Under his Until the Ribbon Breaks moniker, Brooklyn-via-Wales’ Peter Lawrie Winfield crafts woozy, nocturnal electronica with one foot planted firmly in the world of the cinema. Whether he’s bringing to life futuristic soundscapes imbued with robotic soul (‘2025‘) or more directly referencing his love of film (‘Romeo‘), it’s Winfield’s sense of drama, romance and attention to detail that really brings to life his work as Until the Ribbon Breaks.
Evidently, we’re not the only ones who think so either with his recently released A Taste of Silver EP racking up monumental Soundcloud plays and his re-imaginations of Lorde‘s ‘Royals‘ and The Weeknd‘s ‘Wicked Games‘ faring equally well. We caught up with Winfield to find out about the ways in which his love of the moving image has fed into his musical output, the inspiration he’s drawing from his newly stateside life and his rich musical background which runs the gamut from free-form jazz to comedy rap.
But first, here’s A Taste of Silver’s ’2025′ (you can check out the EP in full here):
PlanetNotion: First off, if you could just introduce yourself and tell us a little about your work as Until the Ribbon Breaks…
Until the Ribbon Breaks: Hello! My name is Peter Lawrie Winfield. I am Welsh, but now reside in Brooklyn, New York. I started Until the Ribbon Breaks with the intention of incorporating the two things I am most passionate about – music and film – into one project, one creative vision. I compose the music and write the songs whist projecting silent footage onto the studio wall. Once the music is complete, I re-cut the visuals to the sound.
PN: What was it that inspired you to move to Brooklyn? And, how are you finding life out there compared to Britain?
UTRB: Brooklyn and New York is the birthplace of so much art, music, film and culture that I grew up adoring. From the Rawkus Records heyday in the late 90s to Biggie and Jay-Z, to countless Spike Lee and Scorsese movies, New York has always seemed larger than life to me. ‘Don’t meet your heroes’, does not apply to this city. It has lived up to all of my expectations.
PN: Would you say that New York has had much of a direct impact on your sound as UTRB? If so, how?
UTRB: It is impossible not to draw inspiration from what is around you. I would say that my latest work and the music I am working on currently is a little grittier and has more of an edge.
PN: It feels as though you’ve emerged with a sound that feels fully formed already. Before Until the Ribbon Breaks, were you involved in any other musical projects?
UTRB: I have always been involved in music in many forms. My first ‘band’, was an after-school group called Jazz News. I played the trumpet. It was an amazing introduction to composition through the use of improvisation and free-form. Until then I had thought that composition was rigid and had to involve paper. I have played piano in an Americana band, scratch DJ’ed in a drum and bass troupe and have produced an entire comedy rap album under the name Godface. I think it is safe to say that UTRB is the first work I am truly comfortable with sharing.
PN: A comedy rap album! What gave you the impetus to do that? Can you tell us a little more about it?
UTRB: I’m afraid I cannot, as it must stay in a time capsule buried deep below the ground. It is not for the world.
PN: We know you’re a very cinematically-minded person, so, for you, what makes a great film? What do you look for in a movie?
UTRB: Because of its connection to sound and feeling, the cinematography is what attracts me to a film. The framing, the movement of the camera, the lighting. Narrative comes second for me. I am attracted to visual escapism and the world there is potential to create.
PN: And, how do you apply that to the tracks and videos that you make?
UTRB: I try to let the music determine the visuals that I use or vice-versa, depending on the process for each individual work. Some songs are directly influenced by what I am watching. ‘Romeo’, for instance, is a song of mine that directly references the footage that was playing in the studio, both lyrically and thematically. Other tracks are finished first and then I research footage that most suits the feel of the music, like with the Lorde re-imagination for instance. It is never the narrative that attracts me, I don’t always look to reference the lyric in the film. It is much more about a feeling, the lighting, the way in which the mediums compliment each other.
PN: Speaking of your Lorde re-imagination… From a musical basis, when you’re deciding on whether you’d like to rework someone else’s track, what qualities do you look for?
UTRB: I only ever take the vocal stem. For me, it is simply whether I feel I can give the words and performance an entirely new frame or emotion.
PN: You’ve just got back from what must have been a great tour with Lorde too. What’s your best memory of life on the road in the US?
UTRB: It was a dream fulfilled and one of the best experiences of my life to date. I love to travel and what better place to daydream than across America; some of the most incredible landscapes and a culture that has been drip-fed to me through cinema since I was a child. I think the highlight was playing a show in Toronto and then driving 15 hours through torrential rain to New York to instantly board a flight to San Jose, all in a day. Although that may not sound like much fun, to me that is the kind of adventure I live for.
PN: We’re itching to hear details about your forthcoming debut album. What can you tell us at this moment in time?
UTRB: That I thought I had finished it and then my life took some strange, unexpected turns and I feel as though I need to return to the studio for the winter months, hopefully to put the icing on a cake that has been in the making for a while.
PN: On a final note, which three artists are you tipping for big things next year and why?
UTRB: I love FKA twigs; incredibly powerful combination of sound and picture and an originality and fearlessness that is all too rare. The prospect of Run the Jewels second record excites me. I thought the first was the rap record of the year and not because I featured on it! I am excited to hear what Kendrick does next. Somebody needs to say something new in rap and I feel he could be the man for the job.
- Alex Cull
For more information on Until the Ribbon Breaks and to grab a copy of the Taste of Silver EP, visit his website.
