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Morcheeba is one of the most successful electronic bands in the music scene of England that knows no borders! Combining trip hop, rock, folk-rock and downtempo, they have always been at the forefront of the industry and they’ve been providing us with unforgettable hits for more than two decades.

After five years of discographical silence, Skye Edwards and Ross Godfrey (without Paul in the picture anymore) returned with their brand-new album “Blaze Away”, which has already begun its successful run in all the charts. This was the occasion for us to communicate with Ross and to discuss everything that was mentioned above, but also about his relationship with their fans, the guests in their latest album and Greece.

Read the exclusive interview of Ross Godfrey of Morcheeba, which he gave exclusively to SounDarts.gr, below.

Ross welcome to SounDarts.gr!

Hi Theodore

What have you been up to lately?

Skye and I have been touring the world for the last few months, we have been all over, South America, Australia, Africa, China, Russia, Europe and now we are heading to the Middle East and Greece. We also released our new Morcheeba album Blaze Away this week so we have been very busy!

Since you mentioned the release of “Blaze Away”, does it feel like this a very special album to you and if yes in what way?

It feels like a very special time for Morcheeba, we have been going for 23 years now and have never had such a global audience, it makes us very happy. The new record is full of energy, we tried to bring some of the craziness of our live shows into the studio and make this record rougher, studio recordings can be quite clinical sometimes and that can be dull. We wanted to let loose.

From “Head up High” to “Blaze Away” there was a five-year-silence from Morcheeba. Where were you all this time?

Skye and I released an album as SKYE|ROSS and we toured all over Europe and North America. We also spent some time raising our families and writing material that eventually became Blaze Away.

Is there a song from “Blaze Away” that stands out for you and why?

I really like Sweet LA, I think it has a very cinematic mood.

Among the songs on its tracklist, there are also three brand new collaborations with Roots Manuva, Benjamin Biolay and Amanda Zamolo. How did these collaborations occur in the first place?

We met Roots Manuva at a festival in Russia and it turned out we were neighbours in London so I aksed him round the studio to rap on a track I had been developing with Skye. Benjamin Biolay was a singer that I had admired for a while and I wanted him to do a duet with Skye so I asked him and amazingly he said yes, we are very lucky to have him on the record. Amanda Zamolo is my wife, she had been singing along to the track Mezcal Dream for a long time and so I got her to put her part on the instrumental, that is also one of my favourite tracks on the record.

Are there any other artists that you would like to collaborate with in the future? Could you name a few?

I’d love to make a record with Shuggie Otis. He is a living legend of psychedelic soul and he plays and sings so well.

On your duet “Paris sur Mer “with Benjamin Biolay, Skye appears to sing in french. How easy was it for her to sing in a foreign language?

Skye had never sang in French before, it took 3 or 4 bottles of red wine before she had the courage, but eventually it was easy.

In Greece “Rome Wasn’t Built in a Day” was a very big hit in 2000. How do you recall this great success of yours?

It is a bit of a blur really, we were always on the road and partying so it is difficult to remember anything. But I do remember dancing in the video.

Trip hop, rock, folk-rock and downtempo. Which of these genres is closest to your sound? Do you ever feel you need to experiment with other genres too?

We don’t really think about music as genres, it is more of an abstract feeling and we just follow each song to where it wants to go.

What is your relationship with your audience? What brings you closer to it: live performances or social media and why?

We love playing live. It is so much fun and we get to interact with our fans. It is much more exciting than being in the studio or doing radio shows. The trouble with touring though is that all the travelling is exhausting!

Do you remember any funny/weird incident from your concerts so far?

We had a streaker last year, he jumped up on the stage naked and covered in mud because it was raining, three times he made it up there before the police arrested him. Then a huge storm shut down the festival and acut the power, we saw the naked man escape from the police car and run across an open field still handcuffed. I often wonder what happened to him after that.

Have you ever visited Greece? If yes what do you remember most vividly from this visit?

I have visited Greece countless times. My mother used to take me to Symi every year when I was a small boy and I often go back now with my family. I have travelled arounf Greece a lot, I love it. I am going to Athens this Sunday. I also love Greek myths and culture.

What are your future professional plans?

We are touring for the next year. When we have any spare time we will be writing a new record. I am also doing a couple of film soundtracks.

What is your motto in life?

Follow your bliss.

Is there anything that you would like to add which hasn’t been mentioned since this moment of the interview?

Just to say we can’t wait to play a concert in Greece for our fans and to share some delicious food and dance into the night.

Interview: Theodore Kolliopoulos

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