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Exclusive Interview with James Higgins from SOUL CONTINUUM

 
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CosmicMouse
Jamirotalk mum


Joined: 10 Feb 2002
Posts: 4821
Location: Germany


PostPosted: Wed Aug 12, 2009 17:22    Reply with quote

Exclusive Interview with James Higgins from SOUL CONTINUUM
Hi James,

It has been silent around Nude Continuum in the last months, after your mindblowing gigs in Europe last year - I am thinking especially of your unique opportunity to perform in Ahaus on the same stage as Jamiroquai at the same evening.

For a lot of Jamiroquai/Nude Continuum fans this experience has been a memorable and very special one, not least because a lot of us got to know you and your bandmembers in person, after the show.

In times of waiting for new music, recent announcement of Rob McMullan - bassist of your musical project - made us all curious, because it seems a lot of things have happened in the last 12 months, after your returning home to Australia.



Thanks for giving us the exclusive opportunity to go further into some questions here and now at Jamirotalk, James!


------------------------------------------------

QUESTIONS

1. Rob mentioned some sweeping changes - for example the name of the band. It's not longer "Nude Continuum" but SOUL CONTINUUM.

Please explain how this happened, and if this has someting to do with personal changes inside the band as well as the musicial concept of your project?



2. What influence will these changes have on your live performances? Your former main vocal Princess Freesia has been a very significant appearance on stage. What will be different now that you will take over this part?



3. Your next release will not be a single but a "double" - please explain why you are doing this, and will you tell us which songs we are going to hear?


4. When can we expect your new album and what have been your inspiration for writing new songs? What is the album about?


5. A new album means a new tour, doesn't it? So what is planned? Will you come back to Europe to present your new work?


Last edited by CosmicMouse on Thu Aug 13, 2009 06:43; edited 3 times in total
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James Higgins
Soul Continuum


Joined: 03 Feb 2008
Posts: 88
Location: Australia


PostPosted: Thu Aug 13, 2009 01:50    Reply with quote


Hi Meike, and hi to all the Jamily!

I want to thank you first for another opportunity to talk about my work with this wonderful group of people. Over the last two years it has been such a pleasure to share my journey with you all, and meeting a bunch of you in Ahaus was overwhelming, to say the least. Although I've been pretty quiet in the last year since we returned from Europe, I assure you I have been a busy little bee in writing, and now recording our new album.


Quote:
1. Rob mentioned some sweeping changes - for example the name of the band. It's not longer "Nude Continuum" but SOUL CONTINUUM.

Please explain how this happened, and if this has someting to do with personal changes inside the band as well as the musicial concept of your project?


In our previous interview (over a year ago now - wow!), I explained the origins of the name Nude Continuum. It was all born of a project Princess Freesia, Stevie Keyse and I put together. The original concept was sexy, continuous music. Although the "Nude" idea had some deeper levels to it, it was pretty much there to provide a level of cheekiness and sexiness (perhaps not unlike Crazy Penis?)...

I think that whole influence of fun, sexy, craziness came from Freesia at that time. After our European tour she and I parted ways - she is now focussing on her solo material, which is still absolutely brilliant and I'm so excited to hear her put out an album in the near future. I decided to continue the band, same players, but the question remained of who would be the lead singer???

In the last year I have been gigging a lot. I can't remember when it came about, but something sparked in me that made me decide that the time was right for me to step up to the main mic and show the world my voice. I've always been pretty shy about it... you can understand that working with Freesia I never felt like I was enough of a personality, or a big enough voice to carry that role. In that regard, the music itself has evolved too, to fit my voice.

So with a new sound, new image, new lead singer with a totally different voice to the inimitable Princess Freesia, I decided to tweak the name so that it said more about what we do.

And what we do is SOUL music. Jazz, funk, disco, gospel, a bit of reggae, sure... but its all soul. And when I look at the boys in my band, they are my Continuum. They keep me going, keep me grateful, keep me inspired, keep the music sounding fantastic which I could not do alone... so we're a little 6 man universe of soul. Hence the name Soul Continuum.

And yes, I said six. We have gained a new guitarist, who I must say is an absolute genius player, though he would never claim that himself. Ruwan Sena is his name, and he is not only a brilliant guitarist in all styles, but he is a fantastic producer, engineer and studio owner. We are recording and mixing a lot of the album in his private facility Luna Studios, and he is engineering the whole thing. I am still at the helm producing, but with this album I decided to do less myself, and really get the right people for the right job in every way... more on that later.

So the line up of Soul Continuum is (in our live context):

Me: lead vocals, acoustic guitar, triangle
Rob McMullan: bass, guitars
Euan Gardiner: keyboards
Leon Ernst: drums
Stevie Keyse: sax, synths, raps
Ruwan Sena: guitars, bass

I'm really excited about this line up, as the five original members have so much history, and Ruwan is bringing a whole new level of funk to the act with his guitar chops. For the most part, I am putting the guitar down, and just singing, which is a little daunting I must say after hiding behind an instrument for so many years, but its totally exciting too Smile

We're also working with some fantastic guest musicians:

Lee Sissing - fantastic female vocalist from Melbourne who Derrick Mckenzie introduced me to. One of the most talented singers in Australia in my opinion. She's become a very close friend and I am privileged to say that she features on my new album as a backing vocalist, and sings one of the soon-to-be-released singles with me as a duet. Check her out at her myspace page.

