“I wanted to dedicate a year to writing and recording, having fun and making a record I felt represented me now, without any other distractions”, says Tim Burgess when talking about his new solo album I Love The New Sky.
The legendary Charlatans frontman is in typically jovial mood when Daily Star Online calls him for a lockdown chat.
He has every right to be, too. It’s safe to say he’s as creative, energetic and enthusiastic as he’s ever been during his three decades long career.
And his fifth record, out today, is arguably his most poignant and life-affirming yet.
Sparked from a rush of enthusiasm during a year touring As I Was Now – an album he’d originally made in 2008 but released 10 years later – Burgess set out to make another and write songs “the very best I can make them”.
Finding success with The Charlatans in the early 1990s, the band achieved thirteen high-charting albums, before Burgess released his first solo album in 2003.
Previously he’d worked with Lambchop’s Kurt Wagner on 2012’s Oh No I Love You and teamed up with with long-time Arthur Russell collaborator Peter Gordon on Same Language, Different Worlds in 2016.
Now, for the first time in his career, all 12 tracks on I Love The New Sky are fully self-penned, rather than a collaborative effort.
“I always knew this was the time to do it alone”, he says.
Its result is arguably his most honest and personal to date as he explores themes of shared experiences, love and anger, loss and belonging, through a cacophony of breathtaking soundscapes and musical arrangements.
Penned in the limitless surroundings of the British countryside where the “nearest shop is eight miles away”, I Love The New Sky’s recording saw Burgess return to Rockfield studios in Monmouth, south Wales – a proposition he had “mixed feelings about”, he tells us.
It would be his first time back at the studios since The Charlatans recorded Tellin’ Stories – the same sessions during which keyboard player Rob Collins lost his life in a car crash.
But he was in search of a certain sound that could only be awoken there; none more exemplified in the rousing, spontaneous end section of Laurie – the album’s closing track – where 20 people join in for the vocal.
I Love The New Sky is a 12-track wonder full of hope in these uncertain times.
Burgess admits self-isolation has “not been without its challenges” but is grateful for spending time with his seven-year-old son in the Norfolk countryside.
He’s been a busy man, too. Not only is he releasing dropping a release, he’s championing and celebrating outstanding LPs released by others over the years with an nightly feature called Tim’s Twitter Listening Party.
It’s been one of lockdown’s standout features, encouraging fans to listen to albums from start to finish in a world where playlists and streaming platforms reign supreme.
But its USP is encouraging the artists and bands behind them to jump on Twitter and give a rare, unguarded insight into how the records were made.
It’s attracted a wealth of legendary figures to take part, with Paul “Bonehead” Arthurs giving particularly emotional recollections of Oasis’ Definitely Maybe, (What’s The Story) Morning Glory and Be Here Now.
Rising acts like Fontaines D.C. and Sleaford Mods have too been handed the platform while Burgess himself has opened up on The Charlatans’ and his own back catalogues.
Daily Star Online caught up with Tim as he strolled the Norfolk countryside to find out how I Love The New Sky was made, how he’s coping in lockdown, the success of his Twitter listening parties and how the music industry will recover in a post-pandemic world.
I Love The New Sky is Burgess’ fifth solo record and first entirely self-penned
Hi Tim. Firstly, how are you keeping in lockdown?
“Compared to what other people are having to go through I’m absolutely fine. It’s not been without its moments but I’m sure everybody will congregate together and talk about things they’ve been through when it’s all relative.
“I’ve had to time to spend with my little boy. The homeschooling thing is a challenge and he’s only seven. At least there’s a lot of nature around where we are.”
You’re about to release your fifth album I Love The New Sky. It was also the first there all tracks have been self penned. Was that a process you thrived on?
“It was. I always knew this was the time to do it alone. I say alone as in the writing, not the recording, I couldn’t do that alone. The musicians that played on the album, I couldn’t do it without them.
“In the past I had produced solo records in between Charlatans albums and when there were no plans for the Charlatans. I wanted to dedicate a year to writing and recording and having fun and making a record I felt represented me now, without any other distractions.”
