SPACEMAN AFRICA JUST RELEASED A NEW ALBUM AND WE'RE PRETTY NOSEY OVER HERE AT WIZARD WATER, WE THOUGHT WE'D DIVE RIGHT IN.
SINGLE NAME IS - SINK RICE LISTEN HERE
Introducing Spaceman Africa, the comedic force of nature from Canberra, Australia! Known for blending rock music with laugh-out-loud comedy, Spaceman Africa and his four-piece band, Spaceman Africa the Musical, deliver a unique and entertaining experience they call Rock & Lol. With witty wordplay, tongue-in-cheek lyrics, and catchy melodies, their music transports you to the most ridiculous moments of life. Whether serenading you with a ballad about offending the Hamburg cricket team or rocking out about the perils of spray painting in the dark, Spaceman Africa guarantees a show that leaves you questioning whether you're at a rock concert or a comedy show.
TRACK REVIEW
"Sink Rice" by Spaceman Africa is a delightful journey into the playful and eccentric world of Rock & Lol. From the moment you see the quirky title, you know you’re in for something special, and the track does not disappoint. It feels like Carl Barron decided to take up a musical career, blending humor with rock in a way that is both refreshing and entertaining.
The song's lyrics are light-hearted and whimsical, a signature style of Spaceman Africa that brings a much-needed dose of laughter into the world. The band's ability to not take themselves too seriously is evident and highly commendable, making their music a perfect escape from the mundane.
Musically, "Sink Rice" features intricate guitar work that immediately brings to mind a young Santana. The riffs are sharp and engaging, adding a layer of sophistication to the comedic undertones. The melody is catchy and the overall arrangement is tight, showcasing the band’s skill and creativity.
Congratulations on the release of your new album! Can you tell us a bit about the inspiration behind it and what fans can expect from this latest musical endeavour?
Thank you. It is without a doubt my best so far.
Humour and storytelling are key elements in my music. While 'Full of Plates and Screws' doesn't follow a particular theme, all the songs are amusing tales from my life. That being said, the album title and three of the ten tracks are inspired by an e-scooter accident I had in October 2022, which left me with three broken bones and needing surgery.Fans can expect 10 varied Rock & Lol songs covering experiences from public nudity and e-scooter accidents through to using a bidet and being a human guinea-pig.
Your stage name, Spaceman Africa, definitely stands out. Could you share the story of how you came up with it, especially the part about changing it legally after a wild night in Ireland?
Spaceman Africa is not my stage name. Oddly enough, it is my actual name. I’ve joked among my friends that I should choose a boring, plain name like Bill Smith as my stage name. Just to be opposite to everyone else.
I wasn't born with this name. In 2002, during a drunken bender in Ireland, a friend revealed how easy it is to change your name by deed poll online. As a joke, he changed a friend's name without telling them, which I found hilarious. In our drunken state, we decided to change our own names, too. When we sobered up, we still went through with it. I chose my name from an old nickname and a bracelet from South Africa, while my friend became Crazy Horse Invincible. Spaceman Africa is my legal name now – the name on my birth certificate, passport etc.
"Rock & Lol" is a term you've coined to describe your music. How do you balance the comedic elements with the rock genre, and what do you hope listeners take away from your unique blend of humour and music?
I essentially write folk-rock songs, some of which get electrified later on. This genre is ideal for storytelling and comedy songs. The lyrics and vocals are the most important parts of my songs, so while I strive to make the music interesting and pleasing to the ear, I ensure that it never dominates over the vocals. This balance allows the comedic elements to shine through without losing the rock vibe. Ultimately, I want my music to be a source of happiness and entertainment, allowing people to just have fun and enjoy the moment. I love how catchy my songs are and how easily they get stuck in people’s heads.
Your bio mentions your band, Spaceman Africa the Musical. What's it like collaborating with other musicians to bring your comedic rock vision to life, and how does their input influence your creative process?
I've found that collaborating is incredibly valuable. When I hit a creative roadblock, my bandmates are there with fresh ideas that breathe new life into the lyrics and music. Their input is instrumental in shaping my creative process. Their fresh perspectives and ideas often spark new directions in my thinking, leading to innovative and exciting outcomes in our music. Particularly, my girlfriend, Bec, who is a singer in the band. Bec is amazing with lyric ideas.
Your songs often draw from your own life experiences, turning them into humorous anecdotes set to music. Can you walk us through your songwriting process and how you transform these real-life stories into catchy tunes?
I don't follow a single process for all my songs. Sometimes, a funny or unique experience from my life sparks the idea for a song, and I feel compelled to write about it. During a creative phase, I often browse through my memoir, where I've documented various life stories, to find a narrative that I believe people would find amusing and worth turning into a song.
Once I have the story for the song, I determine what type of music would best suit it whether that be a ballad, or something fast paced or perhaps something with a blues shuffle. I may already have some guitar ideas, or a bass line, that I match with the song, or I may start from scratch. I may have a melody in mind and so find the chord progression to match. Once I have the chords/guitar parts, I’ll take the key points from the story and write the lyrics based on the rhythm of the guitar parts.
