Extraordinary musicians often have a chemistry, a spark that makes and carries the musical partnership. It can drive things in astonishing directions, and lead to the making of stellar music.
Blitz Vega rock ‘n’ roll collaborators, bass player Andy Rourke and singer and guitarist Kav Sandhu’sfirst encounter, proves key. Getting on from day one, what follows is a pulsating sequence of friendship, musicianship and a pure passion for music.
Sadly, on May 19th, last year, Andy’s contribution to Blitz Vega is brought to an end. Losing a lengthy battle with pancreatic cancer, it happens before ‘Northern Gentleman’, the studio record, is finished.
Kav is left to add the finishing touches, but his music partner has not taken off without a transfer of instructions. “It’s difficult not to bounce stuff off, just keep in mind the last conversation that we had, try to focus on doing right by him, what he wanted. That’s the most important thing for me. It makes it easier that he was so clear about what he wanted, I can just focus on that.”
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The duo made a vast amount of music, and recent sifting through songs on hard drives Kav continues to find more. “You remember so much,” he admits. “What triggered me to look through more of we’d recorded is that I’d been going through footage. We were working on a documentary about the band, from when we started, and that footage triggered my memories about certain sessions.”
A striking, emotional collection of songs, embedded in energy and life, their final work is a heartfelt farewell to a friend, who leaves a legacy, unforgettable memories of who Andy was as a person and his spectacular style of bass playing.
“Andy was so happy making the record,” Kav enthuses. “His illness was constantly hanging over him, but you wouldn’t have known until the last few months of his life, that he was unwell, because he didn’t show it. He always showed up, he used to say ‘you’ve got to show up gig ready’.”
“He always had his jacket on, his hair looked cool. I’d be there in my tracksuit, chilled. He’s there, ready to go on stage, even in the studio. He was a very cool guy in that way, he looked forward to being in the studio. He was so proud of it and felt liberated.”
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Understandably, Andy’s health condition makes concerts more tricky. “He fights the illness throughout the whole of Blitz Vega, since we started. It just made it very difficult to play live.”
But dealing with the loss of a best friend is even harder. “That’s when it really hits you that Andy’s not there. We used to speak on the phone every day about what we were doing.”
He sees the ten songs included on the album as the best representative of their journey in a band together, the combination of having the former Smiths musician and the ex-Happy Mondays member is a perfect match.
There are no limits when it comes to genre, style or influence, they inspire each other, they exchange tastes, it leads to a seamless, a continuous flow of music discovery. This ongoing expansion of horizons is a colossal part of who they are.
It’s about a rock ‘n’ roll foundation in vibe and attitude. “We were both huge Stones fans. We’d quote The Stones, whether it’s documentaries or songs, all the time. I’d always call him Bill Wyman, it was Bill on bass.”
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With that comes a love of Neil Young, The Beatles and The Kinks, loads and loads of bands. “We were both such big music fans. We didn’t feel like you would have to talk about it, it would just come, however you were feeling.”
Creating from a broad, selective palette of genre, the album tracks have hooks and play with elements like electronica, rock, glam, punk and pop. The result is a magnificent, addictive yet uplifting blend, Kav struggles to narrow it all down, and there is no reason why he ought to feel the need.
“Shaun Ryder used to say to me ‘This is your version of going to university. This is your education in music’,” which it was. “I learned what to do, and what not to do. The greatest thing they gave me was being able to travel the world, meet so many different people.”
It all stays with Kav. He takes what he learns there and uses it in his work with Andy, this studio album celebrates their creativity. Who knows, there might be more releases to come from the awesome well of music they made together.
Ultimately, it’s about being yourself. “We weren’t really trying to fit in or impress anyone,” he maintains. “Being in a studio, spending time together and making music, whatever came naturally. Lyrics were inspired, it would be whatever was in front of me, an experience that day, or anything that came to mind that I just wanted to get off my chest. It was just a constant natural expression.”
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‘Northern Gentleman’ will be released on September 27th.
Words: Susan Hansen
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