Karl Hyde of Underworld

Singer and lyricist Karl Hyde enthuses about Japan's inspirational culture and his rock-and-roll lifestyle. Kate Crockett listens.

Underworld are Karl, programmer and "studio renegade" Rick Smith, and Darren Emerson, club DJ extraordinaire. They've been on the dance music scene for over a decade, in one form or another, but only really hit the mainstream in 1995 after the success of "Born Slippy", which features in the film Trainspotting. This, and the recent dance music explosion, helped Underworld notch up a series of other hits, with their most recent album, Beaucoup Fish, making it to number three in the British and nine in the Japanese charts.

Underworld are veterans at the Japan thing - they've been here five times before. They've played at Akasaka Blitz, Rainbow 2000 (a techno festival held on the slopes of Mt. Fuji) and, with their design company Tomato, had a major installation at the Ginza Art Space. Just what is it that makes them keep coming back for more?

"Japan is a very big market for us, both as members of Tomato and Underworld," Karl says. "The two things have gone hand in hand to create something quite mythological and quite unlike anywhere else. Japan was the first country to understand and embrace the idea that we are both Tomato and Underworld. They encourage new ideas and that's a real inspiration to us." Wow. Any more praise to add?

"I think it's one of the most inspiring places in terms of culture that we've ever been to. There's certainly a lot for me, as a writer of words, to learn by spending more time there. Every time I've written anything in Japan - and I've written quite a few things there, including an installation which was text-based - I've come back and read it and thought, "This is so different in terms of intensity from anything else I write in other parts of the world."

This summer's stint in Japan, and the Fuji Rock Festival gig on July 30, is the last planned international trip on the Underworld calendar this year. "We thought we'd finish on a high - what a top way to go out!" Karl says. "There are no more plans to play this year after Japan and we really felt like it was a great way to stop this year."

What grand finale can fans expect from the Underworld boys at the Festival?

"People know we don't have a set list - everything is improvised," Karl explains. "We'll be bringing all the show with us - all the Tomato producers and some big projection screens. Our whole crew improvises. It's a show of improvisation, of action and response between us and the crowd. Really, the crowd dictates how the show is going to go, so you only do every show once. Its vibe is directly related to where we are in the world and how the crowd and the band respond to each other. Japan has always been a good place for improvisation like that and I'm sure it'll be very special."

In the past, how well have Underworld and Japanese audiences responded to each other?

"The Japanese have a particular signature to their enthusiasm, and the response is always euphoric - they go crazy. We were warned that Japanese audiences, particularly for rock concerts, were very polite; they sit down and clap and only at the end do they go "hooray" and file out. Not so. They're dancing and going mental but they're not aggressive. It's a buzz to play in Japan."

Karl plans to hang around for a little while after the gig, for a bit of inspiration and travel. "I'll definitely spend some time in Tokyo," he says, "but I'll also travel around. I'd like to get back to Kyoto. I've built in a little extra time - a week or ten days - to work, film, photograph and write. But there's so much information coming at such a speed that even a couple of days is enough."

But after all the touring and travelling is done, Karl admits that there's nowhere he'd really rather be than in England - it's his favorite place.

"The more I travel the more I love home," he confesses. "When I come home, I sit down with a plate of beans on toast and I feel okay. It's not very rock-and-roll, is it?"

Well, erm, not really, no.

So what exciting stuff does the future hold for Underworld? "We're fortunate in as much as we're not really operating within the industry, so we're not tied down to doing any one thing. We've got Tomato, we have our own studio, we make videos, CD-ROMs, photographic exhibitions and we've been recording shows. We're really only held back by our imagination."

Anything could happen then, it seems. What will Karl's imagination have him doing at the turn of the millennium, then?

"Having a cup of tea at home with my family."

Very rock-and-roll.

Discography (albums)
Beaucoup Fish (1999)
Dark & Long (compilation, 1997)
Second Toughest in the Infants (1996)
Dubnobasswithmyheadman (1993)
Change the Weather (1989)
Underneath the Radar (1988)