Creative Insight

Tim Noakes is Deputy Editor of internationally renowned style and culture magazine Dazed & Confused. Brainer jumped on the 31 year-old to grill him for this month’s Creative Insight.

Age?
31

Where did you grow up?
I was born in Johannesburg. My parents moved to High Wycombe when I was a kid. Still haven’t forgiven them for that.

Where in London do you live?
Hackney Wick.

What makes you happy?
My wife.

Your main passions?
My wife. Awesome new music. Bad action films. Eating baby back ribs.

Is there anything else you do in your spare time?
Gossip Girl and True Blood (sssh).

Are there any special projects (outside of Dazed) you’re working on at the moment?
I edit SocialStereotype.com and appear on the radio quite a lot, mainly as a guest on John Kennedy’s X-Posure show (on XFM), but also occasionally on Radio 1. I’m just about to do a podcast for London Fields radio too, which should be a ton of fun. I also do freelance A&R scouting for Warners. On a freelance tip I just contributed some pictures to this cool new art photo book called Alaska, and also bought the web domain for SynthHero.com – it has to be the next logical step on from Guitar Hero and DJ Hero right? No? Crap. Keep your eyes peeled and your expectations low.

What did you study at university?
Communication & AV Production + a Fine Art minor in Photography.

Did you always know you wanted to be involved in journalism?
Nope, I originally wanted to be a photographer or a music producer. I never thought about being a writer/editor until I did a work placement at Dazed. I’m so thankful that journalism came into my life; I love writing and interviewing people who define and evolve modern pop culture. I still shoot photos but have kind of given up making beats. I’m selling an Akai MPC 5000 if you know anyone who wants to buy one…

Where were you working before Dazed?
After University I did some work experience with Ninja Tune and Big Dada. I was there first for about 3 weeks and then I went traveling through Mexico and California on my own and came back and ended up staying there for about 2 months, while also doing 3 days at Dazed. I lived with my parents as I was only getting paid in vinyl. It was the basic intern type stuff; sending out records, keeping the warehouse in order, annoying everyone with stupid questions, sending out post, making tea… but I met a lot of cool people down there in Kennington who I will always have a lot of time for and I really appreciate everything they did for me – especially getting a heater for the warehouse in the middle of winter! Having access to their pre-release records definitely helped when I was pitching story ideas to Dazed and other publications as it gave me an edge over everyone else.

Dazed is obviously a prestigious magazine – but very style/fashion-based. As a journalist with a predominantly music background, what drew you to the magazine?
Free records, free booze, supermodels and the chance to interview my heroes in weird places around the world.

How did the deputy editor position come about?
Many years of hard grafting and pulling together some major magazine exclusives. I think the publishers of Dazed saw someone who was (relatively) normal who could thrive in a surreal environment and was passionate about music and emerging forms of popular culture.

Describe a typical working day in the life of Tim Noakes, Deputy Editor.
I definitely have some amazing experiences, like going abroad to report on a story, but 90% of my job is probably not as exciting as it may appear! There’s a lot of reading/answering emails, listening to a lot of terrible CDs (and a handful of good ones), editing and proofing the magazine pages, changing page designs, commissioning upcoming issues, tweeting random brain farts, dealing with temperamental egos… but it’s all worth it when we get a new issue back and it looks amazing.

What do you love most about the job?
Free records, free booze, supermodels and the chance to interview my heroes in weird places around the world.

What do you hate most about the job?
I don’t really hate anything, but I have little time for people who stifle creativity and/or have bad attitudes.

You interview a ton of famous people on a regular basis. Do you have any good stories about a particular person you’ve interviewed? Who’s been your favourite interviewee?
Picking a favourite is impossible, but the worst interview I’ve done has to be Biz Markie. It was one of my first big overseas articles for Dazed and I was supposed to fly to Washington to go and visit Biz at his house in Baltimore and check out his crazy toy collection. I got there and he didn’t want anyone to go to his house, so we arranged to meet him at a nightclub. It was Russell Simmons birthday party and Biz was DJing and too busy sweating and gurning to talk to me, so his agent said if I got to New York the next day I could grab him before he played a show at the Apollo Theatre. So I got to Harlem and dude still didn’t want to talk. He ended up giving me 15 minutes backstage while having his photo taken. He didn’t say much, in fact he just grunted a lot. His cousin Cool V basically answered all the questions. Biz then went on stage and forgot all the words to “Just a Friend”. The security tried to destroy my tape as they thought I was bootlegging the show. They failed. I got the hell out of Harlem. It was a terrible interview but definitely a memorable assignment! If you want to read some of my other interviews there’s a lot of them on SocialStereotype.com.

I remember having to incessantly bug you to get some words into Dazed (sorry about that). If you could give any budding journalists out there any advice, what would it be?
Haha. Start a blog. Don’t rip people off, get your own style. Be passionate and knowledgeable about whatever you choose to write about. Never feel daunted by anyone you interview. Always speak your mind. Don’t spread yourself too thinly. Always hit deadlines.

The internet has not only wreaked havoc on the music industry; publishing has also taken a big hit. With a slew of print magazines folding, what do you think the future holds for physical magazines?
We’re all screwed. Run for the hills. Pack a BlackBerry.

A little preview on what’s to come from Dazed?
Six years after we dedicated a whole issue to South Africa, hopefully we’ll be revisiting the country in the summer to report on the cultural impact of the World Cup. Plus we’re doing a music issue in April. Awesome!

It’s the end of the year – what’s been your top album of the year and why (I had to ask!)?
Joe Goddard’s Harvest Festival. Why? IT BANGS HARDER THAN THE REST.

Words: Ian Hsieh

For more on Tim, check out Social Stereotype,his YouTube channel, and follow him on Twitter. Plus, kick back to this dope mix he put together hailing a decade of electronica.

Dazeddigital.com