Interview with - Steve Bush Vulgarity, humour, and a genuine touch of real emotion aptly describe Blossom Freak, the debut album from Steve Bush. Sounding like the missing link between Beck and Bill Pritchard, the eclectic set of songs gracing this fine Bristol debut has certainly left its mark.

Recent single, What Lovers Say with its semi-industrial beats, funk-fuelled rhythms, and expletives (kindly) removed gained Evening Session approval on Radio One and was a perfect introduction to the twisted delights on offer. The variation of styles on display was evident during a rather bleak June evening when Steve Bush offered a small insight into the thought process behind Blossom Freak. "I wanted to make the worst album that I could possibly make," explains Steve Bush. "I want it [Blossom Freak] to be the worst album ever made! I didn't have any brief, I just went in the studio and laid down a couple of tracks until I had an album worth of material over a period of eighteen months. At the end of it I was rather disappointed because it [Blossom Freak] wasn't that bad! I just wanted to make something really gross with large percussion sounds making a dreadful row. It just turned out that the album had some decent songs on it by mistake!" This is the irony of Blossom Freak and more to the point, Steve Bush. It is difficult not knowing whether to laugh or cry. The grotesque imagery of the aforementioned, What Lovers Say will leave you reeling in disgust only for the honest confessions of Weaker than You offering a sympathetic ear for our hapless Bristol star. Who needs Kid A when you have Kid B? "I think music these days has become very safe," mentions Steve in-between lighting a cigarette. "Marilyn Manson is VERY safe; cartoon, shock-horror-shit! In fact, he's [Marilyn Manson] not shocking at all!" It's nice to hear that there's life in the old devil yet! "I like the sound of the new Radiohead album a lot because it's appropriately f***** up! Talk Talk produced that album - Spirit of Eden - which nobody liked because it sounded like Miles Davis, but I really liked it. I always really like the albums that nobody else likes." Surely the same lack of affection will not befall the mercurial talents of Blossom Freak? "Hopefully not, but then I always like the albums that nobody else does!" Despite the awkwardness of the lyrics that will no doubt bring discomfort to the prudish among us, the eclectic palette of sounds heard throughout remain accessible; not quite in the vein of Hear'Say for example, but easy enough to be deemed radio-friendly. "I like pop music but I don't like songs that are too obvious," says Steve. "I like songs which are a little bit twisted; a bit dark. I find love songs harder to write partly through embarrassment. Take for example Vile Mouth, which is about waking up with someone you wish you hadn't! Having said that, Vile Mouth is probably the most popular song on the album." Maybe Blossom Freak is closer to the present climate of chart fodder more than we think considering the inclusion of that money-spinning idea of the 'cover version'. Of course, though, a Steve Bush release wouldn't be the same without dousing his attempt of The Troggs' 66-5-4-3-2-1 with his trademark humour to seriously distort the original beyond all recognition. Isn't that the point Westlife!? "I am a huge fan of The Troggs," mentions Steve. "I have always wanted to do a version of the song 66-5-4-3-2-1 because Reg Presley is something of a hero of mine. Many people really like our version of the song, which is kind of like a really odd tango version! Reg Presley has personally approved my version despite a few things he mentioned that he would have done differently. Apart from that we had a good chat and that meant a lot to me." There is one influence, however, that any close observer won't fail to miss and that is any real connection between the diverse sounds of Blossom Freak and the ubiquitous Bristol sound. Mention the words trip-hop or drum 'n' bass and you're likely to get thirty verbal lashings from Mr Bush's acidic tongue! "I wouldn't say there was much of a Bristol influence on the album at all," comments Steve. "The so-called Bristol sound with which we are familiar - that miserable drum 'n' bass kind of thing - is something I am anxious to avoid because I think it has become a terrible cliché. There are a lot of lesser imitators of it now - who aren't as good as Massive Attack, Tricky, and Roni Size - who are consequently boring everyone to death! There is a tendency for Bristol musicians to be incredibly miserable as though their misery is of interest to everyone else! I can see the joke; irony is not a word that goes down particularly well in Bristol, people don't seem to understand it." The meaning of irony is definitely not lost on Steve Bush and, more importantly, the fascinating experience that is Blossom Freak. Nathan Haines (Sugarshack Records)