete Essien sat on the beach. The island is far from his base, but how did he end up here and how did he cope with life on Devil's Island?
Find out now...
Welcome to The Razors'e Edge and our somewhat lovely, warm desert island. Don't worry about it's name I'm sure it's not as bad as that would suggest.
So you're marooned here on this island, but before you ended up shipwrecked you chose one album that you couldn't live without. Which album did you each chose and why?
I’ll go for my copy of Otis Redding’s “Dock of the Bay Sessions”. I love that album man; that record made me want to be a proper singer more than any other one. It’s not as though I can sing like the great man, and I’ll never be able to but it’s the character in his voice that he imbues within every song. The act of expressing your personality through your vocals has always stuck with me, since I started listening to him. There’s a warmth to those tunes that imma probably need whilst I’m failing to light a proper fire.
Just behind that palm tree is a shack for each of you to stay in, with enough space for you to put up a poster on the wall of one album cover. What album cover do you each chose?
I’m leaning towards the artwork for “I Never Loved a Man the Way I Loved You” by Aretha Franklin. The image is simple, and her expression is quite understated but there’s something really calming, almost ethereal about the whole portrait for me. She looks great on it and I could really see it giving me a lift during my pitfalls as a man stranded on an island. It’s also got her singing “Save Me” on there; is there a more appropriate title to soundtrack my current predicament? I doubt it.
There's also a bar on this here island. But alas each of you only get to choose one drink for the entirety of your stay. What's your tipple of choice?
I’m gonna guzzle plenty of Tequila pineapple juices and drink them out of a coconut.
Your suitcases were lost when your ship sank, but you each managed to salvage one item of band merch. What’s the merch and for what band?
Miles Kane was doing a bandana as part of his merch for his latest album, so I’d probably fish for that. That’ll get me into the ‘wilderness man’ mood quicker I reckon. Somewhere between Scarface and Rambo. True say that’ll be the closest I’ll ever get to those two figures.
You’re sat on the island thinking “I’m stuck here on this island with my bandmates for eternity”… who would you rather have been shipwrecked with?
Richard Ayoade. If I’m facing my final days on this plain, I’d like to go out laughing at least, and that man has me creasing just by doing what, seemingly, comes naturally to him.
There's a walkman in your pocket, on the tape inside is the recording of the one live show that stands out for you. It could be any show, from any band, anywhere in the world. What show is on that walkman?
I’ve watched Arctic Monkey’s play their Glastonbury headline show in 2013 too many times to count. I watched it live and over the years since that date. I basically know it inside out at this point, ad libs included. It reminds me of a simple time in my life so hopefully it’ll continue to do that when I’m out on my own.
You're getting desperate, you decide the only course of action is to put a message in a bottle and hope someone finds it. Your message could be to any member of any band, but should be the most suitable for a rescue attempt. Who is it?
Bono definitely has the pulling power to orchestrate a largescale rescue attempt, he certainly has the funds at least. He might finally be canonised as well if he’s successful with the coup so there’s something in there for you too Paul!
You've been stuck here for a while and food supplies are running low. There's only one thing for it... which fellow band member gets sacrificed to help the others survive?
I’d probably go for the drummer, Joe. He’s a real hero like that and he’ll for sure be remembered as one if his story ends that way.
Finally, when the ship sank you each managed to save one person from the wreckage. That person is the one musician that has influenced your career the most, shaped your way of thinking and your outlook on life. Who did you save?
Kano. He’s a legend and the world loses out if I don’t. His lyrics man, that don don’t play and that inspires me. When you think about documenting your surroundings, telling stories with all the visuals present and being someone you can look up to in difficult moments, as an artist he covers almost all the bases. He’s loved but you almost feel like we should rate him even more, and I can’t wait for the day that we all do.
