What brought you guys together? With such varying styles it seems a bit odd that the four of you (formerly 5) would mesh in the way you did.

Yes, and no.  The truth is that the walls between genres have been knocked down for many years, and today more than ever people’s taste is extremely broad and, honestly, cosmopolitan.  The advance of the internet has of course made the world smaller and further allowed access to all sorts of music to be enjoyed by people from right around the world.  That richness is something to be embraced, and where that can be harnessed in some way and to some degree, than it is greatly rewarding and satisfying.  With regards our band, we all come from different natural musical inclinations, but share a love of musical exploration.  That openness to experimentation and finding common ground between musical instincts has been the cornerstone of the band’s ethos.  Don’t get me wrong, there is a lot of healthy creative tension as we try to find that common ground!  But out of a potential cacophony comes something all the more exquisite!

We first explored this on my debut album, “No Coincidence”, which Cookie produced and played on (drums), as well as featuring Tim (bass guitar) and my brother Jason (lead guitar).  That album laid the foundations of what became Magazine Gap, allowing us to continue to develop as artists.  Cookie had shared a stage with Alex (keys) on one occasion for a session performance and saw something in his playing and responsiveness that he wanted to try with the band, so he was invited to join us for some live shows. The collective sound that developed was clearly much more that of a band than a singer/songwriter and a backing group, and we naturally consolidated our efforts into Magazine Gap. 

I noticed that the album Light & Shade was recorded at various studios across the UK and US, how did that work?  Was it difficult?

It was a natural extension of the album being a journey, with each song having its own direction or leaning, that we should also record in different places.  We wanted to take the songs “on the road” and it made sense to record whilst out on tour.  We did a lot of pre-production at home, but still left a lot open to be determined whilst in the studio.  It was tiring for sure, but wasn’t especially difficult, despite limiting ourselves to a matter of hours in each place; it helps having an incredible producer in Cookie who knows exactly what he’s after.  The way we work is to record drums & bass together, with a guide vocal and often a guide keyboard to support the performance. We then pick the best take (out of between 4-7 usually), then add vocals, guitars and piano on top.  We bring all the parts back in London and edit together, but the performance and vibe on the track was very much influenced by being in those places, working with those great engineers in such varied recording studios.  We can’t now imagine “The Promised Land” being recorded other than in New Orleans, or “Silver Lining” in New York, or “Swansong” in Los Angeles or “What’s Next?” in Chicago, and so on.  The engineers seemed genuinely surprised at how quickly and effectively we worked, but it seemed natural to us.

It was stressful, of course, but also wonderfully focused.  We recorded the title track in Houston on a Monday evening, flew to LA the next day and recorded “Swansong” in Hollywood that afternoon, “Something To Be Said” & “Inside The Bubble” in Pasadena on the Wednesday (with a showcase performance later that night at The Mint), followed by a show in New Orleans on the Saturday and recorded “The Promised Land” the very next day. That was a busy week!

I'm from the States, I've been all over and to many different studios and venues, how did you find touring the US to be?

We absolutely loved touring across America on both occasions we’ve been across, and the response of the audiences has been extremely gratifying, especially in different places.  We were eager to traverse the whole country and play in different areas to see whether the receptivity was greatest in certain places.  We therefore set about taking in the four biggest US cities, which are also the largest in the four US geographic regions.  We figured that how people might respond in New York, might be different to Houston or Chicago or Los Angeles.  What we have found, however, is that there has been no difference!  That in turn reflects the broader palette of music lovers generally.  Plus, even more importantly, has been people tell us that we have something fresh even to bring to the US, as opposed to them saying “Yeah but there are so many bands like you around”...  That hugely positive reaction has been fascinating, and of course really encouraging.

What was the goal for the album?  I read on your website that it represented a journey, do you feel like that is what you achieved?

The album is a representation of our well developed sound and style.  In this day-and-age you cannot wait for the music industry to ‘get it’ and finance recordings, and in any case you might lose much of your artistic integrity, so we set about creating a product that showed the vision of what we’re about.  It was a journey for sure.  We covered almost 25,000 miles to record the album!  During the recording process and after completing the album, we have wanted to promote our songs as much as possible, both on the road and online, to test the water.  With respect to social networks, our YouTube channel in particular has been really interesting.  We’ve received many thousands of comments, and we always make a point of writing a note of thanks back to them. In doing so, we find out more about them – age, location, musical tastes etc – and what’s been incredibly revealing is that we’ve got fans that range from 12 years old through to retirees, and in countries right around the globe; in particular, USA, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Germany, Poland, Russia, The Philippines, Japan, and Australia.  And some have inclinations that you wouldn’t expect, such as metal and hip-hop!  So we cannot be too specific about our typical demographic!!  But I would also say that we are still on the journey.

The vocals are sublime.  I'm sure you read my review, did I hit the nail on the head as far as my idea of influences goes?  If not which artist(s) really inspired you?

Thank you very much!  I admire Rob Thomas as a singer and songwriter, and think Maroon 5 are great, but wouldn’t say they were major influences.  Tracy Chapman definitely is.  Ever since I was about 18, my vocals have been compared to hers more than anyone else’s. I used to find that annoying because it’s not an affectation, but I’ve long been a huge fan of her folk-rock style as well as her voice; when I first saw her in concert in London I thought if I sound anything like her I’m really okay with that!  The artist that has most inspired me is Paul Simon.  His “Graceland” album had a profound effect on me – he managed to combine an overlying pop/folk vocal and lyrical content with a fusion of sounds that was distinct, powerful and unique.  He’s long been a musical adventurer of course, even back in S&G days.  The other two artists that really shaped my own writing are Bob Dylan and Neil Young.  Again, they have also sustained a career by moving through genres.  They are among the greatest pioneers in music, and most of the other artists I admire were in turn following in their footsteps.  More recently, the artist that has most captured my attention is Dave Matthews, and of course the band – their very successful fusion spurs us on!

I must say that the sound stands out in a crowd, are there any areas of your music you may change or will you stay solely with this style?

Again, thank you, we appreciate that.  I would say that developing the sound of Magazine Gap has been the main objective to date, even if that consists of various styles within it.  It is always important to have a thread that is distinctive but there are so many areas we’ve yet to explore, and our journey will continue and I hope our audience will enjoy the on-going development. Above that, our live shows always take our recorded, more radio-friendly studio versions, to another level again.  I think seeing us live is the best way to really understand what we’re about.

What can we expect next from Magazine Gap?

A lot...!