Matters

Disclaimer: My journey with this band does not extend back to their humble beginnings, but when I reported on their first three albums, catching them live in 2018 fundamentally changed my life. The Lumineers remain trailblazers, be that now or 17 years ago when they first arrived.

I dodged dodgy Wi-Fi and multiple repeat calls to capture this 30-minute session with co-founder, songwriter, and all-around lovely human Wesley Schultz. If you are a fan, please endure; what he delivers is fundamental to understanding his journey here. It’s a beautiful thing, but you decide, right?

Thank you, @roshika and @sam at Universal Music, for your committed investment. I love you guys.

In 2006 I had the privilege of sitting with the late great Chris Cornell in Cape Town at the height of Audioslave’s global modern rock domination. What I was not able to do, however, was capture a voice recording, I was a print journalist at the time, after all, and the record label scoffed at my request. 😉

Rewind four years earlier, November 2002, the month Audioslave released their seminal self-titled debut album. The phone rang, and their label offered me an interview with Chris, the caveat being it had to be in person in Los Angeles. What to do? Call a friend, which I did, the founding member of The Outsiders, Drikkie Botha, who just so happened to live in California. I told him of the golden opportunity, and he graciously recommended fellow musician and scribe Sander Verlaan. He agreed and recorded the interview, sharing it with me for publication in South Africa. I wrote up his interview and published it for the long-defunct Pulse magazine for Musica.

Then, life happened, and the voice recording he did was lost, saved on some stiffy or CDROM, not retrievable by me. What to do? Call a friend, which I did once again. Drikkie again delivered, connecting me to Sander some 20 years later.

Here’s his reply to my recent Messager request: “Drikkie has told me about you over the years. I have a recording from the Chris Cornell interview I did in your place for the first Audioslave record. Drikkie told me about your podcast, and I immediately said I had an interview I did for you. I know I was a bit of a fanboy interviewing him but let me know if you want the file, and I will be more than happy to look for it.”

Sander was a massive fan of Chris’ work and set off to meet with him at Sony Music’s LA offices in late 2002. Here’s some context from Sander to what you’re about to hear.

“Disclaimer: I was a bit of a fanboy of CC, ha-ha!” wrote Sander. “I was the first one of the day to interview him, super nervous and had arrived in Santa Monica early, having missed the listening session the night before. That said, the Sony contact at the time was a fellow Dutch guy, and because we met early, he drove me to the Sony office and put me in a fancy listening room so I could listen to the record before meeting Chris. They know how to pack you in with a high-quality system like that, so I remember walking into this room feeling impressed with the record, ha-ha! Anyway, some background info.”

Thank you, Drikkie Botha, as always. Sander, you are a gentleman and a man of many talents. Thank you for taking the time to help me resurrect this critical piece of legacy footage – much love and respect to you both.

It may have taken more than 42 years to get Mike Scott and his motley crew of genius talent to our shores. Still, thanks to Breakout Events, The Waterboys will finally be setting sail to play live at Kirstenbosch National Botanical Gardens on Friday, 25 November, and in Johannesburg at Casalinga on Sunday, 27 November.

If you happened upon the British-Irish indie folk rock back in the early to mid- 1980s, you’re probably old enough to have heard them on the then Radio 5, courtesy of the DJ who championed their genius, one Chris Prior – the self-proclaimed ‘Rock Professor’.

How he first stumbled upon their unique blend of Celtic, gospel and country music remains a mystery to this writer. Still, South African fans were no less grateful for his single-handed obsession to have their music heard. Their This is the Sea; A Pagan Place and Fisherman’s Blues albums sold out upon release and continue to sell to this very day.

Over the years, seminal tracks, the likes of “The Whole of The Moon” and “How Long Will I Love You”, have found their way onto TV shows the likes of Ray Donovan and The Affair, while the late-great Prince, U2, War On Drugs and Ellie Goulding have performed their music live too.

In 2020, the music that Mike Scott (vocals, guitar, piano), Steve Wickham (electric fiddle), Memphis keyboard great “Brother” Paul Brown, British ace drummer Ralph Salmins and funky Irish bass player Aongus Ralston performed around the world, continues to resonate with audiences right across the globe.

While fluffing and folding his live performance wardrobe, lead singer Mike Scott reveals a little of what four generations of fans can look forward to when the collective finally hits African terra firma.

You’ve been making beautiful music since 1983 and have performed everywhere except South Africa. What took you so long?

“It’s something we’ve always wondered about. We almost came several years ago, but it’s expensive when you want the musicians to get paid well. We do things properly, with a good crew, and now we’re able to do that, so we’re happily on our way now.”

It’s coming up 42 years since The Waterboys first formed, and you’re the one constant in the band throughout that time. What, in your mind, do you think it is that has carried these songs for as long as they have?

“[Laughing] I don’t carry our entire work with me. I want to have a great time when we get up on stage and play songs that get my rocks off, as it were. Our sets in South Africa will be rather special, if only because we have never performed live there. So, the classics will certainly be in there, as will be a few rare treats.”

To what do you owe your longevity and relevance?

“Most likely due to many players that have come through The Waterboys over the years. Each permutation and combination had me working hard to explore all the possible surprising changes and keep it fresh. Each new player that has come in, you feed off them, and they feed off of you. The chemistry remains quite electric.”