Georgia Potter - this girl is phenomenal. She's based in Brisbane and is doing guest vocals on one of my tracks called "Gaia". I went to Uni with her, and from day one knew she was going places. Its very exciting to finally have her voice on a song of mine. Check her solo material out, and for funk's sake Jamily, help her come to Europe... she'll be huge! Georgia's Myspace page.

Katisse Buckingham - for anyone who heard the Nightclub of Nudist album, they will instantly know who I am talking about. Legendary USA flute player Katisse returns to work with me, but this time we are collaborating more closely. He is playing the horns for the whole album, and this new one is riddled with his amazing and at times ridiculous flute and sax solos. The guy has played with everyone from Herbie Handcock to Monday Michiru, and of course is the lips behind Ron Burgundy's "Yazz Flute" solo in Will Ferrel's Anchorman.

So that was a long answer!!! But that pretty much sums up the changes... the rest of it is in the music itself, which I'd rather not talk about so much as just show you all as soon as possible Smile




Quote:
2. What influence will these changes have on your live performances? Your former main vocal Princess Freesia has been a very significant appearance on stage. What will be different now that you will take over this part?


Well, as I mentioned before, Freesia brought a huge personality to the stage. There is a real theatre to what she does. I liken her to Roisin Murphy in that way - very original, very captivating performance, and some ideas from another world. In all honesty I always felt that what I doing with Nude Continuum was holding Freesia back somewhat. Her performance style truly belongs with her own show where it can totally be about her and what she does.

What Soul Continuum has become as a live show is much more about the music. I am certainly not the stage character that Freesia is, and all of the new songs are very personal, very real stories about my life, so I am aiming to create a show that is totally tight, musicially interesting, exciting, listenable as well as danceable, and above all else - honest. Of course, that doesn't mean to say that I just stand there and sing my "three chords and the truth"... you will definitely be seeing a lot of my little hips wiggling! Again, I don't want to say too much, action speaks way louder than words, but I can emphasise that Soul Continuum is a live band, so we'll be giving the music all we've got Smile



Quote:
3. Your next release will not be a single but a "double" - please explain why you are doing this, and will you tell us which songs we are going to hear?


The double idea came from the brilliant and ever-thinking mind of Rob McMullan. We had been working on two singles simultaneously, both of them are very close to finished. Ironically we have finished the video for the SECOND single, and haven't started shooting the video for the FIRST... but that is happening next week now...

Anyway... the thought came about when we were expressing some frustration in having two awesome singles ready to go, but having to wait to put the second out. Then we though - why not two??? In fact, in many ways it is a better idea for us. The main benefit is value for money. The two singles are going to be released at the same time online (will be available through iTunes, Napster, eMusic, Rhapsody and all the other majors), and although they will technically be two separate online "albums", the real fun will be in the physical CD release.

Imagine your old-school single release that came in a little printed cardboard sleeve. Now take two of those, combine the tracks onto one disc (10 tracks + two bonus videos) and then join them in the middle. Basically we are releasing a mini album as a prelude to the full album release later in the year. Each single has a radio edit, club edit, music video, a couple of remixes, and then there is an acoustic version of one, and a bonus acoustic version of another track from our album... it should be a very exciting package!

I'll jump the gun a little give you all a sneak peak of the single artwork too... which of course will reveal the names!



"Feet Don't Lie" was designed by a talented Belgian artist who some of you might know, called Aurelien Lejeune (also known as Skeil). He's a fantastic musician too - check him out some time on
myspace.

"Mean It Every Time" was designed by me, the image is a still from the video which we shot in Melbourne in May. I'm directing and editing both the videos myself, and they are being shot by a lovely and very talented German cinematography called Dominik Muench.

By the time this interview is posted, both singles should be in our myspace player for your listening, and not too far away from a purchase being available! The online release will have one less track in each single, and of course no video. The CD will have the lot, plus the artwork, so I will let you all know when the CD is out! Smile


Quote:
4. When can we expect your new album and what have been your inspiration for writing new songs? What is the album about?


Its a little hard this stage to say exactly when the album will be out. As I have set up my own new record label and production company, I am in full control of the releases... but I am still deciding whether to get the album out before Christmas, or wait until after I have released singles 3 and 4 (which will be on another double)...

I also want to not rush the album production so that we get it RIGHT, but not slow down too much. The pace has definitely increased of late, and with some of the tracks we are very close to finished!

