special.Theothermajordifferenceis thatit’s
justmyguitar,vocalsanda stringquartet.It
wasa lovelylittlealbumtomakeanditshad
a reallysweetresponsesofar.
Whatstoriesdidyouwanttoshare
throughyourmusicthistimearound?
I thinkthat,thistime,I hadsomuchtosay
thateachsongtellsa different
story.Therearequitea mix
ofsubjectsthroughoutthe
albumwhichmakesit quite
interesting.Mostimportantly
I wrotea songaboutmycat
RosiewhichI amreallyproudabout.
Youalwaysseemtobeworkingonnew
music.Wheredoyoudrawinspiration
from?
Lifeis justconstantly
inspiringtome.Welive
ina fascinatingworldfull
ofweirdandwonderful
peopleandthereis always
anotherstorytotell.I
thinkwitheveryyearthat
passes,I viewtheworld
ina differentway.This
meansthatthereis often
a differentangletowrite
fromandI takeadvantage
ofthat.
We’rereallyexcited
towatchyoulivein
November.Whatisthe
bestandworstthing
abouttouringthe
world?
I’msoexcitedforthe
shows!It’sa massive
dealformetobedoing
arenasinSouthAfrica
andit’scertainlygoingto
bea careerhighlightfor
me.Thebestthingabout
touringis everything
youimagineit would
be.Seeingnewplaces,
meetingpeopleandmost
ofallgettingtoplaysongs
thatI’vewrittentopeople
whowanttohearthem.
Theworstpartsareusually
todowithbeingaway
fora longtimeandthere
is anamountofanxiety
andstressthatsurrounds
performing.It’svitaltobe
travellingwithpeoplethat
youfeelcomfortablewith.
Ifyoucouldtellyour
SouthAfricanfansone
thing,whatwoulditbe?
I cannotwaitforthese
shows.I havebeenwaiting
tocomebacktoSouth
Africafora longtime.
Thankyouallsomuch
foryouramazingsupport
sofarandI reallylook
forwardtoseeingyouall
again in November.Youreceivedso
muchlovewhen
youopenedforEd
SheeraninSouth
AfricanbackinMarch.
Whatisthebestthing
aboutseeingpeople
connectwithyour
music?
It wasa mind-blowing
fewdays.I’vebeenlucky
enoughtoopenupfor
Edallovertheworld
butI havetosay,the
SouthAfricanshows
wereamongstthebest.
Thecrowdswerejustso
warmandwelcoming
andI couldn’tbelieve
thereceptionthatI got.I
can’twaittocomeback.
Tellusa bitaboutyour
favouritepartsofthe
triptoSouthAfrica.
Weshota musicvideoin
CapeTown,whichwas
anincredibleexperience.
Weclimbeduptoone
oftheviewpointsand
lookedoverthecityat
sunset.It wasa truly
spectacularevening
andthevideocameout
amazingly.
Youjustreleased
yourbrand-new
albumSometimes
It’sSomething,
SometimesIt’s
NothingAtAlll’. How
doesitdifferfromyour
previousrecords?
Firstly,it’sa charity
record.AlloftheprofitsI
makefromthealbumare
beingdonatedtoa UK-
basedhomelesscharity
calledShelter.It’sreally
nicetobeina position
whereI cangivebackin
a meaningfulwaylike
thisandit’smadethe
album that much moreH
EwowedlocalfanswhenheopenedforEdSheeranearlierthisyearandthe
responsehasbeensogreatthatPassengerwillbeheadliningmoreshowsthis
NovemberinbothJohannesburgandCapeTown.Aheadofhisreturn,wecaught
up with the star, who talks about his time in South Africa, his new album and more.Off The Record With BYELBROIDE
SPOTLIGHT
INTERVIEW
PASSENGER
WE chat to musicians making waves
in the SA music scene!