Singing To A Different Tune

Illawarra Mercury

Thursday January 1, 2009

ILSA CUNNINGHAM

MORCHEEBA

January 3

Waves

Tickets: $49.20

UK electric/trip-hop act Morcheeba are best known for their 2000 single Rome Wasn't Built in a Day.

That song featured long-term singer Skye Edwards who was dropped in 2003 by Morcheeba's brothers Paul and Ross Godrey.

Since then have been trialling a number of guest singers, contacting them via the band's myspace site.

The new approach has allowed the band to expand their sound for their latest album Dive Deep, released last year.

The album features English folk-pop singer Judie Tzuke, soulful Norwegian Thomas Dybdahl, rapper Cool Calm Pete, and French singer Manda who will join the band for their Australian tour.

Ross says they are happy with the result.

"We wanted to make music that was very healing for us and other people," Ross says.

The album was created after the death of their father, and Paul's struggle with depression, but Ross says it's not a depressing album, rather a triumphant effort.

The lyrics were written by Paul in collaboration with the vocalists while multi-instrumentalist Ross composed the music.

The album's first song Enjoy the Ride, was written with Tzuke over multiple cups of tea.

The song came about after a long conversation about Los Angeles.

Both Ross and Tzuke had recently visited the city, and when the chat and the cups of tea ended they wrote the song in 20 minutes and recorded it an hour later.

"We wanted the song to be about optimism and growing old and singing about life from a changing perspective," Ross says.

The entire album was created from either sides of the world.

Ross composed much of the record in his new home in Los Angeles, and left Paul to add the lyrics back in London.

"I went over a couple of times very early on in the creation of the record and left Paul with tonnes of messy guitar parts to listen to," Ross says.

"Paul mixed the record on his own."

The brothers have used the same window-less recording studio in London for 12 years, but that won't be the case next record.

Paul recently bought a studio in France where they plan to record the next album.

The duo have started writing some music, but it's still very much early days.

"Not until we start really putting a lot of different tracks together in the same place that we find the centre of gravity of the music," Ross says.

"It's like trying to tame a wild animal."

Still, he knows enough about the sound to say the album will have a gentle folky element, mixed with electronic grooves.

ILSA CUNNINGHAM

Beat has three double passes to give away (LTPM08/00745) to the Morcheeba gig at Waves. For a chance to win, email featcomp@illawarramercury.com.au before 2pm today. One entry per person.

© 2009 Illawarra Mercury

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