Meg Lee Chin: A Taiwanese/ Irish American BITCH from  Pembroke, Massachusetts who lives in England.

Last Sigh: [Your new release] "Piece and love" is a killer, I've been playing it  out and getting  rapturous responses. Did it turn out the way you   expected?

Meg Lee Chin: "Piece and Love" is a physical manifestation of  what goes on in my head. As I'm a very twisted and  disturbed idealist, NOTHING that actually exists on  planet Earth is ever good enough for me! The  soundtrack to the movie going on in my head is always MUCH better. But as far as Earth stuff goes, hey  baby! It's pretty fucking cool!

Last Sigh: How was it working with Martin Atkins?

Meg Lee Chin:  Very Cool. Martin just treats me normal. He's one of the few people who  really looks at what you are and one of the few who  DOESN'T judge a book by  it's cover. That's why he's a good judge of character. Everyone else just   writes me off immediately cuz I look and probably come  across like a   cupie-doll.

Last Sigh:I've been calling it "Industrial dub-funk". How  would you describe the sound of your work?

Meg Lee Chin:  Beatbox Pop.

Last Sigh: Did you go into the recording of the album with any specific ideas of direction that you wanted to go in?

Meg Lee Chin:  I wanted it to be balanced. Music of the 90's is mostly polarized. Music fans seem to have split off into warring camps of music which is either mostly physical, intellectual, emotional or spiritual. I like my music to encompass it all! I prefer music to be a uniting force. I listen to EVERYTHING. I've got absolutely no loyalties to any one group. I don't  believe in being a "good" team player. Whole armies of "good" team players  kill each other. I'm not a pack animal.

Last Sigh: Tell us a good story about the recording sessions?

Meg Lee Chin: My drunk flatmate Mel asked if she could come in my room and hang out. I   said "Yeah, but don't be offended if I ignore you cuz  I'm working on this  track." She came in, sat on the bed and launched into a session of incessant  chattering. I didn't listen to a single word she said,  but she didn't seem  to mind or even notice. After awhile, the drone of her  voice became  intricately woven into the song. So without saying a  word, I started   fiddling about, getting a level on the microphone. Finally, I handed her the   headphones. She said "What? You don't want me to sing  do you?" And I said  "No, just say whatever it was you were telling me into  the microphone." The  next day, Mel overheard me editing the song and said   "but you're taking the words out of context!" I said "Yes, I know what you mean." Mel is a journalist!

Last Sigh: I must ask, was "Nutopia" a Meg song first or a Pigface song?

Meg Lee Chin: Nutopia is definitely a Meg song. Pigface is all about being spontaneous and this track was anything  but spontaneous. It was the first track ever recorded on my Atari Falcon. I was learning to use it and it crashed constantly. It was a nightmare to record, I had levels all over the place because I recorded all the different bits on different days. Each day I would turn on my computer and decide I hated it, but I knew there was something there, so I persisted. It took an embarassingly long time to record. (6months) I played it to everybody on my second Pigface tour and they all liked it. Martin asked if he could do some stuff on it, so I sent it to him as stereo tracks on dat tape. He gave it that Atkin sound, the original is more trip hoppy.

Last Sigh: Your lyrical content seems to be based on the comings and goings of life in general. Am I on the right track here?

Meg Lee Chin: Yeah. I like to observe. I'm an observer and a malcontent. But not because of anything external. I know fully well I live a relatively charmed life. Some people are starving. Others are being raped and murdered. The natural chemistry in my head is to blame for keeping me discontented!

Last Sigh: What intrigues you these days?

Meg Lee Chin: Genetic engineering and what that means for society. In the future will everybody be perfect? What about me? I've got BAD chemistry! My temperament is unstable! Am I not good enough for the race of the future? There's a software program which morphs faces and they've  discovered that the more faces you morph, the prettier the composite picture becomes. "Pretty" as in what the average human perceives as pleasing. So, the closer you are to average, the more people think you're gorgeous. Will everybody look the same? Will everyone act the same? Will the whole world look like LA? How frightening...

Last Sigh: What should we look for when you tour in 2000 behind the album?

Meg Lee Chin:  Look for my new pink hair!

Last Sigh: Tell us a wee bit about the beatbox soapbox tour.

Meg Lee Chin: It's gonna be a mini tourette (not the disease) with short 20 minute sets in record shops & stuff. I'm gonna be sneaking around absorbing the local atmosphere and taking notes. It's supposed to be about mine and Jared's performances, but really, I'm on my own secret mission to observe America a bit more closely. So really, it's a con. You thought you were coming to see me, but really, I'm coming to see you! And you better be good!

Last Sigh: Read any good books lately?

Meg Lee Chin: Premiere 5.1 for Macintosh and Windows (a fascinating read, it nearly brought me to tears!) Timequake- Kurt Vonnegut. The Language of the Genes- I forget the author.

Last Sigh: Is London really all it's cracked up to be?

Meg Lee Chin: Yes and no. NOTHING is all it's cracked up to be! But, London is cool. People here have a good down to earth sense of humour. I wish Americans would TRAVEL. The world would be a safer place.

Last Sigh:As part of Pigface you've worked with loads of different people. anyone out there that you'd love to work with but haven't had the chance?

Meg Lee Chin: Steven Spielberg, Kate Bush, Albert Einstein, Rick Rubin, Snoop Doggy, Jimmy Page, Beastie Boys, Brian Wilson, Jah Wobble, people with a sense of humour, Spike Lee, Ministry, Skatenigs, RATM, Jalal, Laurie Anderson, Diamanda Galas, Geordie, Metallica, Fugazi, Steve Martin, people that I meet in truckstops, Kurt Cobain, Britney Spears, Audioactive, people that come to my gigs, Adrian Sherwood, Lee Scratch Perry, Aerosmith, Eddie Murphy, Madonna,David Bowie, John Belushi, Smak Daddi, people I'm too shy to talk to, Dolly Parton, Stuart Copeland, Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis and millions more...

Last Sigh:Electronic music culture is everywhere. do you think the mainstream obsession with it is goig to last or will it peter out and go back underground?

Meg Lee Chin:  Beats the fuck out of me! I personally hate electronic music and only use machines because humans don't let me be in charge. If ever a bunch of musicians are willing to let a pink-haired, foul mouthed, 5'2" chickipoo,  bully them around, I will ditch the machines and  rejoin the human race.

Last Sigh: Drink of choice?

Meg Lee Chin: Pretend drinks with no alcohol and an umbrella.

Last Sigh: Does the past and the effects that it has had have an effect on the art that you create today?

Meg Lee Chin: YES! I am a helpless SLAVE to my past. I hang on to my emotional luggage like it was priceless designer gear. I really can't help it. All my friends tell me I should drop it and I've really tried, but you know what? I'm glad I'm not perfect. This vice of mine is a virtue in disguise. In producing a work like an album or a film, it helps to have a long emotional memory that sees me through to completion. Otherwise it's easy to lose sight of the original inspiration. So there is some hope for me in the genetic rat race! I'm perfectly flawed.

Last Sigh:What's next for you?

Meg Lee Chin:  My fifteen fuckin' minutes, please!

Last Sigh: Any last words?

Meg Lee Chin: I can't change the weather, and I can't stop the rain I can't change the world and I can't take the pain. I've answered all your questions and I'm probably full of shit, but it ain't my fault if I'm a hypocrite. It's just the BAD natural chemistry, inside my head!

Meg Lee Chin
BAD poet
Late 20th Century