Jyoti Mishra began playing keyboards when he was 12. After some ventures into local band activity, Jyoti formed White Town in 1989 and released a debut single in 1990. The band then fragmented and Jyoti carried on with White Town as a solo act. A debut album Socialism, Sexism and Sexuality arrived in 1994. 1997 Brought White Town to a wider audience through the chart topping single Your Woman (which reached No. 1 in the UK).

  

Sum up White Town in three words

Sex Death Politics.

How did you first discover OMD?

I think it was through the telly, maybe the Oxford Road Show. I'm pretty sure they were on that or something similar. 'Messages' was the first song I loved by them.

Why did you choose Messages?

Well, apart from the above, I think it's one of the best pop songs ever written. There's a tendency to look down on synthpop but now there's some historical distance, I think people are acknowledging the 80s' songwriters.

Also, what a brilliant opening line. It just drags you in to the story, which turns into this almost film-noirish tale. Fits the melodic structure perfectly. And it's also got that trademark OMD touch: an insanely catchy verse melody linked with an instrumental chorus hook. Very difficult to do as well as OMD.

What other artists and music are you influenced by?

Ooh, from the early 80s, it'd be all the usual suspects - Numan, H.League, H17, Depeche Mode, Kraftwerk, Telex, Thomas Dolby, Yazoo, Soft Cell. Again, some of the best pop songs ever written came from those groups.

In the late 80s, I was still into independent music but now it had moved on to predominantly guitar bands. People like McCarthy, Wedding Present, Pixies, Sonic Youth, Fieldmice, Orchids, My Bloody Valentine.

That's when I also started listening to hip-hop, graduating to it from loving electro as a kid. Most of the new CDs I buy are hip-hop. My favourites recently have been Dead Prez, Dilated People, Memphis Bleek, Brand Nubian, Black Eyed Peas, Numskullz, Swollen Members. To me, it's just black electronic music. Samples and synths - that's what I like :-)

You must have been bowled over by the success of Your Woman. How has that success changed the way you work?

It's more that it's given me the tools to do madder things. I now have a hard-disk recording system that lets me manipulate sound in ways that are just not possible on a cassette multitracker.

Then again, with a broader palette, you can often get caught in indecision...

Do you have any other favourite OMD songs?

Oh god, where do I stop? How about
  • Souvenir - a superbly simple, amazingly catchy tune. It always makes me feel like crying, just that reverse-echo intro
  • Electricity - instant pogo synthpop. Why has this never been used in an electricity ad?
  • Almost - again, OMD can touch this melancholic nerve with such a sparse arrangement.
  • Red Frame/White Light - OMD shoutiness, great fun. It's like they're unable to be un-catchy, even on non-conventional songs
....and I'd better stop there....

What are your plans for White Town in the future?

I plan to organise a roughly anarcho-syndicalist organisation based on the classic cell structure. Gaining public support, we shall campaign for a base on Mars to be established with a view to terraforming the planet. Work on this will start around 2050 and by around 2340, the first non-domed Mars colonies will prosper.

Well, it makes a change from saying "I'm working on my next album", doesn't it? ;-)
For more details on White Town drop by the website at www.k1m.com/wt. More info on Jyoti's work can be found at the following websites: