Where does the name come from?

"James is my middle name, and people have told me I always do things the hard way, and its stuck from there. It's nice to not be yourself, it's an aspect of your personality. James Hardway is a slightly safer way of doing that, living the part.

"This whole thing grew out of nothing for me, I put out a couple of records, and people seemed to like it, it's very gratifying. I thought of an idea, and then spent time researching it and creating it. I went over to New York, and spent a lot of time in New Orleans, getting the jazz vibe, immersed myself in it and thought of this character."

Do you have a particular method when recording?

"The build up is longer than the actual recording. Something I learned from Jah Wobble is to set the situation right, the emotion, and then it will work. This may take you a long time, but is the most important aspect."

Dave has also written the odd commercial tune here and there, most notably the melodies for Billie Ray Martin's 'Your loving Arms'.

"When you're working with a vocalist, all you can be is inspiration for them. It's one of maybe 50 songs I've written, it's in the past. Mind you, it did pay for the insulation in the studio!"

Who are your inspirations?

"On a musical level Cabaret Voltaire ­ Richard Kirk, he was my major keyboard synth influence, he was the only person really doing it. Also, Andy Weatherall has been a saviour to me. He loves his music so much, he's the original moody DJ! I had the idea of Technova, and played some music to him, he then gave me carte blanche to put out what I wanted, when I wanted. Full respect to the man, he's one of very few people who is prepared to put his money where his mouth is."

So what makes you tick?

"I have a massive travel bug, and lived in Berlin for five years, I consider myself as 'outer national'. Travelling gives you a fresh perspective of the world, it really does help. From an early age I was a staunch atheist, I rejected my working class london upbringing, and never replaced it with anything apart from a superfluous 'sex drugs and rock & roll' attitude and had this vague notion of spirituality. As yo get older you realise that this leaves an enormous hole in your life, and should look to fill it. So when travelling from gig to gig with the On­U family I would purposely get off the bus and stay wherever I was for as long as I could, learning about other people's culture. "I spent time with the Bedouin in Egypt, the Tattoo community in Japan, immersed in their culture, in a naive, white boy way. I've realise that there is a fundamental humanist approach to life which we can adopt. learning it first hand is the only way. I've now stopped going to Australia, I couldn't come to terms with how the English treated the Aborigines. My personal view is that the British government owes them billion in compensation, end of subject, it's heartbreaking."

Dave's album as James Hardway should finally give him the recognition he deserves. He has certainly enjoyed the last 15 years of making music, and what musical direction he'll turn to next is anyone's guess. One thing is for sure, whatever Dave is doing, he won't be doing it unless he's having fun.

Words & pics by Matthew Blake
The James Hardway single 'Upmarket Down River' and the album 'Wider Deeper Smoother Shit', are out now on Recordings of Substance.