As one-third of the Marcia Blaine School For Girls, he tickled select ears that tuned into their IDM meanderings. But it is as The Village Orchestra that Bodytonic encounters him. With the rave-inspired, genre-skipping single ‘Dwyer’ still hot, and the impressive ‘The Dark Is Rising’ record just out on Stuff (also home to like-minded beat explorer Rustie), we talked techno and the difficulties of making a good album, the pitfalls of having a high-profile remixer, why Glasgow is great right now and, of course, the merits of cake versus goat’s cheese and pine nut salad.

How long has The Village Orchestra been in existence?

Hard to say really. The first gig I did under that name was in April 2004 but by then I’d already got tracks together for the first album. Before that we did a CD-r album of spin-offs, aliases etc and I came up with the name.. but I didn’t think of it as being ‘mine’ until probably 2003 or so.

Which came first, TVO or the Marcia Blaine project? And which one is the side-project now?

Marcia Blaine first. It was when I first got together with Bryan from Marcia that I really started writing music in earnest. That project is now definitely dormant though. We’ll all work together on different things but the group has run its course for just now...

The first TVO LP, 2005’s ‘Et In Arcadia Ego’ was more, um, IDM-esque. The new record is under-pinned by a more techno influence… is this correct?

Yes, probably right. The first album had a more ambient techno feel to it, influenced by the first Arovane album on Din, Lusine, old Black Dog records etc. Now time has moved on a bit I’m going techno in one direction and more experimental in the other (the next two albums are mostly beatless and very abstract).

So, what were the primary influences on this record? What inspired you to start making this very definite album?

It started with a proposition from Richard at Stuff Records. He knew I was working on new material and was thinking of doing a series of CD-r singles on the label. The stuff I was doing was influenced by the whole Chain Reaction sound, Loscil’s stuff as well. He fell in love with the first two tracks he heard, ‘The Grey King’ and ‘Afanc’. It moved from a CD-r single to mini-album to album to album and 12” very quickly as more and more tracks got finished...

Sum up the album in a sentence.

A divination.

Why do you think there are so many mediocre ‘techno’ albums?

Hmmm... need to be careful here! I think that there’s an element of, for want of a better phrase, anti-intellectualism in this field – well, there is everywhere, but in techno it seems that sometimes there’s a macho brutality in saying ‘I’ve done these tracks, here they are, that’s it’, with no context or over-arching theme or indeed any real thought to them.

Now, I love tracky tracks as much as the next man and I own loads of techno double packs that are just pure ‘tracks’ and nothing else – but they aren’t really albums. An album for me should have a flow, a context, an underpinning idea (even it that idea isn’t obvious to the listener, it should be apparent that there is at least one there!)

Actually, is this a ‘techno’ album then?

YES! Quite a few of the reviews have seemingly wilfully ignored this and keep talking about ‘IDM’ this and ‘electronica’ that. IT’S TECHNO YOU FOOLS AND YES THAT MEANS YOU BOOMKAT. I have no idea why this is. For me techno isn’t just Carl Craig or Basic Channel, its Autechre, Francicso Lopez, Skream, late Coil (this is all maybe stretching it a bit but I don’t care…)

Is there any significance in the title?

Yes. ‘Et In Arcadia Ego’ had four or five meanings but this one just has two – a reference to Susan Cooper’s series of children’s books (well worth tracking down for adults too) and a personal symbolic reason.

The first single, ‘Dwyer’, has picked up quite a few plaudits: Pitchfork, Boomkat… did you expect this?

Ummm...yes and no. I mean, I hoped so... but I didn’t think it was particularly ‘now’ sounding so didn’t expect it to be picked out. Very nice surprise.

The fact that’s it’s for the original as opposed to the 2562 remix must be gratifying, right? I mean, sometimes when there’s a ‘hip’ remixer, the original tends to get left behind…

Again, yes... I did worry a little that the 12” would be known principally as ‘that 2562 mix’. Not that it wouldn’t be deserving as I love 2562’s mix dearly.

How do you feel about getting wider recognition for what you do?

When I get it I’ll let you know! No, I know what you mean... I guess, the things I’m into, abstract experimental stuff and deep techno, aren’t particularly trendy or media-friendly. Any ‘recognition’ for the stuff I do is nice and a bit of a surprise.

The recent blurring of the boundaries between the outer fringes of techno and dubstep has been quite exciting, and seems to have generated a new energy across both… do you agree? This is a good thing, right?!

Yeah, of course. I read somewhere (a review of my single I think...) that ‘the dubstep/techno crossover is done’ – what a lot of bollocks. Both scenes will cross-pollinate as long as there are innovative producers. Stuff like Shed remixed by Peverelist, Skull Disco, T++, Surgeon dropping loads of dubstep, Aaron Spectre and the whole Rag and Bone crew, Scuba… it’s some of the most exciting stuff happening right now.

Your Numbers club night seems to be going very well…

Yes...I’m not so involved at the moment as my work and impending fatherhood are taking up more of my time, but I’m still one of the residents there. It’s mental to think that a few years ago we were in a wee basement playing to 40 of our mates and now things have blown up completely. Still can’t think of many clubs that can book Autechre, Monolake, Ghostface Killah, Soundhack, Squarepusher... leap genres with a single bound and still pull in a hugely loyal crowd (the best in the world) every month. It’s ridiculous that we can keep putting on all our heroes and have such immense fun in the process.

An obvious question – but what with Rustie/Hudson Mo/Stuff/Wireblock et al, there’s something interesting going on round your way… will you tell me to piss off if I attempt to put a collective term on it?

Yes...they’d all kill me if i condoned it.

So, how is ‘the exciting Glasgow’ scene today?

It’s good, very good. There are still hundreds of ground level things going on here all the time, from art events to wee clubs to bands trying to do something different... Glasgow is just such an incredibly creative and vibrant place, just hanging about is massive inspiration. Everyone is ‘doing’ something, even the apathetic lazy stoners are putting on nights or exhibiting their mates prints or screenprinting shirts or... something.

What are your plans for the record? The Stuff label feels like a good home for it…

Not sure what you mean by plans... not much, other than getting people to hear it! Stuff is a good home for it, yes. The two labels I work with the most, Highpoint Lowlife and Stuff, are notable for their massive integrity and their willingness to go along with the artist’s vision, and not be satisfied with just churning out records. Only Stuff would have the tenacity to go ahead and release it in the form they did.

Tell me some more about your café. Should I visit? What is the best thing to eat there?

Yeah of course! The coffee is the best in Glasgow. The cakes are always good but if you want a tip the goat’s cheese and pine nut salad is a good pick. It’s something I really love doing, totally removed from the music side. It’s definitely the best job I’ve ever had.

‘The Dark Is Rising’ is out now on Stuff.
http://www.myspace.com/thevillageorchestra
http://www.stuffrecords.co.uk/
http://ruaridh.marciablaine.com/