Back then, I had a friend who kept feeding me cassette tapes packed with alternative music – mostly from the UK. While many around me were listening to the mainstream hits of the day, I was diving deep into a world of sounds that felt… different.
Nerdy? Absolutely.
But I loved it – exploring new and exciting bands that no one else in my circle had even heard of. Some of them remained forever obscure, but others went on to become legendary.
Among those who made it big were The Smiths. To me, the combination of Morrissey’s lyrical brilliance and Johnny Marr’s shimmering guitar work was nothing short of genius. I was hooked from the very first chord. And honestly, The Smiths have been with me ever since.
So when it came time to create my new album, Sad Songs, which is out today (September 5th), it felt only natural to draw inspiration from the music Morrissey and Marr created some 40 years ago.
This isn’t an attempt to copy them. Far from it. Instead, I see it as a kind of tribute – an effort to capture a little of the atmosphere and mood they managed to create back then. The melodies on Sad Songs are, in fact, quite uplifting at times. But the backdrop is undeniably dark, with lyrics steeped in melancholy and loss.
Since February, these songs have slowly taken shape, and the end result is a collection of ten tracks that feel like the perfect soundtrack for heading into the autumn darkness.
Will my words ever reach Morrissey’s poetic heights? Not likely. But still, I’ve poured myself into this record – and I hope you’ll enjoy what you hear.
