Gareth Dickson (solo, Vashti Bunyan)
SPB: Is it unusual to be considered a "cult" artist or almost semi-legendary while still recording music? What kind of pressures does that produce?
Dickson: Ha, nice question, I had to check that it was actually intended for me. I never think of myself in that way, I always feel like I'm still struggling to make any real impact. But I know that there are now people out there who listen to and get what I do and I'm grateful for that. In a way that could add an extra pressure, knowing that now when I'm writing and recording there are people who will listen to it and will have certain expectations based on the last record or whatever. In truth, though, I have always had listeners in mind to a degree when recording. I have never worried whether or not my music would find listeners straight away but I do write with the idea that over time people will listen to it.
So the pressure has always been there in a way. I've been lucky that I haven't had the additional pressure from record labels and constant touring the way a lot of artists do when they have early success, so I've been able to develop completely in my own way rather than feeling like I have to emulate what made me successful in the first place.
In the end though, there are always obstacles to overcome when trying to write music. It can be a difficult thing to do, and it's always tempting to say "I can't write because." That's something that I think most artists would relate to.
