I have apophenia, which means I’m always searching for patterns in things. Some days ago someone asked me how I knew something, some random fact.
“Did you google it?” he asked. I told him I’d read the book. I’m fascinated by digital natives – they take what they need, discard the rest. Like there’s too much to incorporate.
I’m busy reading a biography on Seamus Heaney that my mother sent me last year. And I’m rereading all my [Michael] Ondaatjes in fits and bursts, as well as dipping back into Anne Michaels’ Fugitive Pieces.
Now that I think about it, there are a lot of similarities. Both are poets who became novelists. Both write about themes connected to World War II. Both are Canadian.
I’m trying to figure out what I’m working on next. Trying to find a system with which to spot the patterns. I have several John Berger books lying around, the most recent is Hold Everything Dear.
A few weeks ago I was in Lagos for the Red Bull Music Academy — I went to photograph, to document what was happening with their project. I saw how so many different styles of music were built from Afrobeat — and how intensely proud they were of what they had.
I saw how Fela Kuti’s music was informed by, and how it informed, his surroundings. In South Africa we have this tendency to polarise — it’s got to be “us and them”, no matter what. Sometimes white people here are so fucking white.
I’m listening to the BLK JKS Zol EP. I played it to people in Nigeria and their reaction to it was amazing. I’m also listening to Bittereinder — when the novelty of Die Antwoord wears off, these guys will still be doing great things. I’ve got a bunch of demos from Ashtray Electric, which is working on its new album; and not a day goes by when I don’t listen to Oasis.
Sometimes I hear a musician and then when we meet we become friends; other times, friends turn out to be musicians.
I have a throwaway painting Zander Blom gave me. He’s painting again, which is brilliant. I don’t speak the language of abstract — but, when I see elements of something this wonderful, it’s not necessary that I understand it to appreciate it. I really like Jan-Henri Booyens’ work.
I’ve traded work with him in the past. I intend to trade more. I guess if I’m talking about the rest of Avant Car Guard I should mention Michael McGarry too. He’s great.
I live in Pretoria and I like that the city still has a lot of old shopping centres that haven’t really changed.
I go to a bakery across from where I stay to get fresh knotted rolls and chocolate croissants in the mornings. These are accompanied by lots of coffee — I have a big Russell Hobbs coffee machine at home and I usually go through a pot a day. I think that works out to about six or eight mugs of coffee. — Nechama Brodie
Liam Lynch’s photographs from his Red Bull Music Academy junket to Lagos will be published in the forthcoming Red Bulletin magazine. Follow Lynch on Twitter @LiamLynchPhoto