The frontman of Until the Ribbon Breaks spent his formative years honing his craft and writing subdued, R&B-tinged electronica that flits effortlessly between a wide range of influences. Even his collaborations are eclectic; everyone from Run the Jewels to Lorde has spent time with the man they call Pete Lawrie-Winfield. Since working in isolation in deepest, darkest Wales, Winfield has changed everything: He's swapped Wales for Los Angeles, solo compositions for a band, and synthesizers for live instruments. He seems to have a crippling fear of becoming stale, and yet in every other respect, he's utterly fearless.
At the forefront of Winfield's mind, at all times, is the creative process. When he isn't writing, recording, producing, or practicing with his live band, he's fretting about the very idea of the creative process. He talks enthusiastically and modestly about his process, and is always keen to change things up and thrust himself into the deep end (he practically revels in it, where other artists may shy away). The musician even teases that the next record—following their recently released A Lesson Unlearnt—could be something entirely unexpected. It probably won't be reggae, but when it comes to Until the Ribbon Breaks, all bets are off.
Interview by James Keith (@JamesMBKeith)
You're from Wales, originally. What sort of hip-hop and R&B were you listening to in your formative years? Was there much of a scene?
[Laughs.] No, there wasn't a scene at all. I was big into skateboarding when I was 15/16, and that was when I discovered a lot of the older kids who were into hip-hop. But it was all from the States. It was all New York hip-hop, stuff like Rawkus Records, Mos Def—that sort of era.
How did you come to work with Run the Jewels?
I was producing a track for Mr. Muthafuckin' eXquire in Brooklyn. We were in the studio one day, and he asked me who my favorite rappers were. El-P has always been one of my favorite rappers, and he said, "Oh, I know El. I can send him some of your music, if you like." And I was like, "Err, yes, please!" A couple of months later, I got an email from El asking if I would feature on the first Run the Jewels record. So that was the main thing, and then when the time came to record our album, I called in the favor.
What sort of reception have you had from the hip-hop/R&B communities?
The whole concept of the band is that the project and the name is based around the idea of making a playlist on a cassette for someone, and them playing it and playing it until the ribbon breaks. We try and jump around from genre to genre with no rules so, to answer your question, it's always amazing to see all the different people come to see us play. I don't think we're made for a straight hip-hop crowd, R&B crowd or pop crowd; the nice thing is that there are all kinds of people in the crowd. It's very eclectic.
You made the switch to full live performances a little while back. How did you find that change and what was the most challenging aspect?
It was really a pleasure, actually. Working as a solo artist, you can disappear up your own backside a little bit in the studio, so it's better to have more heads, more ideas, more inspiration, more influences. Tracks like "A Taste of Silver" sound like they should be played by a band, so it started as getting a band together to do live performances and it just evolved into them doing a little bit of the production, a little bit of writing. It definitely feels like more of a collaborative project now.
Did this come about after you'd been invited to perform with Lorde?
Yeah, that's right. I had no live show to speak of, but suddenly, this tour opportunity happened, and it was a big panic. I just thought, "Where am I going to get a band from?" So the first two shows I did with Lorde, I just DJ'd. And by the time it came to doing the actual tour, we rushed this band and live show together. The first proper show we did with Lorde was our first ever show as a band, which was pretty intense. But getting thrown in at the deep end is always a good thing.
Are there any other collaborations in the pipeline?
Run the Jewels and Homeboy Sandman are on this record, so for the next record, I'd like to work with some singers. I'd love to work with London Grammar, because I'm in love with Hannah Reid's voice. I always like collaborations to happen organically. The Homeboy Sandman and the Run the Jewels collaborations happened just because I'm a huge fan, and I reached out to them. If things happen, organically, you're much more likely to get something that sounds real. So we shall see!
You've said in the past that you originally wanted to make films, before you gave up and made music for films. How has this cinematic approach affected your music?
When we make records, we have a projector in the studio and project onto a wall something like a nature documentary or a film, and then we turn the sound off so I can imagine a bigger world. It can get boring for me, and it can get boring for other people, when you're working in your own small world. The bigger the thing that you write to, the bigger the prospects of what you can say or what you talk about.
When you compose to films with the sound off, do you find there are any common elements or themes between your productions and the original scores?
Yes, definitely. There's a song called "Romeo" on the album, which is almost directly influenced by the Baz Luhrmann film Romeo + Juliet. Sometimes it just fits perfectly and directly influences, but other times it can just set the mood or the tone for the music. It actually depends entirely on the genre of what we're projecting.
Besides film scores, what are you currently listening to?
I'm not just saying this because I was involved and that I feel like I should say it, but it was really nice to be on the Run the Jewels record because I honestly believe it was the best hip-hop album last year. I've been playing that a lot. I'm really excited for the new Kendrick Lamar album—I love the two songs that I’ve heard and especially his performance on Letterman. He certainly separated himself from a lot of stale hip-hop. To be honest, when I'm in writing mode I listen to a lot of film scores because I don't like words when I'm in that mindset. I just have it on in the background so I can write lyrics to music scores. Oh, and I really liked the Gone Girl score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross too. I recently went back to a score that I really love, which is for a film called Contact. I also love the Hans Zimmer score for Interstellar, and I haven't even seen the film yet! Then there's the soundtrack for The Third Man, with those jazz drums. I love that score!
Your music often tackles the ills of the world in their various forms and, more often than not, with an air of melancholy. Do you despair of the world around you? Is there any hope?
[Laughs.] You know what? That's a great question, because I haven't listened to the record since we made it. I have too many albums, and it's just not enjoyable to listen to your own music. One thing I did notice is that, lyrically, like you say, it's quite despairing and disparaging of the world. That's not how I feel. What's interesting about it though, is that at the start of making the record, I was writing in Wales and I was sleeping on the studio floor. I had no money. I didn't know what I was going to do. I didn't even have a band yet. The cool thing is that it's like a snapshot of a moment in time, and how I was feeling at the time. But now I live in the sunshine, so the next record should be a lot happier! It'll be reggae. [Laughs.]
What else do you have planned for the year ahead?
As much touring as possible! In between touring, though, I want to try and somehow start cobbling some new material together. It's a cliché, but it's a cliché because it’s true. The second record is more challenging because the first record comes from having to get this thing out and you've got the time and space to do it, but basically, the plan is to do as much writing and recording as we can fit in between touring.
Are there any plans to mix up the writing process for the next album?
We kind of said, preemptively, that we're going to have a rule that we try not to use any of the same sounds that we used on the first record. That's a big challenge, but I think it's an interesting, natural approach. But, it's also because we've been playing it live for so long now with trumpet, guitars and saxophones, that it would be stupid not to take advantage of that live band. I want it to be looser and less electronic, to get some of that live, human element onto the second record.
Until the Ribbon Breaks' album, A Lesson Unlearnt, is out now. Watch their track-by-track rundown exclusively below.
