It wasn’t that long ago that  Sarah Harrington reviewed the release of  Jimmy Galvins’s solo piano  CD   A Million Seconds Makes 11 Days .  A beautiful album of warmth and tranquillity that flows seamlessly and leaves you wanting more at the end.   If  the music of Ryuichi Sakamoto, Eric Satie, and the piano tracks from the Diva film soundtrack float your boat then your in for a treat with his album.

Deviation Street was fortunate to catch up with  Jimmy a man of passions and integrity who is not only a musician but also a visual artist  over a soya chai latte and cappuccino in some cafe somewhere to ask him some questions about his work, his likes and a whole lot of other stuff…it’s a fascinating interview so …read on reader… read on…..

D.S. Not only are you a musician you’re also a visual artist,  how does that work out/come about0

Jimmy: It was always there I don’t think you choose these things I know that sounds like a cliche Iv’e never steered off course it’s do or fucking die end of…….

D.S. How would you describe each activity and what are you working on at the moment .

Jimmy. I’m always on as in working it never stops and I like it that way right now I am working on new work for a show I want to put on in my hometown of Bristol called SPIRITUAL DATA and 4 albums two of which are classical, a solo piano album and album for soprano voice and strings of neo classical works ,and an  album of new songs WORLD REFUGEE and I am writing and producing a talented young guy in Bristol called OISIN the missing link of Sly Stone and Prince.

D.S. You were on Radio 4 s loose ends a short while ago  playing your music , how was that experience of playing live on the radio.

Jimmy. Amazing really enjoyed it as it took me out of my comfort zone playing live on BBC RADIO 4 they recorded it live and the show has an audience of a million listeners it felt great walking down Regent Street in London afterwards and sitting in a cafe watching the world go by

D.S. The CD of your your piano work is out now , where can people buy it .

Jimmy. It’s easily available to get either on ITUNES or AMAZON as downloads or signed hard copy CD signed with limited edition set of 4 art cards via my site http://www.jimmygalvinmusic.com  I post worldwide and sold tons after the RADIO 4 slot !

D.S. Surviving as an artist or a musician can be a precarious business at the best of times and you manage to combine the two. What do you think  of the current support for artists. There is none due to Tory cuts and the arts are not valued anymore its extreme it’s either crap community art that gets all the arts funding or the top end of the art market where the same people dictate and make all the money I don’t subscribe to any of it i totally get when William Burroughs  said ” All artists need to create their own currency” that means you have to be authentic which the modern world hates we live in the dumbest dumbed down cultural wilderness of all time look at our world leaders these are all metaphors for exactly where we are at in terms of world politics it all starts with culture followed by the immediate knock on effect of the political landscape these are dark times the most ignorant in my lifetime art used to be the authentic voice that could really change peoples lives but that power is gone now its all about tokenism making stupid people famous we get the leaders we deserve I say all artists have to be activists it’s not Trump that scares me he’s just an opportunist who most probably can’t believe how dumb people are who made him the most powerful man in the world ,its the system , or lack of education that enabled his journey to the political seat of power he holds now that’s what we need to worry about same in the UK everything in art and music and politics has been to reduced to the one liner the hagtash that’s why Brexit exist we need to call these people to account or we are really fucked.

D.S The term “Creative Industries” gets put about in conversation about the “arts”  Do you consider it to be inclusive Do you see your self as being part of a creative industry.

Jimmy No I am not part of anything I remember reading an interview with Dennis Hooper years ago saying” If you took the money out of art 99% of the fakes who claim to be artists would crawl back to their shit fucking lives leaving the 1% ” its tough as you come across so much bullshit in this game it saddens me as its blocking real change when I was younger living my shit white trash council house existence I naively thought that I would meet all these beautiful souls who create art and music who really want to make a difference but it’s been the complete opposite I never cease to be amazed at peoples egos and no talent fuckwits who have got lucky with nothing to say or any real talent but this is the age where those people have the platform unlike the 1960s or 1970s ironically we need the authentic voices now more than ever but as Bob Marley said “When your being real everybody hates you but when your fake everybody loves you and that’s the problem with the world”

D.S Your’e  a self taught musician and painter which requires high levels of tenacity and self discipline  , Do you think some people have certain  pre conceived ideas about this . Do you think you blow peoples prejudices apart

Jimmy Abso”fucking” lutely !! I’m an army of one the system hates real individuals there is a subtext to all current artistic narratives and most of it is just patronising shit like dumbed down “Art for all ” why ? that’s consumerism and that holds no interest for me we are the only species who pay to live on this planet so the world for most is just an extension of that what we need are authentic voices of excellence aiming for the intellectual and spiritual higher frequencies to activate us to higher forms of consciousness the world doesn’t have to be dressed up like a suicide it really could be incredible but life /death suffering is just another currency for the same people to perpetuate and exploit most humans are in the un-awakened state of existence religion is now political and the top end of the art world reflects this perfectly so much money being made when the people who created it were doing so to seek a connection to their own lives a quest for something deeper but then it gets totally lost as 99% of all the major art dealers/ critics /museum curators  wouldn’t know what a great piece of art is without the price tag, if they knew so much about it how come they can’t make it themselves ?  as they are rarely true mavericks but business people in  dreadful tight skinny trousers whose arrogant speak inspires confidence in those other fakes around them those kind of people despise real culture so yes going back to your original question the type of art and music I make causes more problems for the people in the art world I encounter as its a very white middle /upper middle class playground and they always presume that I must be one of them and are always uncomfortable with me as I am not playing the game for most artists it’s just a career move now and the powers that be like those kind of people who are all playing the game just like them so what we get 99% in all museums and galleries worldwide is a very anodyne approach to appease social media criteria and the masses Kim Kardashian has over a 100 million followers than the Louvre in Paris so we are all dumbed down to worship nothing just to keep chasing the empty dream you will never reach it’s a sad time for “humankind “I want “Kindhuman ” to be a prominent narrative and that’s the subtext of all great art and music it changes your life !!  Francis Bacon never gave a fuck about the shit fake art world and his greatness can never be hijacked by them.

DS.  What are you top 10 album influences

1/ Marvin Gaye ” Whats going on”

2/ David Bowie “Hunky Dory”

3/ Van Morrison “Veedon Fleece”

4/Roxy Music ” Stranded”

5/ Frank Sinatra ” In the wee small hours of the morning”

6/ Frank Sinatra ” Only the lonely ”

7/ Prince ” Sign’O the times”

8/ Ryuichi Sakomoto and Alva Noto “Summvs ”

9/ Antonio Carlos Jobim ” Wave”

10/ Tim Hardin “Hang onto a dream”

D.S  Some great albums there we look forward to more creative ventures from you in the near future .