You were listening to a lot of artists when writing the album, like Isaac Hayes, Carole King, Todd Rundgren and Weyes Blood. It’s an eclectic mix. Do you think it’s added to the varied feel of the album?
“There are artists that will always be part of my DNA but I have always had a really healthy interest in what’s happening with modern and present artists.
“Weyes Blood, Julia Holter, those two artists in particular have made records I have really enjoyed over the past few years among other amazing artists.
“It’s kind of a modern way of writing classic tracks we’re all familiar with. A modern take on classic songwriting.
“There’s so much more to be said in the form of a song. People think you’ve got to be able to deconstruct the song, throw the song away and find a new way of writing completely. I think there’s more to explore in the classic form of songwriting.”
It’s funny you should say that because I definitely feel there is a classic feel to the album through it.
“Fantastic! It’s getting everything in alignment. Future, past, present, original, classic, all in the same spot.”
It was written in Norfolk. How did its seclusion help aide the writing process? Do you think you prefer country life to city life when it comes to creativity?
“I always think of the city when I’m in the country, and when I was living in Los Angeles I always thought of the UK!
“It’s kind of like wherever I am I think of somewhere else. That’s not because I don’t feel settled. I do have a wondering creative mind. When it’s freezing cold and the heating doesn’t work, I think about Los Angeles. When I was in Los Angeles I used to crave for the British music scene.”
A lot of the songs are written from a personal perspective, whether it’s looking back on memories, times during your travels or just everyday situations. How do you take the experiences you’ve had and turn them into a lyrical format?
“I have to go with the organic way of writing. My style is that I go to the acoustic guitar and sit in the same spot as I did the day before and find some chords, shapes and things that I like that fit my mood at that time. I do a few things until I like it.
“With those moves on the guitar a melody forms and maybe one word. I have notes in my phone that I refer back to and think ‘oh, that sounds like that’ and ‘maybe that should go on that’. I don’t rush it. While you’re in the studio you might have an idea that absolutely nails the song. Like the doubling of a chorus.
“The intro to Empathy for the Devil was the last thing I did. Everybody said it sounds like Boys Don’t Cry. I did it because it sounded like Boys Don’t Cry and I didn’t realise until that moment.
“These things happen at the end and it’s good to stay open. I think when bands are put under pressure and you’ve got to do something in six weeks, that’s a pressure already. So in six weeks you can do it but if you keep working hard. It probably feels like an under pressure kind of record. You’re just trying to do your best and not letting things breath.”
The recording saw you return to Rockfield. What was that experience like? It sounds as if it produced quite a magical moment in the song Laurie.
“Well, Laurie is a very special song. Rockfield is a very special place.
“I had mixed feelings. When I went there I saw Kingsley (Ward), who owns Rockfield, and within five minutes we spoke about the death of Rob Collins. He died at the bottom of the gate. Kingsley was the first person to alert the ambulance. We discussed all that.
“We didn’t want to go back to Rockfield after that. We finished the album at Monnow Valley and we spent five years in that part of the world. We felt that was the end of that chapter. When I was doing Modern Nature and Different Days with The Charlatans, I asked the band if I could record my vocals at Rockfield because it has this really special sound.
“It was a sound I was looking for. I knew it was quite expensive to go to Rockfield so I rehearsed and rehearsed and rehearsed and spent the shortest amount of time there possible. We worked hard rehearsing before going into the studio.”
The song I Got This has the line “the future is friendly”. Is that a motto you live by and is it something we can all take during these uncertain times?
“I hope so on both counts. I hope the future is friendly. People seem to consider the album a very positive album and it kind of is.
“The whole album, including the title I Love the New Sky, is about a brighter tomorrow.
“There’s been uncertainty in this country for a quite a long time. It was written with that perspective and now something else hit the world, it’s resonating with that perspective. Hopefully the future is bright and I think during this time you can work out who your friends are.”
Is there a stand out song on the album you’re particularly proud of?
“I love all of it. I Got This was the first song I heard mixed and it set the tone for the shape of the album. It was the last song recorded. I kept holding it back. It felt like I had the album finished with that song.