So, what can South Africa expect from The Waterboys’ sets?

“Well, I like to improvise, but it will be a magical mix of old and new, of that fans can rest assured. Playing to new audiences is always exciting, so we’ll bring our A game. If only because it’s long overdue.”

No, I did not interview Madonna. I did interview William Orbit, but that’s another story for another day.   

Instead, this is another of those promotional CDs journalists, the likes of me were generously sampled back in the day to help promote albums during a different time in music PR.   In this case, it was 1998, and Warner Music was sitting on gold. 

This interview was shared with me to write up an article, which I recall I did at the time, but I believe, 24 years later, Madonna’s voice needs to be heard, not only read about, if only because it’s a piece of pop history. Here’s hoping the algorithm agrees.   

This is another two-parter; and in this second segment you'll hear mastermind William Orbit unpack his journey in realizing a piece of history until now, confined to a promo-only CD.  ® 1998 Warner Bros Records Inc.

No, I did not interview Madonna. I did interview William Orbit, but that’s another story for another day.

Instead, this is another of those promotional CDs journalists, the likes of me were generously sampled back in the day to help promote albums during a different time in music PR.

In this case, it was 1998, and Warner Music was sitting on gold. This interview was shared with me to write up an article, which I recall I did at the time, but I believe, 24 years later, Madonna’s voice needs to be heard, not only read about, if only because it’s a piece of pop history. Here’s hoping the algorithm agrees.

This is another two-parter; next week, you’ll hear mastermind William Orbit unpack his journey in realizing a piece of history until now, confined to a promo-only CD.

Madonna, Ray of Light, Warner Music, William Orbit, Maverick, Bedtime Stories, Warner Bros, Words + Music

Welcome back to the story behind Marc Marot, ex-Island Records Managing Director and today an artist in his own right.   

This is the second part of a two part interview that unpacks a journey that saw him promoted to the youngest Managing Director of a major record label at 29.   

Amongst the artists signed and developed by his team while at Island Records were Pulp, PJ Harvey, The Stereo MCs, P.M. Dawn, The Cranberries, Elbow, Chaka Demus and Pliers, NWA, The Orb, Ice Cube, Talvin Singh, Tricky and Nine Inch Nails.  

Marc also guided U2’s career throughout the 1990s, from the release of Achtung Baby to just before the release of All you Can’t Leave Behind, selling close to 60 million albums in the process.   To date, acts discovered or managed by him have notched up 38 Top Ten singles, including 18 Number One singles in the UK charts alone.  

In one form or another, Marc has been responsible for more than 100,000,000 album sales, including his ten years of direct international responsibility for U2’s marketing and sales. Listen, learn, and most importantly, enjoy 😊   

@ISLAND RECORDS   @Island Records UK   @U2   @Nine Inch Nails   @Jarvis Cocker   @elbow   @Guy Garvey

Meet Marc Marot, ex-Island Records Managing Director and today an artist in his own right.  

This is a two-part interview that unpacks a journey that saw him promoted to the youngest Managing Director of a major record label at 29.  

Amongst the artists signed and developed by his team while at Island Records were Pulp, PJ Harvey, The Stereo MCs, P.M. Dawn, The Cranberries, Elbow, Chaka Demus and Pliers, NWA, The Orb, Ice Cube, Talvin Singh, Tricky and Nine Inch Nails. 

Marc also guided U2’s career throughout the 1990s, from the release of Achtung Baby to just before the release of All you Can’t Leave Behind, selling close to 60 million albums in the process.  

To date, acts discovered or managed by him have notched up 38 Top Ten singles, including 18 Number One singles in the UK charts alone.  In one form or another, Marc has been responsible for more than 100,000,000 album sales, including his ten years of direct international responsibility for U2’s marketing and sales. Listen, learn, and most importantly, enjoy 😊   @ISLAND RECORDS   @Island Records UK   @U2   @Nine Inch Nails   @Jarvis Cocker   @elbow   @Guy Garvey

On any given Friday, I tend to celebrate the promise of the week by it all resolving well. This one did that when I got the rare chance to chat with X Ambassador’s lead singer, Samuel Harris.

If you’re new to their music, they’re anything but an overnight sensation, having plied their trade for the better part of 15 years!

This 14-minute snapshot should give you a glimpse into what’s possible when commitment, self-belief and indifference meet circa 2022.

X Ambassador, Sam Harris, Casey Harris, Adam Levin, Jungle, Renegades, Unsteady, VHS, Orion, The Beautiful Liar, Interscope, X Ambassadors Interscope

While the world was catastrophising over Y2K, Supergrass, made up of Mickey, Danny and Gaz, smartly busied themselves with producing their ‘mature’ third, self-titled album.

This is another CD-interview disc for ‘Promotional Use Only’, which this is, so please enjoy the band unpacking all the hoopla around the attention they richly attracted at the time.

Ollie Jacobs and James Barnett formed an electronic/ rock act that punched a hole in the sky with their Reprise debut, Fresh Meat, an album that came out of a journey that began at the tender age of 16.

This interview is a slice in time when the band was coming into their own, circa 1997, when I got to spend time with James.

·  Yes, the quality of it all is less than great (Mother Nature wants it back), for the best part, but I dare you to stay faithful, and you’ll be rewarded towards the end, promise.