Bio: Russell Cooze

Hi – my name is Russ, I was born in Swansea and I play the bass guitar. Why? Well, the bass looks cool, you don’t have to learn chords, and as a kid my favourite Beatle was Paul. Oh, and it’s the beating heart of this wonderful thing we call pop music.

Many years ago, when the world was young, Tim and I were in a band called – for some reason – Osaka. Fortunately, no tapes exist, though there are photos – and they’re scary enough. We fully intended to take the world by storm, but somehow we never got round to it.

As a member of the legendary Cardiff scene of the 1980s, I provided the low end for a number of fine but cruelly neglected bands – Inverted Commas, Fetish, Mesh, Second Step and the Ghost Federation.

The 1990s were my lost years, sadly not through reckless hedonism, but foolish notions of adult-type responsibility. But I got over it, and earlier this century I got together with my old sparring partner again. This led to the formation of Sun Machine, and the rest is history.

The artists who inspire me above all others continue to be the Beatles, Bob Dylan, Led Zeppelin, Joy Division and R.E.M., and, away from the rock and the roll, Charles Dickens and Arvo Pärt. They’re pretty good.