[Tough Economic Times] With Mr. Scruff

Mr. Scruff is a DJ, music producer, tea salesman and cartoonist out of Manchester, England. Suffice to say, your mother is already more proud of him than she is of you. Though Scruff’s childlike cartoons mainly appear on his record artwork, posters and website (“I don’t really do cartoons to illustrate anything other than my music”), he was kind enough to send ION our very own cartoon, featuring recession-busting tips designed to save us from bankruptcy and ruin.

We recently spoke with this man of many talents from somewhere in England.

Could you describe your particular cartoon style for readers?
I haven’t got a clue, really. It’s just kind of like a five-year-old’s potato style. I suppose it’s just very simple with a lot of quite eccentric English humour. I suppose a combination of sort of Monty Python-type stuff and just a lot of crazy sort of kids’ animation that used to be on TV in the seventies — a lot of it was quite surreal so it’s obviously left quite a lasting and damaging effect on me.

When did you start drawing potatoes?
Probably in my early teens. They’ve looked exactly the same for the last 15, 16, 17 years. Once I hit a style it didn’t really change, which is quite nice because after so much time with the music and the DJing, it’s nice for the doodles to be a sort of stress-free experience.

So your cartoons haven’t developed over the years?
Very, very slowly … once you have kind of an outline of legs, arms, eyes and a mouth, you can’t really simplify it anymore.

Have you ever published your cartoons in a collection?
No. I’ve been asked, and I’m sure I’ll get around to it one day. But I think doing a book or something like that is kind of a serious undertaking. And if I’m having a headache doing, like, a one-page cartoon for a magazine, then I’m not sure I’m cut out for a full-length book … I’ll work myself up to maybe try a double-spread first and then see how I go.

Is the economy really as bad as everyone says over there?
Because I get the feeling that everyone still makes way more than us. I think a burger costs us three hours wages when we travel. Umm, I think it’s especially bad if you eat burgers, yeah. But I think with the recession stuff, we’re kind of six months behind North America … I think when it was really kind of going pretty bad in America, we were sort of like, “Oh, what’s the fuss?” But six months later it’s like, “Oh, okay. Now we get it.”

Has the tea industry been affected?
Not at all, actually … Tea is a stable part of the diet, as much as water is. So I think when people are having a hard time or finding things a bit tough, then you need those little creature comforts. Tea is definitely one of those.
Are you the only DJ that you know of with his own tea company, or is that a British thing we don’t really know about in Canada? Well, I think I’m the only DJ that sells tea at his club nights … I heard that Moby used to have a teashop in New York, so I think there’s two of us. But I think he set out with his girlfriend and they’ve split up now, so I don’t think that he’s involved with it anymore.

So the moral there is don’t let your girlfriend get involved in your tea company?
I reckon … well, my wife doesn’t even drink tea, so I’m safe there.

Your first recession-busting tip is to reuse tea bags. Don’t you think that sort of conservation could wind up hurting your business?
Umm … not really. I’d say if you took any of those tips seriously you could wind up in some kind of trouble anyway.

With the recession going on and everybody having less money, why should people buy your album?
Because hopefully you’ll still be listening to it in five years time, so, I think that’s a pretty good investment, I’d say … I don’t know … I’m not a very good salesman. Have a listen if you like. I think that should be for you to say, actually. That’s a journalist’s job, I think (laughing).

Mr. Scruff’s latest album, Ninja Tuna, is available on Ninja Tune. His website is www.mrscruff.com and tea company’s website is www.makeusabrew.com

Words: Steven Evans