ABOUT THE LANGUAGE OF CURIOSITY
European & British award nominees the Starlite Campbell Band husband and wife duo Suzy Starlite and Simon Campbell released their highly acclaimed second album ‘The Language of Curiosity' on November 5th, 2021 on independent label Supertone Records.
Their combined songwriting skills along with a uniquely British rock & blues sound, make Starlite and Campbell, who fell in love on stage and married following a whirlwind musical romance, one hot ticket!
There aren't many artists who write, play, record, engineer, and produce their own music themselves but that is exactly what this passionate couple does. As lovers of vinyl and all things analog, producer Simon Campbell’s production and recording techniques have an ethos and quality learned first-hand working in recording studios in the early 70’s; it's not retro - it's always been this way!
Suzy Starlite & Simon Campbell are multi-instrumentalists; you’ll also hear a Philips Philicorder, mellotron, Moog Minitaur, theremin & E1-M guitar in the mix. The album was primarily recorded on their 48 channel analog mixing console along with vintage gear such as an original 1970s Echoplex tape echo machine, valve amplifiers and vintage microphones.
Guitar-led melodic blues-rock opener 'Distant Land' is a case in audio point; it sounds like it could have been recorded in the early 70s but musically carries a very contemporary groove and swagger with a topical lyrical theme relating to war, genocide and the global displacement of millions. ‘Gaslight’ on the other rock and roll hand, is decidedly upbeat and features a rich Motown-esque groove from Starlite on bass, good-time Wurlitzer electric piano from the Italian stallion Gabriele Del Vecchio and a foot-tapping four-on the floor groove from Steve Gibson on drums.
The title track, featuring Suzy Starlite and Simon Campbell in perfect vocal harmony, manages to encompass both 60s pop and beat-pop Blondie. The result is dream-pop stylings and equally dreamy lyricism "Hugged a stranger in a neon-lit café, hooked a ride with a billionaire cowboy" - the lyrical language of curiosity, indeed.
The melodically charming pop-blues of 'Bad Sign' is another with dreamier qualities, here within a Middle 8 that features a Suzy Starlite vocal and Spanish guitar from Simon Campbell with a nod here also to Gabriele Del Vecchio on upright piano.
'Take Time To Grow Old' is a delightful melodic blues number featuring a Mosrite double neck electric guitar, that is more about attitude than age, complimented by Simon Campbell’s sublime fuzzed and weighted guitar solo taking centre stage, giving way to Suzy Starlite’s childlike and poignant short piano outro. Featuring Steve Gibson on drums, Jonny Henderson on Hammond organ and Gabriele Del Vecchio on grand piano, you’ll want to play it again and again.
Videographer Amanda Naughton once again captured some beautiful moments on film to help tell the story with the video on YouTube going viral with over 45,000 views in a matter of days!.
In the next song ‘Said So’, Simon Campbell gets his full fuzz power rock on, which then kicks into a bass-driven, psychedelic guitar adorned whirlwind instrumental section complete with laughter, sirens, voices and inspirational sounds before grinding to a halt with a melodic riff that then takes you back to rock out got to the end of the song!
Suzy Starlite, on her Fylde acoustic bass, takes lead vocal and her own, beautifully blended harmonies on another dreamy outing, the slow and rhythmic 'It Ain't Right.'
“Stone Cold Crazy” has a funky early 70’s Free-style roll that the Starlite Campbell Band do so well, making it not only catchy, but very danceable.
“Lay it Out on Me” is as contemporary a blues song as you can get with an exposed, soul-baring vocal from Simon Campbell with so much space the whole song feels naked, complimented by a beautiful slightly-broken melodic bass line, sparse piano and equally sensitive drums.
The album closes with the up-tempo, soul groove rhythm of 'Ride On Cowboy' (Suzy Starlite lyrically commentating on casual sex in the 2020s – "It don’t mean a thing, and it don’t cost a thing") that really shows off Starlite’s vocal abilities and closes out the album.
The band’s recently completed a six-week tour of the UK, The Netherlands and the Czech Republic and are excited to be playing the main stage on Saturday 15th January 2022 (after Walter Trout) at The Great British Rock and Blues Festival, Skegness plus other theatre dates to be announced in Portugal, the UK and mainland Europe throughout 2022.
There is a palpable sense of excitement and buzz surrounding the release of this highly acclaimed second album. ‘The Language of Curiosity’ is released on Supertone Records and is available to buy direct from the band’s website, Amazon, iTunes and in all major outlets or from your local record shop with European distribution by Continental Records.
TRACK LISTINGS - DIGITAL & COMPACT DISC
TRACK | TIME | ISRC |
Distant Land* | 04:01:00 | GBD5C2100003 |
Gaslight | 03:46:00 | GBD5C2100002 |
Language Of Curiosity | 03:49:00 | GBD5C2100004 |
Bad Sign | 04:58:00 | GBD5C2100005 |
Take Time To Grow Old* | 06:07:00 | GBD5C2100006 |
Said So | 05:34:00 | GBD5C2100007 |
It Ain't Right | 04:19:00 | GBD5C2100008 |
Stone Cold Crazy | 04:04:00 | GBD5C2000001 |
Lay It Out On Me | 04:58:00 | GBD5C2000002 |
Ride On Cowboy | 05:17:00 | GBD5C2100009 |
* radio edits are available for these tracks
CREDITS
- Suzy Starlite: bass guitars, Philips Philicorder, Grotian Steinbeg piano, mellotron, percussion & vocals
- Simon Campbell: guitars, Sequential Tempest, MOOG Minitaur, theremin & E1-M guitar, percussion & vocals.
- Featuring: Steve Gibson: drums & percussion
- Jonny Henderson: Hammond B3 organ, Vox Continental, Hohner Clavinet, Bechstein grand piano and Wurlitzer electric piano
- Gabriele Del Vecchio: Yamaha and Grotian Steinbeg pianos, Wurlitzer electric piano and Hammond M100 organ
- Maria Saalfeld Reis: Castanets
- Production and engineering: Simon Campbell
- Assistant producer/engineer: Suzy Starlite
- Music and lyrics: Suzy Starlite & Simon Campbell
- Recorded at Supertone Records studio in Valencia, Spain; Thören, Germany; Samora Correia, Portugal and Rockfield Studios, Wales
- Lacquer cutting: Miles Showell, Abbey Road Studios, London, England
- Mastering: Jon Astley, Close to the Edge Mastering, London, England
- Photography: Stuart Bebb
- Graphic design: Barry Kinder
℗© 2021 Supertone Records, London, England
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