Joining The Slits on their Japan tour will be producer Adrian Sherwood. One of the key figures on the British reggae scene for the last 30 years, Sherwood has most recently been working on new Primal Scream and Lee "Scratch" Perry material, while some of his past credits include New Age Steppers (who included Ari Up on vocals), The Fall and Nine Inch Nails.
On The Slits
I'll be mixing the band, for the first time probably since 1979-82. They did some gigs (in the U.K.) and they're sounding excellent. Why did they get back together? It's just the demand for it. A lot of people are very interested in that period and are hailing The Slits as being a very important band, which they are. I used to love how The Slits sounded like it was collapsing in the old days. It's still got that ingredient about it. And Ari, as an entertainer — she's a genuine one-off. She's like an explosion on stage.
I'm not a musician myself; I play the mixing desk. Putting the whole thing together and shaping the sound — that's my thing. I've always used a similar production technique to keep it not crowded. I've worked very hard to develop my own sound, not to any great commercial success . . .
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