The Skinny On... C Duncan

What’s your favourite place to visit? 
There are many places I love but I’d probably say Paris. It’s a ridiculously romantic and sprawling city. There is something beautiful to see everywhere you look. I have been to Paris many times and each time I go I feel like I’m discovering it for the first time all over again. I’m also really into modern art, food, wine and architecture so Paris ticks all those boxes for me.

What's your favourite food?
PASTA! I friggin' love pasta. I make fresh pasta at least once a week. My favourite pasta to make and eat is pappardelle and favourite sauce is probably white ragu (with pork, fennel and white wine).

What's your favourite colour?
I’ve always loved the colour blue. More pretentiously, Yves Klein blue and Majorelle blue. They both have slight hints of purple – so maybe purple is actually my favourite colour?

Who was your hero growing up?
It’s a toss up between Björk and Thom Yorke. But because I’m always prattling on about Björk I’ll go with Thom Yorke and Radiohead. I was obsessed with Radiohead as most alternative teens were, and their music and ability to adapt and change their style has had a profound effect on my music. Like Björk they have always pushed the boundaries of music and this was very inspiring to me growing up.

Whose work inspires you now?
Musically, I’m currently inspired by Maurice Ravel and Cocteau Twins – I have just read Simon Raymonde’s autobiography, In One Ear, and that has reignited my love of Cocteau Twins. Artistically, I’m really enjoying the works of Jonas Wood and Nicolas Party at the moment.

What three people would you invite to your dinner party and what are you cooking?
I’d invite Gina Riley, Jane Turner and Magda Szubanski from Kath & Kim. I’d do chicken feet for main and a statue of baby cheeses for desert.

What’s your all time favourite album?
This is actually too hard a question so I’ll just keep it short as it changes from day to day. Today my favourite album of all time is Hats by The Blue Nile. It’s an exquisite and incredibly sophisticated record that I never tire of. Tomorrow it might be Beyond The Sun by Billy Mackenzie, Björk’s Vespertine the next day, and Cocteau’s Heaven or Las Vegas the next.

What’s the worst film you’ve ever seen?
I watch a lot of horror movies so around 80% of those are the worst films I’ve seen. One that stands out from fairly recently though is Wine Country. On paper it should be up my street and has a fun cast of Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Rachel Dratch, Maya Rudolph etc, but oh boy is it a rubbish film. Everything is forced – the comedy, the emotions – it’s truly trite. Maybe all it’s missing is Kristen Wiig and Melissa McCarthy.

What book would you take to a desert island?
I would either take a Rick Stein seafood cookbook as presumably there would be lots of fish around this island, and why let your culinary standards drop just because you’re alone on an island. Or I would take The Complete Far Side by Gary Larson, because you’d need a laugh, wouldn’t you?

Who’s the worst?
All of them. The whole lot.

When did you last cry?
This happens quite a lot and it’s usually because the music I’m listening to is utterly overwhelmingly beautiful (cue the final movements of Mahler 9 and Mahler 2), but I must admit I had a jolly good cry when West Side Story (the original film) was on TV between Christmas and New Year. It completely caught me off guard.

I wasn’t even just blubbering at the immensely sad storyline, I was so moved by how powerful and incomprehensibly complex yet beautiful Bernstein’s music was. I’ve listened to the music lots before, but put it together with the movement on the screen and I was a complete mess. I should say that I was watching the film with my mother-in-law and desperately trying to keep it together, which actually became quite painful after a while.

What are you most scared of?
My younger, more pretentious self would have said mediocrity, but now I would say heights. It’s that usual fear of falling. I never used to be scared of heights, but over the past decade or so I’ve had lots of recurring dreams where I’m precariously at the top of very high structures, so it’s kind of a learned fear.

I was recently in Barcelona and we visited the jaw-droppingly beautiful Sagrada Familia. We (I) stupidly decided to go up one of the towers. I have never been so tense and shaken as much as I did descending the spiral staircase on the way down, which every three or so steps there was an open hole for you to just look out of. My body had tensed up so much that I couldn’t walk properly for the next three days.

When did you last vomit?
I honestly can’t remember actually. I almost did a couple of years ago when we had bought some Minger cheese from a local farm shop. Their fridge obviously wasn’t working and when we opened it I almost threw up.

Tell us a secret?
I don’t like Fleetwood Mac. It’s not really a secret as such, but it gets a reaction when I utter those words. What can I say? I just don’t think they’re very good. 

Which celebrity could you take in a fight?
I’m not really one for fighting, but I’d happily set my dogs on someone like Chris Martin for becoming rubbish. Although my dogs would probably just lick him and demand treats from him, which is a bit annoying after a while. So I guess I’d like to cause Chris Martin mild nuisance.

If you could be reincarnated as an animal, which animal would it be?
I’m sure most people say a bird so they can fly etc… But I would probably come back as a dog. We have two miniature schnauzers and they are totally spoiled. And you can now get passports for your pets, so dogs can also fly.  

What’s your favourite historical time period?
I’ll go down the architecture/design route on this one and say late-Victorian, Arts and Crafts time period. I like things that are intricate and ornate. Buildings from this time I especially like are Wightwick Manor, Hospitalfield House and of course Hill House in my hometown of Helensburgh.

What song makes you feel nostalgic?
Emily by Joanna Newsom. I had just left school when her album Ys came out and my friends and I decided to put on a play at the Edinburgh Fringe (for which I wrote the music). We stayed at a friend’s flat in the New Town for the full month and this album soundtracked our time there. Listening to Emily always brings back fond memories of my time there (but not such fond memories of the terrible, cryptic, pseudo-intellectual garbage play we put on…)

You’re celebrating ten years of Architect next month – what has that album meant to you and do you have any special events planned to help celebrate such a milestone?
Firstly, I can’t believe it has been ten years already! Architect means everything to me. It was my first release and it’s the reason I’m still doing what I love. Although I have developed musically a lot since, I have very fond memories of recording the album and all the excitement around releasing my first album and all the touring that went along with it, and still happens.

We are celebrating Architect’s 10th anniversary by putting on a special show at The Tolbooth in Stirling on 19 July. We will be a five-piece band performing lots of songs from the album as well as some newer songs.

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Architect was released on 17 Jul 2015 via FatCat Records; C Duncan celebrates its 10th anniversary at The Tolbooth, Stirling, 19 Jul