GORDON RAPHAEL

GORDON RAPHAEL IS THE PRODUCTION TALENT RESPONSIBLE FOR THE STROKES’ FIRST TWO ALBUMS THIS IS IT AND ROOM ON FIRE. GORDON LIVES IN BERLIN BUT HAS RECENTLY BEEN WORKING IN HIS EAST LONDON STUDIO WITH SLEEK-HEADED SINGER SKIN FROM SKUNK ANANSIE AND SINGER/SONGWRITER GEORGE DEMURE ON HIS FORTHCOMING NEW ALBUM BOOMTOWN MEDALLION, OUT THIS SEPTEMBER ON TIRK RECORDS.

“When I was 14 I began keeping lists of my heroes. I thrilled in scribbling down their names in my workbooks at school in order to keep me focused on what it was possible to do in life. I now realise that part of hero-worshipping is a process of projecting secret hopes and ideas about oneself onto other people so that they can be more easily seen and recognised. Having read a lot about my heroes, and even meeting a few in person, It is clear that the fantasy I had about them is sweeter and more fabulous than what I felt about them when actually in their presence – in short, it’s always a bit of a letdown.

Albert Einstein was the first hero that I can remember dreaming about. His hair! It was so out of control and antigravity, and this was in the conservative Fifties. Albert’s wild white frizzy mop really caught my eye. Later on Harpo Marx and Jimi Hendrix also entered my pantheon of heroes – I think their crazy curls triggered a memory of my love of Einstein.

The idea of someone in the world who seemed so damned smart without trying too hard, and whose mental brilliance confused, shocked and impressed people, really appealed to me. I thought my daddy was supersmart ’cause he was a scientist and a doctor, and since he went to the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx –whilst Einstein was still alive – I reckoned that if Albert was smart enough to teach my dad then his brain must have been extremely gifted.

Einstein would have dreams and would wake up suddenly to write down huge mathematical formulas, which would describe that wherever we stand in the universe determines the perspective that we see things from. The idea that certain things seem to be constant throughout the galaxies, and other things are completely subjective and relative to where you happen to be at any given time, says volumes to me about the dangers of assuming that what is ‘real’ for me is supposed to also be correct information for you, or anyone else.

Albert Einstein also played the violin, promoted vegetarianism, world peace, and had the children in his neighbourhood sneak out and deliver secret supplies of chocolate candy (sweets) to him when no-one was looking. How cool is that?”

TEXT BY LULU LE VAY PHOTO BY BEN RAYNER