When it comes to writing the lyrics, I look for a hook, a catchy phrase, and a punchline or two. Sometimes, the end result is quite funny. Other times, the song is more clever, or fun, than funny but hopefully, always catchy. I like to write a song every now and then that will be ideal for audience participation. Lately, I’ve written a few sequels i.e. taken an older song of mine and used the same music but changed the lyrics to add to the original story.
Your lyrics are known for their witty wordplay and tongue-in-cheek humour. How do you strike a balance between crafting clever lines and ensuring the music remains accessible and enjoyable for your audience?
Balancing witty wordplay and accessible music is key. I focus on making the lyrics clever enough to entertain and provoke thought but not so obscure that they alienate listeners. The music complements this by being catchy and engaging, creating an overall experience that's both intellectually stimulating and enjoyable to the ear. The music is generally rather simple otherwise I wouldn’t be able to play it and sing it at the same time. I’m not one of those talented people, unfortunately, who can sing one thing but play another at the same time.
From encounters with a horny German truck driver to misadventures in fire breathing, your songs cover a wide range of hilarious topics. Is there a particular story or experience that stands out as the most memorable or absurd, and how did it inspire a song?
I guess my name change story is rather absurd and piques a lot of interest when I tell it. But I have a song from an EP I released in 2021 called, “I Used Up All My Sick Days So I Called In Dead.” I borrowed the title from a t-shirt slogan I had seen around because it fitted perfectly with a story of mine. This story is from over 20 years ago, when I lived and worked in London. One long weekend, I went to Ireland to meet up with some friends visiting from the US. I was enjoying my time in Ireland so much that I was in no hurry to get back to London. There was the small problem, however, that I was due back at work. So to solve that problem, my friend Crazy Horse offered to call the employment agency I worked for and tell them that I’d been killed in a car accident. I hadn’t been working for them long and hadn’t formed any close bonds with anyone, so I agreed to it. Problem solved. While Crazy Horse was on the phone to my employer, I was in a pub enjoying a few drinks with some women we’d met the night before. I didn’t return to London until four months later.
As both a writer and a musician, how do you find the creative synergy between crafting comedic narratives and composing music? Are there any challenges or unexpected joys that come with blending these two art forms?
As I said before, I think folk-rock music provides a natural backdrop for storytelling. I try to vary my songs as well, so they don’t all sound the same. I like to do things such as varying the tempo or melody to match the mood of the story, and using pauses or changes in rhythm to emphasize certain lines or jokes.
It can be a challenge sometimes to make the words of the jokes fit perfectly with the music. One of the most delightful surprises is when a song I didn't initially think highly of, or expect to be popular, turns out to be a hit among my fans. One such example is the song, “I Wanked My Shoulder”, which is on my new album, ‘Full of Plates and Screws’. The writing of the song came about through an improvisation session between me and my girlfriend. Writing the song was fun but when it came to recording it, I didn’t know the best way to go about it – where to chill, where to crescendo, whether to sing high or low. The process was rather tortured and by the end of it, I didn’t think much of the song. But after the mixing and mastering process, it turned out much better than I had expected, and I was really satisfied with the song. But I still didn’t think it would be popular among my fans. But this is the song that everyone has been commenting on and giving me positive feedback. It’s been quite a ride of highs and lows and finally finishing with a feeling of joy that it all worked out well.
Your performances are described as a mix of rock concert and comedy show, leaving audiences laughing hysterically while headbanging along. How do you gauge the crowd's energy and tailor your performance to create that perfect balance of humour and rock?
The tailoring of the performance is determined by the type of venue we’re playing in. If it’s a pub, where perhaps people are there to socialise and the music is secondary, then I tend to keep the story telling and banter in between songs brief because very few people are paying attention, anyway. In that setting, as well, I’ll most likely play with an electric guitar and just rock out. Those gigs can be fun but the ideal setting for a Spaceman Africa the Musical performance is at an intimate gig, like a house concert, with everyone seated paying attention to the music. In this setting, there’s plenty of scope to go into detail about the songs when introducing them and a lot more opportunity for banter with the audience as well. In this setting, I’m most likely to be playing my acoustic guitar and our drummer will be playing a cajón rather than using the full drum kit. These types of shows are my favourite and the most fun.
Finally, what's next for Spaceman Africa the Musical? Any upcoming projects or tours on the horizon that fans should be excited about?
I have more releases coming out throughout the year. I’ll be releasing new music each month right up till November. For example, I’ll be releasing a sequel to my “Catch Me If You Can,berra” song which is a clever song about my home town that uses suburb names as puns to tell a story.
I’ll be releasing an EP featuring piano renditions of three songs from my past releases. As well as releasing a Christmas song (of sorts) at the end of November. It will be called “Whatever Happened to Bondage Bob?” It’s a sequel to my song, Bondage Bob, which is from my 2018 debut album, ‘Africa as in the Continent’. This is a song about a stuffed toy cuddly bear dressed in bondage clothing that I gave to my 7 month old nephew for Christmas. And for something completely different, my bandmates and I are starting a new punk band aimed at kids. We’re going to be a bad influence on them, encouraging them to do things like stay up late and/or ask their parents for lollies. The band will be called Anarchy Street and the Sesame Seeds.
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