Well-known to Morcheeba fans, Skye & Ross play at Sala Palatului on 23 November, on tour to promote their first album in this format, “SKYE | ROSS”. Morcheeba’s hits will resound on the stage of the Palace Hall alongside the duo’s new songs.
Flash back to spring 2014. Skye Edwards and Ross Godfrey at Australia’s Gold Coast music festival after Morcheeba’s set, listening to the rest of the headliners play unrefined, visceral music. “We thought, wouldn’t it be brilliant to make an album of the same intensity?”. For more than 10 years, Ross and Skye had traveled the world as Morcheeba, while Ross’s brother Paul (their co-producer, with whom they founded the band) stayed at home. All the while, the inevitable separation between what was happening in the studio and live became more and more pronounced, and, still listening to the band on the Australian festival stage, the two asked themselves the question, “Why not make an album that sounds closer to live?” The result of that revelation is SKYE | ROSS, an album that follows its own musical path, a record that simultaneously goes back in time to the roots of the sound that made Morcheeba a success in the late 90s. The album is, explains Ross, “what Skye and I naturally do when we’re asked to make music together, yet not necessarily a continuation of what we did with Morcheeba. So it seemed only natural to give it a new identity.”
For a while they toyed with the idea of releasing an unplugged album, but quickly realised that it would be possible to write something more ambitious. “We simply rejected modern recording techniques, techniques with which you can literally edit ANYTHING,” Ross elaborates. “All you do is completely lose the emotion.” So they mostly made the record at their homes, as they did in the days before Morcheeba got big recording budgets, and when they say they kept things “in the family,” they’re not exaggerating. The only musicians playing major roles on the new album are Skye’s husband Steve (bass), Skye’s 19-year-old son Jaega (drums ), Ross’ wife Amanda (backing vocals) and Richard Milner (keyboards) who has been with Morcheeba for the past five years. “All that’s left is for one of us to adopt Richard,” jokes Skye, “and everyone in the band would be related.” SKYE | ROSS‘ new record release recalls the spirit of Morcheeba’s platinum-selling “Big Calm” album, surpassing it with an experience that comes from maturing after two decades of making music. Some of the tracks on the record, especially the quieter ones, may be surprising: ‘Clear My Mind‘ is reminiscent of the Brazilian Tropic, while ‘Medicine‘, which features a gospel choir consisting of the same Skye’s multi-layered voice references Al Green’s tracks. The disc’s opening track, “Repay the Saviour,” is reminiscent of Miles Davis. Ultimately, SKYE | ROSS does not signal the end of Morcheeba, but rather a purge, an opportunity for the two musicians (who represented the public face of their band) to explore the musical relationship that developed between them outside the studio, on stages around the world. “Our intentions are really aligned,” Ross concludes, “and once you have that synchronicity with someone, everything falls into place differently.” Tickets are available for a single price of 135 lei for all sectors up to and including 30 September, so fans who buy first can get seats as close to the stage as possible. From 1 October to 31 October inclusive, tickets will be available at the single price of 155 lei for all sectors, and from 1 November until the day of the concert, tickets will be available at the single price of 175 lei for all sectors. Tickets can be bought online at www.eventim.ro or through the Eventim network.
