Music: The Time & Space Machine

Veteran dance musician Richard Norris takes you to a more psychedelic place and time

The brainchild of Lewes-based Richard Norris, The Time & Space Machine follows in a long line of leftfield dance acts that he’s been associated with, including seminal early ‘90s dance outfit The Grid who he formed with Soft Cell’s Dave Ball, enjoying a number of hits including ‘Crystal Clear’, ‘Diablo’ and the hugely successful ‘Swamp Thing’, which made number three in the UK. Ball and Norris decided to pursue other avenues in the mid-90s with Norris forming The Droyds and remixing the likes of Armand van Helden, while Ball reformed Soft Cell with Marc Almond. They briefly got together again in 2005 and released the Doppelganger album, which failed to make any commercial impact.

Forever having different projects on the go, Norris also set up The Time & Space Machine. “I started the Time & Space Machine as an extension of the edits and remixes I was doing with Erol Alkan as Beyond the Wizard’s Sleeve. We’d done four mini albums of psychedelic edits, and remixed a number of artists including Midlake, Franz Ferdinand, Goldfrapp and the Chemical Brothers, but put the project on hold a couple of years ago. I wanted to continue in a more live set up, so started making tracks initially with just a drummer, Wildcat Will, then adding everything else myself over the top. This has now morphed into a five piece live band, featuring Craig Warnock, Richie Crago, Craig Mathewson. It’s a drums, guitars, bass, Farfisa, Space Echo and Korg MS10 set up, with harmony vocals and backwards noises.”

The Time & Space Machine has seen Norris back on the road, “We are playing a bunch of festivals and gigs, and having a ball…it’s satisfying to hear tracks that took shape in the studio turning into fully fledged nine minute psychedelic monsters. We’re finding our own sound, developing it, and we’ll record it for the next album.”

While The Grid incorporated instruments such as a banjo within their sound (on ‘Swamp Thing’) The Time & Space Machine is more psychedelic in its sound, as heard on their recent Taste the Lazer album. “I’m inspired by the eastern feel in psychedelic records. Plus there’s my Sitar Machine that I bought in Kerala.”
His love of psychedelia extends to him organising the annual Lewes Psychedelic Festival (Zu Studios, 6 October). “That’s when all the freaks come out!”
The Haunt, Friday 3 August, 7pm, £5