This month we had the pleasure to ask MikeScott of the legendary Waterboys a few questions about the forthcoming record, recently released music videos and working in lockdown. Mike also gave us a sneak peak of The Waterboys' future plans and shared who his musical influences are.
How did you find working in lockdown, and how did you keep yourself motivated and creative during that time?
I was lucky - I had just moved into my new studio a week before lockdown hit, and when I was ¾ of the way through writing and recording the next-but-one Waterboys album (ie the one after Good Luck, Seeker). So I just kept working through. And because I wasn't travelling anywhere or playing shows, I was able to keep working, and I got a lot done. After various recording projects I moved onto filming and have been making videos for Good Luck, Seeker for the past 4 weeks.
What were the main influences behind the new record ‘Good Luck, Seeker’?
It's impossible to say. Waterboys records are the end result of so many strands including musical and lyrical influences, our own archive recordings, the mash-ups I do for our pre-show live tapes, my home studio experiments, my songwriting, the skills and styles of the various band members. It's all in there. But if I had to pick out a few musical influences, I'd say Sly And The Family Stone and James Jamerson. Sly's pop/funk/groove sensibility is one of the great pillars of my musical awareness and informs everything I do; and James's bass lines are a source of inspiration now and forever. I copped a Jamerson influence for the bass on The Soul Singer, which I played myself.
What inspired the visuals for the new videos for ‘Low Down In The Broom’ and ‘The Soul Singer’?
I have friends in Nashville, a husband-and-wife music and video-making team, Irakli Gabriel and Anana Kaye. They filmed and edited Broom, and edited Soul Singer from footage I shot at my studio and photos from the Waterboys history. Like me, they like psychedelia, and that influenced The Soul Singer. And Anana has a brilliant editing style, very detailed, multi-layered, intricate. She's brilliant. We're doing 6 videos together for this record, so 4 more to come.
Has your songwriting process changed over the years?
I use a computer now, not paper!
Do you have a favourite song from the new record?
My Wanderings In The Weary Land. My DNA's in that one.
Can you share any future plans for The Waterboys as we’re emerging from lockdown?
Yes. The next Waterboys album is finished and it's a theme album. Out this time next year, and probably with a lot more cool videos illustrating its theme. I'm also working on our Patreon page. That opens in August.
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