Ahead of the release of his brand new album ‘World of My Own’, we sat down with Chris Helme, the former frontman of The Seahorses to chat about the record, the importance of physical releases and bringing old songs to life.
—
How excited are you for the album to be release?
Chris: Really excited. It has been a long time coming. One of the reasons was because I wanted to learn about everything in terms of mixing. It is much easier for someone who has that knowledge to do it rather than learn about it yourself. I gave it to my mate Dave Boothroyd to mix, and he’s from a complete different music background to me and we learned from each other during that time. We got there in the end; there is a lot to it. There are some songs I wrote ten years ago, five years ago and a year ago.
—
What has the reception been like on the singles?
Chris: People have different tastes in music; the first one was a bit of a surprise to some people. There were comments saying it was like the long lost James Bond song. The second was different, but still me, a bit more folk style. I wanted to write a simple hippy anthem. ‘Sailing Home’ is a complete different vibe again; I like the epicness of Simon & Garfunkel and the orchestrated bits of Leonard Cohen. Very indulgent if I say.
—
What is the message behind the artwork and title name?
Chris: I didn’t know what the album was going to be called. It was going to be called ‘Honeycomb’ at one point; we had all this idea of a bee in a space helmet. We decided to go for ‘World of My Own’ and it seemed to make a lot more sense, where my head has been for a few years. I was quite ill during lockdown, so being in a world of my own was pretty much that for two months. We were running ideas past each, the influence of John Hargreaves’ segways, you’d think it was a concept album. It’s been this happy accident in a sense. I hope people get it.
—
How important is it for you to bring back those old songs and bring them to life?
Chris: The longer your write songs, you have those kind of songs. It doesn’t mean they are shit, it’s just they don’t fit in with the release. There are plenty of songs I still want to revisit, because I now know how I want them to sound. A song is a song at the end of the day, but sometimes there are parts of those songs that work with a new one.
—
You have been posting videos of yourself in the pressing plant for the vinyl release of the album. How important is it for physical releases of music to continue?
Chris: I think it’s really important, it is to me anyway. If you asked me before people started buying the second pressing of ‘Do It Yourself’ [The Seahorses], I would have said people don’t give a shit about physical release. When it was reissued, people were buying it, and that’s a nice thing. Because of that, hence the release of ‘World of my Own’ being released on vinyl. My first experience when I was 9 years old was going into town and buying ‘I Want Candy’ by Bow Wow Wow. I remember it like it was yesterday, that this product I had saved up for was in my hands. It depends when you was born I think.
—
You recently toured with Dodgy earlier this year, as well as back in May 2023. What is it like touring with a band as a support act rather than a solo headline run?
Chris: It’s been really good to play with them. I love ‘Free Peace Sweet’. When we got the masters back for ‘Do It Yourself’, I went to my friend’s house and we listened to both of the albums, Dodgy’s blows it out of the water. I was quite surprised when I met Nigel Clark, I was working in a bar called Fibbers, and they were playing that night. I remember asking if he needed a hand with anything and he said “can you just pick up that keyboard over there” and it weighed the same as a Mini. I didn’t meet him again until years later, about 20 years. Both our son’s first names are the same, which is quite a rare name for a lad. We have got to know each other a lot more over the years and the rest of the guys are incredible. It’s effortless for them. It’s a real honour to be asked to be part of the tour.
—
Yourself, Nigel, Mark Morris and John Power all play solo acoustic shows as well as being in bands. What is the reason behind doing those types of shows too?
Chris: It’s nice. It’s interesting how other people work. There is something lovely and liberating about playing on your own. You can’t hide. I have this weird way of stopping myself feeling nervous, I just like to pretend I am in my living room. Mark Morris is hilarious between songs and we all have a bit of banter when we play together.
—
What other plans do you have for 2024 apart from playing shows?
Chris: I am going to start working on another album soon. There is other people I want to work with, so I am chomping at the bit now. I know what needs to be done and it’s not as scary as it was 10 years ago. I am looking forward to doing a lot of gigs this year and maybe in 2025 some full band stuff. This album deserves to be listened to in its entirety as a gig. I am looking forward to playing the new songs.
—
‘World of My Own’ is available to purchase on vinyl HERE. It is also available across digital streaming platforms HERE.
Follow Chris Helme on his socials via the links below.
All of Chris Helme’s UK dates can be found on his website HERE.
Taped Magazine 