After announcing their third album, The Great Fire of Beatenberg, towards the end of last year, much loved South African pop band Beatenberg, recently released their fifth single, Worth More.
The three-man band known for hits such as Chelsea Blakemore, Beauty like a Tightened Bow and Rafael, are living in London, and set to release the latest album in April.
Band members Matthew Field (vocals and guitar), Robin Brink (drums), and Ross Dorkin (bass) are back after a four hiatus from the music scene. We caught up with the UK-based trio who are making waves again on the scene.
Matthew told Weekend Argus: “Worth More was written with my dear friend and frequent collaborator, the one and only Tresor. The three repeats of the chorus create an interesting structure. I don’t have a shirt with parakeet buttons but I would wear such a thing.”
The band have been enjoying success for the best part of a decade.
After the group’s debut album, 2014’s The Hanging Gardens of Beatenberg was released, they broke radio chart records, and won numerous awards in their native South Africa, which led to worldwide tours with performances on Later with Jools Holland and The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon.
This exposure led to signing a deal with Island Records UK with whom they released their second album, 2018’s 12 Views of Beatenberg.
The trio, who have been adapting to their new homes in London, said they’ve settled in, but found that making and releasing music have become “quite strange”.
Matthew said: “While making music is its own reward, ‘releasing’ music these days can feel quite strange or insubstantial for various reasons, and especially when you’re neither super active on social media nor actively engaging with people in a human physical way at shows and things, and are, as we are, somewhat separated geographically as a band.
“But I hope or trust (or somewhere in between) that putting out the work we’ve cared about, and given our energy, it will be of some benefit to someone, somewhere, sometime.”
He concluded with a word of gratitude to fans who have been supporting their music despite their temporary break from the music scene.
“You will be able to hear the full album of songs this year and we’re playing a few shows in April. Hopefully those will be special.
“Who knows what else to expect, since we’re also all working on other things too – but everything is open, I’m just as motivated as ever to put form to the feelings or whatever that I’ve had since I can remember, and to make music and word arrangements that I love etc.
“I also remain grateful and am sporadically overcome by the way people have continued to connect with our music. Example: reading YouTube comments on old music videos, as I did recently. I thank everyone for listening and responding in whatever way you have.”
Ross said the band has enjoyed growth in individual aspects since their immigration.
“We’ve all been exploring our own creative work and I think we have all had the joy and privilege of working with many other talented musicians, as well as exploring and travelling in our new homes abroad. There’s been a lot of growth and development which has been really valuable.”
Worth More is available on all digital platforms.
Set to release in April via Leafy Outlook, The Great Fire Of Beatenberg will be the band’s first album in five years.
venecia.valentine@inl.co.za