Your new EP Notorious Partners in Crime is a wild ride—rock meets Indian classical, legends get reinterpreted, and the result is explosive. What made you want to take that leap and combine these seemingly disparate genres?
Deepak and I have been friends for way too long, but for the longest time, I never had the confidence to sit with Deepak and play – he’s THAT good on his instrument. We decided to just try it one night during my album release party for “We’ve Got a Live One”. Sonically, the actual sound of his flute, against my acoustic guitar and my gruffy voice works so well. There is video of two songs from that show on YouTube – you can kind of see it unfold right there.
What does it do for your creativity to throw the rulebook out the window like this?
I’m not throwing ANYTHING out … In fact, I’m using every songwriting/arranging trick I know to get the duo stuff to work well – it’s not “Deepak improvises along to an already written song”. He is improvising; that’s what he does, but he is REALLY thinking about the song and “composing” that improvisation, if that’s even a thing. We have rearranged two of Deepak’s hit instrumental songs now, both started in the world music category, and turned them into cross-genre pop songs with structures and lyrics. Another thing that is important in the writing process is for me to understand, as best I can, Indian classical music, capabilities and limitations of a 6-hole bamboo flute. We have to throw out a fair amount of music because we don’t feel it works well.
What was it like when you two first jammed together? Was there a moment where you thought, "This is going to be something special"?
I remember being in Deepak’s apartment and singing one of the songs with full voice (we kind of had to be quiet in his apartment), and as we went through the song, Deepak was swirling around melodies as we travelled through the song. That was it. I think it was The Rain Song (Led Zeppelin).
This UK tour feels like a homecoming of sorts. But with your unique approach to rock and this bold collaboration, are you coming back to reignite a new kind of energy in the UK rock scene?
I’d like to go bigger than a rock scene and call it “rock plus”. I think there are many people into world and eastern music that can have something to hold on to with this.
What’s the feeling you want to transmit to the audience when it kicks off?
I like the idea of joy and excitement for this project…. Not crazy jumping round, but I do hope to see some SOLID hippy dances!
What places are you going to make sure you visit whilst you’re over in the UK?
It’s time for me to see Garden Lodge for Freddie and at least the outside of Abbey Road. Other than that, you should see my calendar while I’m here – mostly working and meeting people.
You’re also on a mission to shine a light on British rock’s unsung heroes. Do you think today’s rock fans are hungry for something raw and real, like The Outfield’s music, or is the scene in need of a complete shake-up to get back to that rebellious edge?
The Outfield was clean and pristine power pop: slick, with great production, big guitars, big drums, high soaring voices, big melodies and a big sing-along-chorus. It would be another return to guitar-based music, which always seems to hang around no matter what. I think we can all agree that The Outfield’s music always feels good to consume and take in.
You’re not one to shy away from tackling the big legends of the past. Are there any other rock anthems or artists from that classic era that you’ve thought about reworking in your own style? Which ones are you itching to take on next?
The British artists who branched out from “traditional” rock and allowed other influences to seep into their mainstream music. The Beatles, Zeppelin, Queen, and The Police were masters with this …
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