“Laurie is just a magic song and so is The Mall. Shopping malls are where everyone used to congregate and I found an empty one, it was almost like meant to be!”
On I Love The New Sky, Burgess said: “The whole album is about a brighter tomorrow”
In my eyes, you’ve been the icon of lockdown in terms of what you’ve achieved with your Twitter listening parties. Have there been any stand out moments for you during the sessions so far? I’ve really enjoyed the Oasis ones with Bonehead, and The Cribs and the Libertines have been eye opening as well.
“The amazing thing is people who have been involved have really embraced it and that’s all you can ask for. it doesn’t matter whether it’s the music you particularly go to everyday, everyone is important as each other. That’s the point of doing it. It’s whoever wants to do it.
“When Dave Rowntree (of Blur) got involved and he had all this memorabilia from Parklife laminated. Graham Coxon and Stephen Street joined in and that set the bar higher.
“When Wendy Smith from Prefab Sprout did it, it had everyone feeling emotional.
“Stephen (Morris) and Gillian (Gilbert) (from New Order) doing Low-life. They did Power, Corruption and Lies first, I didn’t think that could be bettered but Low-Life bettered it.
“The Libertines got on board and treated it as they do on record and live. There was no difference. There were squabbles and four different individuals tweeting at the same time. It was amazing. Bonehead, the emotional stuff to that. Talking about Liam’s vocals. It was gorgeous. I don’t want to leave anybody out. Everybody has added so much to the whole thing.”
It’s an amazing outlook into the making of these records with people you’d might not meet for many of us.
“It’s an outburst and statement because it has to be the size of a tweet. Their guard is down a little bit and no-one is really judging. If they did this around the time of the release of the album, they would be a bit more guarded.
“Time has passed and it’s not like they’re celebrating the rerelease 20 years later, it’s more like five years ago.
“You can smell the engine oil. You close your eyes and listen to the record.
“Everybody has been saying how much they enjoy listening to the album in its entirety. Even tracks that aren’t the singles. That’s been a real game changer for lots of people who are used to playlists. It’s an amazing thing.
“People might not have had time to listen to an album in its entirety but now all we’ve really had is time. There’s no excuse now!”
You’ve also been inundated with positive feedback from fans and peers alike, what does that mean to you?
“It’s fantastic. Another band that really lit everything up was Foals. They put so much into it too. Their records are big, their live performances are big. It’s larger than life. It feels like there’s a real genuine love towards the listening party.
“I have always had a good relationship with people backstage at festivals and I don’t know if it will be any different but we’re finding out that the music community is a friendly one.”
Was there a revelation that astounded you?
“There is, actually. It was Mansun’s Wide Open Space.
“For a lot of people Mansun’s big song was Wide Open Space. Paul Draper said he had the melody for that song. He was watching Match of the Day and John Motson said ‘this player’s now in a wide open space’, and that’s how the song title came about.
“John Motson was interviewed about it later on! These bits of information are travelling far and getting back to people. John Motson may not have known the influence he had on a big hit, and now he does. That’s an amazing thing. Why not let John Motson know? The same band spoke each other for the first time in 15 years, so that was another amazing thing.”
You’ve played a major part in how we consume music in novel and fresh ways during lockdown. What do you foresee the music industry landscape to look like when this pandemic eases? What sort of music do you think we will be listening to and how do you think the industry can revive itself again?
“Musicians are pretty resilient and the music industry has had to fight to keep things working. Bandcamp did something amazing for artists very early on. They took away their 10% and allowed all the artists to have that, which was an amazing gesture and has turned them into superheroes.
“Concerts and small venues. There’s a organisation called Indecent Venue Week which has been working tirelessly to save small venues. People will really have to look at that because some of the venues might not be able to reopen. It’s a real worry.
“Record shops have had such a tough time over the past decade at least. Mail order has been the saving grace for a lot of them.
“People are very resilient, musicians are. A lot of musicians spend a lot of time in isolation anyway. They will be able to find inspiration in times like these. I’ve not written anything.”
