Music News - Frank Turner - Be More Kind - World Tour - New Zealand
31 January 2018 - 0 Comments
Blue Murder and Select Touring are excited to announce the return of singer/songwriter Frank Turner this November.
His forthcoming seventh studio album, Be More Kind (released on May 4th
through Xtra Mile Recordings/Polydor Records), represents a
thematic and sonic line in the sand for the 36- year-old. It’s a record that
combines universal anthems with raw emotion and the political and the personal,
with the intricate folk and punk roar trademarks of Turner’s
sound imbued with new, bold experimental shades. Produced by Austin
Jenkins and Joshua Block, formerly of psychedelic-rock Texans
White Denim, and Florence And The Machine and Halsey collaborator
Charlie Hugall. “I wanted to try and get out of my comfort zone
and do something different,” says Turner.
Turner and his band, the Sleeping Souls,
were on tour in the USA in 2016 “when the world decided to go collectively nuts” and
the songs that make up Be More Kind started to come together.
“Somewhere in the record, there’s a convergence of the ideas of personal and
political, which is a central theme of the album,” Turner says.
One of the driving themes of the album is empathy, even for your enemy. “You
should at least be able to inhabit the mental universe of the people you
disagree with. If you can’t do that, then how do you communicate with people
other than through force of arms, which is something we all agree is a bad
idea.” Behind some of the best songs of Turner’s career is the idea
that the human race needs to find better ways of disagreeing than screaming
each other down.
The first track to be released from Be More Kind is “1933”, a clattering,
state-of-the-nation anthem. Furious and direct, it’s inspired by articles Turner saw
that suggested the alt-right was punk rock. “That filled me with a mixture of incredulity
and anger,” says Turner. “The idea that Breitbart or Steve Bannon think
they have anything to do with punk rock makes me extremely angry.” The
other theme in the track is summed up by the line, “If I was one of the greatest
generation/I’d
be pissed/I’d be screaming at my grandkids/that we already did this.” “These
ideas are surfacing again that collectively as a species we’ve already shot
down,” says Turner.
After the stripped-down, live-sounding Positive Songs for Negative People, Turner wanted
to try a new approach for the record. “I have an obscure corner of my music taste
where I’m into glitch electronic music and Warp Records,” says
Turner. “It’s not an electronic record but I got into arpeggiator synths.”
Positive Songs… was cut in nine intense days whereas Be More
Kind was made over a period of seven months, giving Turner the
opportunity to turn songs on their head, try different versions and shake up
the
dynamics within his band.
Now he just has to work out how they are going to play them live. These are
songs that demand to be heard and Frank Turner is packed and ready
to go.
Most Viewed Artists
Latest Galleries
NZ Top 10 Singles
- APT.
ROSÉ And Bruno Mars - DIE WITH A SMILE
Lady Gaga And Bruno Mars - BIRDS OF A FEATHER
Billie Eilish - TASTE
Sabrina Carpenter - I LOVE YOU, I'M SORRY
Gracie Abrams - ESPRESSO
Sabrina Carpenter - SAILOR SONG
Gigi Perez - LOSE CONTROL
Teddy Swims - A BAR SONG (TIPSY)
Shaboozey - GOOD LUCK, BABE!
Chappell Roan
More Content on muzic.net.nz
Google Site Search
100% New Zealand Music
All content on this website is copyright to muzic.net.nz and other respective rights holders. Redistribution of any material presented here without permission is prohibited.
Report A Problem
There are currently no comments for this article. Please log in to add new comments.