On the eve of the release of the new Mustangs album Shaman & The Monkey, Mustangs’ website guru Kirsty Mitchell chats to Adam about the making of the band’s sixth album.

Q: How did the name Shaman & The Monkey come about?

 Well, our previous records have all had fairly succinct, tough sounding names – Cut Loose, Split Decision and such, so we felt we wanted this one to be a bit more cryptic and interesting. It just so happened that Derek had written two brilliant sets of lyrics that strongly featured the Monkey and Shaman characters….so we put two and two together….we almost called it The Shaman & The Monkey, The Swordsman & The Thief, with each of us being one of those characters..I won’t tell you who was going to be who!

 Q: What inspired the sound of your new album?

 The last album was, literally, Cut Loose – we recorded it all live and it is very on your face and vibrant and dynamic. We wanted this one to be more crafted and have a deeper, richer sound…I liken it to a sound wrapping itself around your ears, rather than hitting you face on. I joke that it’s our 70s soft rock prog blues album and that may not be too far off the truth.

 Q: What is your favourite track ?

 It’s hard to say. I really like them all. I love Derek’s Monkey On Your Back…..and The Line has come across really well..but I think we all have a soft spot for Find Your Love – which just came out of a jam at a rehearsal and has turned into something very special through the recording/mixing process..it surprised us all.

  Q: Are there any funny stories behind any of the tracks? Tell us one.

 Well, there are always funny stories that come about when you are recording, but I lost my sense of humour when my computer crashed and I nearly lost the whole record! It’s a long story, but it was incredibly stressful after all that work, and it cost a fortune to repair…and even then some files were still lost….so forgive me for not being able to laugh just yet..I will in time, remember the funny stuff..I hope. 

Q: Which members of the band wrote the songs, what writing style did they bring to the album?

 I wrote all the lyrics, apart from Derek’s songs, and a majority of the music came from my ideas this time, but an idea always needs nurturing and honing, and its always great to play stuff with Ben and Derek and develop songs together. But they also instigate stuff…Derek came to me with two great lyrics for his songs, and Ben wrote some great riffs on songs like Highwire and Too Much Is Never Enough..neither which would exist had he not. Most of the songs are very collaborative…and The Line and Second Chance and Find Your Love all developed in rehearsals with all of us chipping in. 

Q: How do you think your new album stands up against your previous ones?

 It’s a different sound…as I said, it's more mature, deeper, richer…it’s too early to say whether it is better or not, cos I like the others for different reasons, but I certainly at the moment feel the band has hit a new level. Only time will tell whether the public agrees with me.

Q: How does the album make you feel when you listen to it?

Hah, I don’t….having spent 3 solid months working on it, I don’t intend to hear it again for a while! But I’m looking forward to that moment when I do, and as producer I just hope it sounds like we wanted it to.

 Q: Will you be touring the album at any festivals, this year is so which ones?

Definintely! We can’t wait to get up to Maryport at the end of July…then we have Rogate and the Cambridge Rock Festival..Newark, Swanage..the Isle of Wight…all great festivals that we are really keen to play at. We’ll do quite a few new songs from the album, but all the old popular numbers too..and we have one or two ‘unplugged’ surprises planned here and there…but don’t tell anyone.

 Q: Do you feel that the band have changed at all during the making of this  album, if so, in what way?

 Nah, they’re the same old lovely grumpy bunch of guys…Jon still needs his iPhone..Ben still needs his food and sleep, and Derek still needs his...hmm, maybe best not say what Derek needs. Maybe they're a little larger round the waist, and greyer round the temples than two years ago, but aren’t we all…

 Q: Were there any songs that nearly didn’t make it onto the album? And why?

 Ben had reservations about Didn’t I Say, but he came round and I think he really likes it now… perhaps he felt it was too 12 Bar! Other than that, we were fairly set on what we wanted on it. Reynolds Jam is an outtake from the Cut Loose sessions, that we felt really fitted in this time, so we resurrected it as a mid-album breathing space.

 Q: Did you take inspiration from other artists, with regards to the direction this album has taken?

 Of course….I think where in the past you could hear Zeppelin, Dr Feelgood, The Who..now you can hear Bo Diddly, Robert Cray, JJ Cale…more textures…more space and music….there’s still a bit of Zeppelin….it’s all great blues and it all gives us inspiration, I just hope we take it and use it to make something new and progressive..we don’t want our records to sound like they belong in a music museum. We were very keen to make sure there was more 'music' on this album, and more instrumentation. I think we've succeeded. 

  Q: How long did this album take to make?

 If you count the writing of the first song, to the release date, then just under two years. Which is about average for us.

 Q: How do you feel now you have completed it?

 Tired, weary, a bit stressed, but very glad to have created with the guys something rewarding and worthwhile…we can’t wait for other people hear it.

 Q: Of all of your album covers, how does this one compare to the rest?

This is the first time the band has been on the cover sleeve…I think it’s about time! But we didn’t want a touched-up portrait shot of us all looking 25 years old (chance would be a fine thing) ..and we liked the atmosphere and colour of Greg Rowe’s shot…it certainly struck a note with me and I pushed for it….I love it…and the feedback so far has been really good.

Q: In three words, how would you best describe the new album?

 How would I like it to be described?…..Mustangs’ Million Seller!..Or how do I actually describe it…? I‘ll leave that to the public, as long as they like it I don’t care how they describe it..

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