They’re one of the most legendary bands to have ever come out of South Africa and after years of silence, the band is back with their brand new album ‘Watch The Rain’. The band have added a country twang to their music and have, once again, reinvented themselves. I sat down with lead singer Craig Hinds and spoke about the long break between albums, their new sound and what 2016 holds for Watershed.
Congrats on the new album! What took so long for another Watershed album to hit the shelves?
It’s more like where did the time go! We have been touring extensively and last year, after a few years out of the studio, we had a few new songs and wanted to record. ‘Watch The Rain’ followed and the process started.
How is this album different to the ones you’ve released before?
We went slightly country on a few of the tracks. I think it’s always been in our blood if you look at our early songs like Yesterday Again and Great Great Day. We used new instruments like ukulele, mandolin, banjos and lots of acoustic guitars to give the tracks that country sound.
There is a strong country influence on this album. What gravitated you to the country genre?
Lots of our influences stem from the 70s. We love bands like Supertramp, Crosby Still and Nash to more recent influences like the Counting Crows. We really enjoyed that vibe.
What do you want the listener to take away after listening to your music?
Memories, stories to tell, lost lovers and future endeavors.
What inspired ‘Magical Energy’?
Pretty, single girls to be brutally honest. However, it’s really about being there for someone when they need you and when you are together that magical energy makes you inseparable.
Why do you think Watershed has been so successful over the years?
I think we’ve just stuck with our knitting. We know what we good at and we stick with that. It’s also about taking the industry by the horns and dealing with its changes and making those changes work for you! Thinking out the box!
You’ve just been on a nationwide tour, what is the best part about touring the country?
SA is a truly beautiful country. Wherever we travel we see something new. We also love connecting again with old fans and hopefully picking up new ones on the way. We have a proper jol on the road which is the most important part. I think the minute we stop enjoying touring, that’s when we take a break…
Tell us a bit more about the songwriting process on the album.
It’s about filling your head up with influences and inspiration. Like filling an empty vessel. When the vessel is full the songs start to flow, sometime writing a few songs in a few days. The vessel filling process then starts all over again. We normally write on acoustic and piano and get the melody down, lyrics follow and off we go.
What does the rest of 2016 hold for the band?
We want to tour this album through 2016. We have a few radio singles on the album and this should give the album quite a good life span. A few more tours and some interesting things on the way should keep us busy for the next 18 months!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBYII2uxnBM
Feel free to comment, share or tweet @ElBroide
