Worried about satan – The ‘Monday Is Ok’ Ransom Note Mix

Music

We can all spend endless hours being worried about one trivial thing or another yet it feels as though there are nowhere near enough of us worrying about Satan. Instead of having issues with paying 5p for a carrier bag at a supermarket, we should be spending our hours fretting about what the lord of the underworld has planned for us. It feels as though Gavin Miller and Thomas Ragsdale have got the right mindset when it comes to these things as their moniker worriedaboutsatan tackles the real issues. But don't fret, they've provided us with a mix – pieced together of their current obsessions – to let us know that, if nothing else, Monday Is OK.

So tune in to their mix and read on as we give the pair a good grilling about Satan, Santa and other things that aren't anagrams;

Please introduce yourself…

Who are you, where are you and what are you?

We are Gavin Miller & Thomas Ragsdale, two young (ish) men from Yorkshire, now living in lovely Manchester and we're a band.

Describe your sound without using the letter 'e'.

Tom: Not Of This World. Without a doubt.

What was the first electronic record you ever heard? How did it make you feel?

Gavin: I can't quite remember, but it was either Hybrid's 'Live Angle' or Underworld's live album 'Everything Everything' – both made me feel like such an idiot for listening exclusively to boring indie guitar bands until that point. My brother was a DJ, and so would smash these records through our shared wall when we were growing up. Loved these insane sounds – was like a whole new world opening up!

If your sound was a visual thing, what would it look like?

Tom: It would be just like our live visuals at our gigs – sporadic strobes and eerie patterns that merge with each other. But before we had those set up it looked like seminal cinema piece 'Under Siege 2: Dark Territory'.

What was the music of your teenage rebellion?

Gavin: Haha, jesus. Probably some nu-metal classics like Limp Bizkit, Korn and Rage Against The Machine.

Why should we be worried about Satan? Has he got something in the pipeline?

Tom: Well, he's got our next album in the works at the moment. There's also a giant apple pie in the oven that will cover the world 4 times over. Only Mr Kipling can save us.

What else are you worried about?

Gavin: Global thermonuclear war, the damp in my flat, not getting to Tesco before it shuts on Sunday.

What do you think of the rumours that Santa is Satan in disguise?

Tom: Quite true as we've also been called worriedaboutsanta! We've also been called worriedaboutstan (no idea who Stan is) and The Worriedabouts, but the people who did that are no longer alive.

Do you like roundabouts? Have you got a favourite kind of road obstacle?

Gavin: Yeah, I don't mind roundabouts. They're not bad. Favourite road obstacle is probably a slip road heading towards a service station with a Greggs in it.

Are you a kick drum, hi hat or a snare? And why?

Tom: 100% kick drum. We LOVE kick drums, the 808 kick drum specifically. It's an old sound that's probably out dated, but nothing can or has ever beaten it.It's something we can all relate to.

Where is the strangest place you've woken up naked?

Gavin: Ha! After an operation I had a while ago, I noticed my rear end had been shaven ever so slightly. That was particularly strange.

If you were a cat, what type would you be?

Tom: I would be 'Church', the cat from Pet Cemetery. Those eyes!!!

Which figure from throughout history would you most like to meet and what would you ask them if you had only one question?

Gavin: Erm, probably ask Jesus what the deal was.

What do you think the world will be like in 100 years?

Tom: I hope it'll be a decent place. I hope everyone gets back into buying a shit load of music and goes to a gig every weekend. Imagine that! And yet it only happened 30 years ago.

What’s your greatest vice?

Gavin: Irn Bru or Skittles.

What piece of music makes you cry?

Tom: 'My Old Friend' by Sam Amidon. It's originally a country song by Tim McGraw, but Sam's version really pulls on the heart strings. Tim's version is cool, but a little cheese. Sam's voice is totally raw too, you can tell he means every word.

When were you happiest?

Gavin: Whenever I had Skittles and Irn Bru in one sitting.

What’s your guiltiest pleasure?

Tom: Having an American Pie film marathon with Gavin, which we've done many times. We have all of them, ALL OF THEM. The later ones are actually a lot better than they sound. Would love to do some music for an American Pie film some day…

Onto the mix…

Where was the mix recorded?

Gavin: At Tom's house, aka Satan Central.

What would be the ideal setting to listen to the mix?

Tom: With some really good headphones on and in a very dark room. You'll be terrified by some of the tracks. There are some tracks on there by Ulver, who are a Norwegian band who play everything from traditional folk to black metal. The tracks of theirs on the mix also feature in the film 'Sinister', to absolutely devastating effect.

What should we be wearing?

Gavin: Double denim.

What would be your dream setting to record a mix: Location/system/format?

Tom: Maybe live in a church would be a lot of fun. Everyone could sit down and await the 8 minute avant garde drone piece I'd segue into which ever 15 minute dub techno track I'd be currently playing. Big system, just subs should be fine.

Which track in the mix is your current favourite?

Gavin: The Dalek one – so dark and brooding. Love it.

What’s your favourite recorded mix of all time?

Tom: Mine is 'World Dance (The Drum & Base Experience)'. I got this when I was 16 from Hull library and I still absolutely love it. I'm really into jungle in a big way and this is one of the best jungle mixes of all time IMO. CD2 is mixed by Ellis Dee and has some amazing mixing and tracks selection. It starts with Engineers Without Fears' 'Spiritual Aura', which is a complete soul cleansing and uplifting experience. I must've listened to it 50 times.

If you could go back to back with any DJ from throughout history, who would it be and why?

Gavin: Surgeon, and just smash it out.

What was your first DJ set up at home and what is it now?

Tom: I bought one of those DJ starter kits by Numark years ago, and I practiced a bit of beatmatching, but I was never that good. I really know what kind of records to buy, as I could never settle on a certain style. I'd try and mix Boards Of Canada into Higher State Of Consciousness and fail miserably. Now we do almost everything with Ableton as we can incorporate instruments in the sessions too.

What’s more important, the track you start on or the track you end on?

Gavin: Can I say a little of both?!

What were the first and last records you bought?

Tom: If we're talking vinyl records or DJing then mine were Dig Your Own Hole (Chemical Brothers) and I just bought a Ray Keith compilation called 'Vintage Dread II'.

If this mix was an edible thing, what would it taste like?

Gavin: Like a not-too-sweet lemon drizzle cake.

If it was an animal what would it be?

Tom: A whale. There's a track on the mix with a guy singing a whale song too. It'll probably freak everyone out.

One record in your collection that is impossible to mix into anything?

Gavin: Can's Halleluwah, because it's impossible to folow and impossible to lead up to. It just needs your undivided attention.

Upcoming in the world of worriedaboutsatan?

Tom: We have a few gigs this Winter and also plenty of recording to do! We're getting through our next album quite quickly, so we should be polishing that off.