A Cinematic Encounter Between David Erdos and Musician, Poet, Shaman, Activist and Producer, Youth.
London, October 2016
Although it was a train brought me there it was a bus that contained us. The conversation started with music but ended around politics. As the Brexit Bus leaves the cliffs we are all clutching the handrails, hoping against hope for transcendence that never comes two at once. Life isn’t art. Art is what we would like life to be like. And the thing that most stops us is of course politics. In discussing these things as you will see, Youth provides a wise counsel. He witnesses all as it happens as the music of the world fills his ears. Describing himself as a man ‘who has a go’ he has travelled, from Stonehenge to Rio, from Brixton to the Rio Grande. Youth has worked with them all, from Kate Bush to McCartney. From Pink Floyd’s final languor right towards Killing Joke. From Punk, to jazz, via trance, dub, rock and reggae; from new age to the ancients and all the way back on his bus. He is the divine passenger who steers from the back with eyes narrowed. A joint in his hand, his exhaust pipe comes straight from the heart, pumping clear. And so the meet was arranged and spurred on by Claire P. And R. Rovers. An exchange of tea, books and laughter as the light outside painted days.
The film below is an edited conversation. It has been arranged into topics, seen at the left hand bottom edge of the screen. These detail some of the thoughts that passed between us. As the talk flowed like music, we made an album of sorts, here to see.
Youth is a man of discernment and yet he made me at home very quickly. He lives the communal idea but it’s progress that takes place under his roof. In every room, albums form, or are being mixed or recorded. Paintings line the walls, album covers, family shots, shards of life. It is an organic house that gives the man his own bassline. A place he shares only with those he supports and can love. You could say this of anywhere, yes, but the atmosphere here is a temple. It is sacrosanct and yet busy with all of its deep prayers to art.
Youth is the c(h)ord that connects countless artists. He is the wasp, full with pollen and the passenger on each bus. He is an enviable man because of what he has been able to find and has given. He knows his place and shows others where it is they can go. We talked of art, politics, music, mood and transcendence. Two strangers connecting on a bus ride towards light and trust.
David Erdos, November 2016
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