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“Sadness can be a great trigger
for the imagination” explains
Liela Moss, she of the golden tresses. “Though through
it you can reach a sweet centre, a stronger core, which
itself feels a bit like love itself.”
Sadness and redemption; death and rebirth
- such are the themes on The Duke Spirit’s long awaited second album “Neptune”.
After a year spent touring America in 2006 – taking
in everything from broken limbs (Toby in Las Vegas), getting
all their gear stolen (Portland) and visiting rock landmarks
(the MC5’s old HQ in Ann Arbor), the band could have
been forgiven for writing an on the road album worthy of
Jack Kerouac. But for a group influenced by European art
and culture as much as Route 66, there were always going
to be deeper depths to explore.
“Musically we wrote the songs
in England, and then ended up recording them in Joshua Tree,
which is literally in the middle of nowhere, three hours
drive from Los Angeles“ explains Luke. “So there’s
a real contrast between the sound and the content. We like
to be contrary. It’s an album
full of images about the ocean, recorded in the desert.”
“Quite unexpectedly, water seeped into lots of my phrases and titles” continues
Liela. “I feel like going to the desert was the only rightful place to
take these images of submersion, Sea gods and ships. I wanted to dry out in the
heat of the sun and start anew.”
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