Granite Island Discs: David Knight
Super Studio’s Head of PR & Content, David Knight, waxes lyrical about Brian Wilson’s genius, his love for Stevie Wonder and WOMAD memories.
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What five songs would you take to a desert island?
1. The Beach Boys – ‘Surf’s Up’
2. Stevie Wonder – ‘As’
3. Aphex Twin – ‘#3 (Rhubarb)’
4. Mental as Anything – ‘Live it Up’
5. Alice Coltrane – ‘Journey in Satchidananda’
If you could only pick one, what would it be?
‘Surf’s Up’. It floors me every time. I think it is Brian Wilson’s masterpiece. It’s beautiful (those harmonies!), haunting and so complex for a pop song. It’s the final part of the bleakest trio of songs to ever close an album (Surf’s Up), following ‘A Day in the Life of a Tree’ and ‘'Til I Die’, but you don’t need to listen to the whole LP to appreciate its brilliance. Yes, it’s peak sad boy music. But if you’re going to do sad boy music, you may as well listen to the greatest to ever do it.
What’s your favourite album?
On any given day, any album from Stevie Wonder’s golden era could take this title, and on this day, it’s Fulfillingness’ First Finale. This is the least glamorous entry of his classic period – it hasn’t got the epic scope of Songs in the Key of Life or the big-name singles and social commentary of Talking Book and Innervisions – but it’s his most complete, most personal album. Really, it’s just a joy to experience Stevie Wonder at his most introspective, at the peak of his powers during arguably the greatest album run in pop music history.
What’s your favourite song by an SA artist or band?
Carter Bros. – ‘Run’. Every Adelaidean who’s into club music knows about HMC/Late Nite Tuff Guy, but between 2008 and 2014, Tim and Gav Carter went on a run that rivals the Godfather of Australian Techno. With releases on labels from Detroit to London and from Amsterdam to Melbourne, Tim and Gav produced proper house music. No frills, no fads – just real house music with the right amount of Detroit, disco and dub influences. ‘Run’ encapsulates this, but I could have picked a number of their tracks from that period: ‘Full Disco Jacket’, ‘Loving You Is Easy’, ‘Ritual Business’, ‘Star Time’. They kind of just stopped releasing and DJing about 10 years ago. They always had a bit of mystique about them – they were never in it for fame or recognition and their tracks stand the test of time because of this. I still catch their beats in online mixes by big-name international DJs I admire. Their album Metropolitain is on streaming services. If you’re into club or house music, give it a listen. It just might be the best Australian house full-length out there.
Favourite music-related memory?
The countless Friday nights at WOMAD I’ve been lucky enough to experience are right up there. There is something magical about walking through the Botanic Park gates on a warm Friday evening in early March. It’s not just the music but the atmosphere. It’s hard to describe it without sounding like your new-age aunt, so let’s just say it has the best vibe of any music festival in the country. I haven’t been able to get to WOMAD recently due to raising a young family. But catching some of my favourite acts (Thundercat, Chic, Hypnotic Brass Ensemble, Theo Parrish, and DJ Harvey) will never leave my memory. I can’t wait to take my kids out for a family WOMAD weekend when they’re a bit older!