You’ve got an album coming out!
“Oh yeah, I can be forgiven.”
Your parties include both classics and albums by new artists. How important is it for you that both spectrums are covered? Are there any new bands and artists impressing you right now? One of my stand out moments was Fontaines D.C.’s Dogrel and getting an insight into its production with Dan Carey.
“I love Fontaines D.C. They embraced the listening party. They represent the future of bands going forward.
“It’s bands like that, if you’re talking about the future of the music industry, are the ones we have to protect.
“Anyone coming in after Fontaines D.C., like a band that wants to have music as their job, then I think that’s where people like Bandcamp come in and can hopefully help make that more foreseeable.”
Personally I think it’s a really exciting time for music in this country.
“I do too. I think the listening parties have proved there is an amazing musical spirit. It’s also encouraging the people are listening to albums.”
Not only do you listen to other artists, you delve into The Charlatans’ and your own back catalogue. Does it bring back a lot of memories and awake some you may have forgotten?
“That’s how it started. It’s not a bigging myself up kind of thing! Why not? I’ve got a lot of records and memorabilia (laughs).
“I forgot we headlined Reading! It’s a big one to forget.
“My memories with the band are like a closed treasure chest. If I open it up and pick something out, every song is like a piece of treasure and opens up a thousand memories. Especially when we feel like we’re in a perpetual ‘everyday’s the same’. Memories are really important at a time like this and the Charlatans are my treasure chest.”
You have lots of big albums coming up, like Original Pirate Material by The Streets, Oh, Inverted World by The Shins and Granddaddy’s Software Slump. Are there any you’re really looking forward to out of that list and is there a dream album you’d love to have on?
“It was a dream having Kevin Godley from 10cc. It would be a dream to have Peter Gabriel, it would be a dream to have Carole King, Kate Bush, Debbie Harry and Chris Stein. And Quell Chris and Jean Grae, they made a remarkable hip-hop record from a couple of years ago. We have been in touch and emails have been sent back and forth but we haven’t got a date yet.
“These dreams don’t really matter in a lot of ways because they’re all about the people who want to do it. Hopefully this article can make these people aware that I would love them to do it but I’m sure they would know that anyway. It’s all about how people want to get involved and want to do it.
“I’m really looking forward to Simon Le Bon doing Rio. Original Pirate Material blew the roof off with the announcement. Dexys Midnight Runners…Kevin Rowland is going to do three albums. I didn’t think I’d be able to get one!”
Burgess’ Tim’s Twitter Listening Parties have been a huge success during lockdown
You’ve provided an outlet for people to feel connected in isolation, do you think this is something that can continue when things go back to normal? And I know this sounds cliche, but do you think it proves that although we’re apart, music brings us together?
“It absolutely does. I don’t care about it sounding cliched. That’s not what it’s about. It’s about people getting comfort and enjoyment out of this. I think the egg has just hatched.
“I’m all for streaming platforms. I love them. I think they’re fantastic. I think it’s another discussion that they could be made fairer for artists. Hopefully someone someday will make that happen.
“As far as having a record and holding it, that’s the connectivity I think. I know a lot of people who stream an album and think I can’t get enough of this and go and buy it. It’s about the music and the way someone can connect with that music. If you can connect to it via a download or streaming, you can connect to the world there. But for me, I was brought up on albums but I listen to both. I’m pretty flexible.
“iPods are probably more vintage than vinyl. That’s my go to thing if I travel. Maybe we won’t have to travel anymore. Maybe that’s what we’ll get from all this.”
The album is out this week. What are you hopeful for the year ahead?
“My hopes are that I can meet my friends in a coffee shop and at least give them an elbow touch, if not a hug. I love Zoom now. I didn’t know about it until a couple of months ago.
“I love the idea of people getting together and that’s an amazing thing. That’s been taken away from us and I hope we really value that when it gets back to the new normal.
“It’ll never be the same again but let’s be decent to one another and know who our friends are. People can make the most amazing things happen.”
Tim Burgess’ I Love The New Sky is out now via Bella Union
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
