Robotnik, musicianHis laptop-pop is a charm and his live show is a literal blast, writes Eoin Butler
Is it hard to make a living as a musician with no manager or record label?If you want to be creative, if you want to do what you want to do - it's very easy. I don't smoke, I don't drink much and I'm not a big spender. At the end of the day, music is a business and I understand why labels would want to dictate things for artists. But for me, this time around, I had 100 per cent freedom.
You started off as a sort of traditional singer-songwriter.Yeah, I started off in a band called The Wesleys. When that fell apart, I was living in Dublin city and I had a guitar, so I naturally drifted into that scene. But eventually I decided that just wasn't the type of music I was into. So I got a laptop and got into electronics and Cubase, stuff like that.
Where did the name Robotnik come from?It's a Polish word. It means worker. I used to work in a fruit and veg market with a lot of Polish women who didn't speak English. They used to address me as Mr Robotnik. I liked what it represented, a sort of hardworking vibe, so the name stuck.
As a self-confessed nerd, you must be excited about Barack Obama.Why, because he's into his Blackberry and stuff? Apparently he collects comic books. Websites have been hailing him as the first nerd president. Ha ha . . . Our day has finally come! I followed the American campaign the whole way through and, man, poor Ralph Nader. Nobody knew he was even running. But that was so much fun when Obama was elected, a really great night.
Can you think of any reason why your recent performance in the Button Factory in Dublin might stand out in my mind?Oh God, you weren't one of the people that I soaked, were you? See I'm a big fan of Devo and the Flaming Lips. I'm interested in anything that crosses the boundary between audience and performer. There's a good 40-second gap in the song Puddlestarter where I'm doing nothing. So I went out one day and bought the biggest Super Soaker I could find.
Have audiences ever reacted badly to being soaked by a massive water gun?Absolutely, I've had full pints thrown at me. Not just the contents of the glass, but the actual glass itself. But it's good fun. I prefer a full-on show.
How did the 'Pat the Baker' single come about?Well, a competition was announced where bands were asked to record a new version of the Pat the Baker jingle. The prize was €10,000. So myself and a mate decided to do something. We took a few samples from the original, but what we came up with is essentially our own tune.
How does it go?"I'm Pat / Pat the Baker / So fresh / So fresh it's famous . . ." Then it goes all sort of like: "Ah'll wake you up in the mornin' / I'll wake you up-up-up . . . I'm someone I'm some to belieeeeeve in . . ." It needs the beats to do it justice.
• Robotnik's Pat The Bakersingle is released on December 12th. See www.myspace.com/robotnikmusic