It’s time for new songs, don’t you think? Well, I do. The whole band is getting involved in the songwriting process this time around, and the ideas coming out – even in the initial stages – already have me quite excited.
Incidentally, the songwriting process is set to take on all sorts of imaginative conundrums in the next few months. Our keyboardist lives in Cape Town, while the rest of us live in the Burrah. With babies. How do we write songs? Well, we’re trying it out over the internet. We’ll let you know how that goes…
… while we figure out the collective online process, I’m going on the premise that creativity keeps no parameters or office hours… so when you’re trying to settle crying babies, or cleaning up some ungodly mess in the early hours, it’s important to remember inspiration can happen at any moment – and so we must be armed.
As Bob Dylan so succinctly put it: “hang around a ink well”.
As a theme, Tammy and I were talking about hope the other day. No matter where in the world we find ourselves, people are looking further and beyond what they know in the hope of something more, something greater. I find my thought process defaulting towards hope as major theme every time I’m mindful of individuals, circles of friends, a city… so I expect this to be something underpinning most of the themes in the new album.
Musically I’m interested to hear what unfolds. I’m not afraid of where the music is going to take us, as I think a new season is imminent and a new vibe is necessary. Things have evolved amongst us. We all play in various different other projects and those things influence us when we come together. Jon has been coming up with more jazz and moodful riffs, while Rudi has been honing his old rock instincts in another project. Tam has had Adele on rotation constantly at home, and Berto’s been performing with a range of overseas and local artists. And I am getting familiar with my new purchase.
It’s a PRS 245 SE, courtesy of Mr Kenn Gibson, our friend in the Cape. I’ve performed with it on two occasions through a Mesa Boogie amp, and I have only good things to say about it.
On a separate note, we’re releasing some exclusive merchandise. We have limited-edition T-shirts, exclusive to our fans and friends in the UK! We’ll have more info on this coming soon. South Africans, just hang in there – we’ve got something cool for ya’ll coming later this year.
Lots to look forward to… sign up to our e-mail newsletter (on the right hand side) to keep in touch.
