The Robbie Boyd Interview

Youtube. Some night in when I was feeling lazy. Just me and a glass of wine, searching for some nice music to play in the background while I write yet another blog post. Usually that means a playlist. Chill song to begin with, ok one following and at the third one, somewhere mid song, I feel the need to save my document and peak at my browser. My first contact with Robbie Boyd was through the Orion’s Belt track. Actually, the name reminded me of a Men in Black movie, but that’s just my weird memory at work. Anyway, what do we do when we find something that grabs the attention? Explore in depth, obviously! I think I returned back to my post after over half an hour, with his songs still playing quite loud. The best thing about his music? The mood that it induces!

Of course, the miracle of social media came in after and I ended up following Robbie on a few websites. By the way, you guys can do the same, as he stays active on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Sadly, no concert was in sight. Luckily, following someone helps. So here I was almost two months after, browsing, when a tweet regarding two London concerts pops-up. Firm believer of trying my luck, I email in order to see if I can turn a pleasant night into a productive one as well. Result: mission achieved! I grabbed one of my girls, and a week later we went for one of the shows.

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And you know the best thing? I actually got to hear him sing in a very intimate concert, just him and his guitar. People, you need to hear that! I bet he is amazing band by his side, but for me that was perfect. Why? Because the man can truly sing. Robbie has that type of a voice that captures your attention in a very soothing and pleasurable way. His songs manage to put you in that state of mind and spirit with which you can take over the world. And I am sure that has a lot to do with how he is as well. Probably, for the first time, I’ve met someone that smiles and seems as positive as I am. It’s the attitude you can feel in his music. It’s upbeat, spring-like, ready to wake you up and make you enjoy life. If you don’t believe me go at one of his concerts, listen to his songs, go and meet him. It will be like a breath of fresh air.

I’ve sat and talked to him a bit after the concert. Found out he would like to maybe jam with Coldplay, and a few other musicians as well. I’ll leave you with the chat for now:

So, first thing first, tell me how you got started with music. Why music?

R.B.: Why music? Laughs Umm, I guess my parents introduced me to music. I guess I was lucky and went to quite a lot of gigs when I was younger, like James Taylor and they brought me up on The Beatles and Dylan, all of that sort of stuff. So all of that was in my blood from a young age. And I was also practicing guitar since I was younger. And then about 6 years ago I realised I had a lot of songs and started playing live and then just built it from there.

And I understood that at one point you were brave enough to quit your day job and do it full time? Was it a tricky change?

R.B.: Yes, I was doing like part time day jobs and part time musician and at one point I realised I couldn’t focus on doing both. Yes, it was tricky, but I had a lot of support from my family and that was very helpful and truly great.

TheRobbieBoydBand_471How did you get to form the band? How did you find all of them?

R.B.: Just through gigs around London and trying on different people. Sometimes different people will come up to me after gigs or I would get recommended people. Then you would jam a bit with them to see if it works, and if it did, they stayed.

So it’s never been a steady combo?

R.B.: Oh no, people came and went. Sadly, no. I would have loved it to, but it was a very flexible thing. At one point it was an eight people band and last year it was like six piece, but it is always changing. I guess the longest someone has stayed with the band would be four – five years. Which is good because I have the main core strong.

So, you are touring now?

R.B.: Yes. I’ve just come back from Germany, and will be going to Sweden in a couple of months to record an album. And I’ve got a few London shows and I’m preparing for that.

Have you decided over certain songs for the new album?

R.B. Yes, I have in the last few months and I,m really excited about it. And that is in a way what’s been so great about playing solo in the last couple of months, because I was testing them out in order to see what sort of reaction I am getting from people. And that was really helpful for the selection process for the album. I’ve only had like a couple of rehearsals with my band and then one with a band from Sweden. It is really exciting but still need to get to that stage where it’s all set into place and rehearsed with the band as well and put them all down and release the second album.

How many songs do you have?

R.B.: Well, I have over 200 written songs. But my first album had twelve so probably this would be the same and maybe add a few bonus tracks. As many as the producer or the record label can handle I guess.

robbie-boyd-so-called-manAre all of those songs written for you?

R.B.: No, I definitely see myself as a singer and song writer. This year I’ve written a lot of songs for other people as well. But then some of them, written for other people, I’ve decided to keep and play myself. Which is why they are in quite different styles. But hopefully, with the right produce
r and the right arrangement, they will somewhat fit together. And I like that diversity.

What do you find most challenging about touring?

R.B.: Especially in regards to this recent tour the most tiring thing was being in a new city each night. And then waking up and having to drive the next day. Just getting to know some people, but then having to say goodbye already and maybe trying to party a bit, and regretting it the next day because you’ve overused your voice. Laughs. So probably that, because it is quite tiring, but it’s also incredibly amazing.


Would you rather do studio work or touring if you would have to choose?

R.B.: If I had to choose? Oh… possibly studio? Laughs. But I would like to do both actually, this is really hard to decide. That is the best thing about what I do, the fact that I can do both. Guess if I think about The Beatles, they stopped touring because they couldn’t hear themselves and then after like six years they did incredible stuff. I probably feel a bit more like home in the studio, but I love the interaction with the people on the other hand.

How did the audience react to the new songs? Have you played Stranger before? Because you’ve mentioned that track is a new one.13949947931394994760robbie-boyd-press-photo-rh-new-4

R.B.: I played it in Germany, for the last two nights. We actually wrote it for a kind of boy-band initially and was thinking about pitching it to a One Direction kind of band. But then I thought about playing it and it was quite fun to play, so I am thinking about maybe putting it on the album. I love the Somebody I Used To Know song by Gotye, and I realised after, he also uses the word stranger in the song. But initially I didn’t necessarily noticed, I just loved the concept of what that was, when your best friend turns into a stranger. Actually, I wrote a song some years ago about best friends becoming strangers so I sort of brought that back in and it seemed to like fit perfectly.

Do you have a date in mind for the new album?

R.B.: Not yet, first let me record it. But hopefully, quite soon.

 

FYI, Robbie Boyd will play in London on the 2nd of December. Details can be found here, and a tiny bird has told me they might also have a few discounted tickets, which you can find all about if you drop him a message on the main email on his Official Website. Also, if this is quite short notice for you, don’t panic: he’s supporting Flight Brigade on the 18th of December at The Islington. And, for this one it’s free entry. My advice, go check them out. I can guarantee either one of them will be a fun evening out!

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Denisa