In terms of how the album sounds, it is all live - not the electronic/house influence of the Nude Continuum album... this is very much getting back to my roots of playing solid funky music with solid funky players - all live drums, bass, full band sound, live horn sections, some live strings, heaps of vocals, solos of all kinds... something that we can reproduce on stage without great difficulty or using pre-recorded parts Smile

At this stage I am still hoping to have the album done and pressed before Christmas, but who knows... it would be nice to beat Jamiroquai to a release, so we have a fighting chance of getting some attention before what will no doubt be an epic album from them! I'm very excited about that one.

As soon as this album is out as well, I am going to start writing another one. I am aiming to have 3 albums out in 3 years, and then probably slow down a little after that and just promote what we have already put out.

The album is going to be called "Phoenix to Fox" and it is pretty much about my journey of the last twelve months. The album starts with an instrumental called "Rise of the Phoenix" which is riddled with sound samples and audio memories from our Nude Continuum Euro tour. And that sets the scene of the album. Without revealing too much at this stage, the album follows the story of what happened to me next - loves lost, new love found, and lost, then found again, amidst that frustration with the global financial crisis, the mistreatment of nature for human gain, some songs for some beautiful people I have met, and a real mix of joy and pain. As I said earlier, this is a deeply personal album for me, much more so than the Nude Continuum material was - that was just a lot of fun!

On an interesting personal note, many of the songs on this album are inspired by, or directly about the woman I am marrying this December. Her name is Vira, and since I met her she has been the best friend and most amazing creative support I could ever dream of. After I got back from shooting the video for "Mean It Every Time" in Melbourne, I proposed to her (totally spontaneously), and she was thrilled, so on December 19th we are making vows in the forest together!

The 3rd single from this album will be called "Works for Me" and I wrote it about her around Christmas last year. As we are off to Japan for our honeymoon over the new year, we decided to make the most of that awesome location and shoot the video over there - for those in the know, Vira will be in that video Wink



Quote:
5. A new album means a new tour, doesn't it? So what is planned? Will you come back to Europe to present your new work?


Absolutely! Touring is a priority as soon as this album is done. At this stage nothing is planned, but we are working on building our network further. The first step is getting as much airplay with the radio edits and videos as possible, all over the world. We really want to get a bigger audience listening to us so we can travel where we are demanded to!

Our beloved Europe is top of that list of course! We're also really hoping to break into the Japanese market with this new material too, so fingers crossed! We will of course keep the Jamily in the loop!

Just for a bit of fun, I want to show you all the new online merchandise store I am developing. The products you see there are done and ready to purchase, so if any of you feel like spreading the word by wearing it on a shirt, go for it! J.Fox Soul Merchandise Shop...

Meike, I have even made a special maternity shirt just for you! Meike's Maternity Shirt

Hope you guys like what we've made, and looking forward to sharing the journey ahead with all, once again! And if anyone else would like to know anything, please don't hesitate to ask right here Smile

Love and much respect to the Jamily

KEEP THE FUNK ALIVE!!!!

James Higgins

SOUL CONTINUUM

CHECK OUT THE NEW TUNES AT:
http://www.myspace.com/jfoxsoul
http://www.soulcontinuum.com/
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Last edited by James Higgins on Thu Aug 13, 2009 08:07; edited 1 time in total
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CosmicMouse
Jamirotalk mum


Joined: 10 Feb 2002
Posts: 4821
Location: Germany


PostPosted: Thu Aug 13, 2009 06:58    Reply with quote


Thank you very much, James! Very exciting answers... and be sure that I will get one of that shirts... LOL

Please, everyone.. feel free to leave comments and don't hesitate to ask more questions - the interactive part of the interview is now open for all of you!



Meike
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Jay_F



Joined: 21 Mar 2008
Posts: 682


PostPosted: Thu Aug 13, 2009 21:41    Reply with quote


very nice interview Wink Very Happy Very Happy really really looking foward to this album, Rise of the Phoenix sounds very interesting, totally dig the lay-outs for the singles
and yea Feet Don't Lie, i'm hooked mate! Wink bottom line: i'm really up for the coming album, can't wait to buy one
u guys are one of the master influences to me,even more then last year, i love it 7headphones 2goodvibes
looking foward to the next tour aswell ^^ Smile Wink
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James Higgins
Soul Continuum


Joined: 03 Feb 2008
Posts: 88
Location: Australia


PostPosted: Thu Jan 28, 2010 15:27    Reply with quote


Just a little update, our album is out now, as is the single Feet Don't Lie with its music video.

All of this available to check out at:

http://www.soulcontinuum.com
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James Higgins
Soul Continuum


Joined: 03 Feb 2008
Posts: 88
Location: Australia


PostPosted: Sat Jun 05, 2010 04:14    Reply with quote

Another update!
Hey gang,

Soul Continuum now has a free concert video for you to download at our website. Just sign up for our mailing list and enjoy! Smile

Also, check out my new solo project (details in the below linked thread).

http://www.jamirotalk.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=8823

Love and much respect

James Higgins
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