The pick ’n’ mix monarch goes back to his roots.

The King Of Woolworths is Jon Brooks, a man inspired by the soundtracks of 60s and 70s film and television like Get Carter, The Sweeney and the music of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop. “It was always my dream to work for them,” he says. “Just that kind of experimentation. I like that attitude where anything went. You could use guitar or trumpet but the way you treated it was something else, and they created some really amazing sounds.”

L’Illustration Musicale is his second album, the follow up to 2001’s sampledelic soundtrack Ming Star. “Ming Star was me and a load of samples, whereas there are no samples on this album, it’s just a load of loops and stuff.” The new LP also features Jon’s first work with vocalists, including tracks with Dot Allison who has previously added vocal flushes to Death In Vegas and Emma Pollack from indie rockers The Delgados. She features on Nuada, 60s sugary pop soul inspired by the film The Wicker Man. “It was a very different thing to do for Emma, but I kind of had an idea it might work.”

Throughout the album, the Roy Budd-influenced instrumentals are cut up with Scott Walker-tinged pop. “I love pop music as well, especially 60s and 70s pop, and I wanted to get an essence of that,” he says. “I didn’t want to do the same thing again. I didn’t want the album to sound like the last one.”

Jon also dabbles in remixes, reworking tracks by credible pop acts like Ladytron and St Etienne. “I work out the parts that I like and ruthlessly discard the rest of it, then I focus on the good bits. It’s like French polishing a table – you try and bring out the beauty of something and add your own slant.”

His own music (single, Bakerloo) has been featured on an Orange advert and his tracks are creeping onto television. “I’ve noticed the BBC seem really into my stuff. It gets all over the place like Newsnight and Alan Titchmarsh’s gardening programme. My wife will be sitting there watching telly and suddenly go, ‘There’s your tune!’ And I’m like, ‘Bloody hell!’” L’Illustration Musicale could be Jon’s route to his dream job. Matt Walton 14 March 03

L'illustration Musicale on Mantra Recordings, released 17 March 03.

useful link: www.mantrarecordings.com