here's an e-mail exclusive, well I think it is anyway. lets pretend it is :D
Travis present the album 12 Memories.
To be released October 13th(UK), through Independiente
The one-time 'invisible band' - Travis - return after an absence of some two years
with their fourth LP 12 Memories.
12 Memories is Travis at their most powerful, poignant and effecting. It is an album
that sees Travis explore lyrically darker themes - the forthcoming single Re-Offender,
released September 29th, tackles the hidden crime of domestic violence. Musically,
too, there is a sea change: Travis have rediscovered a spirit of adventure and set
sail on courses new. This is a far edgier and brooding set of songs than anything that
has gone before. Yet, Travis still possess an eloquence and an ear to a fine tune.
As Fran points out "In the past Nora, my fiancée, inspired a lot of the songs about
love. But we're solid now so I felt it I could move on. September 11 was the start of
something. I can now see how fragile the world is."
12 Memories is the Travis album that almost never was. Just over a year ago drummer
Neil Primrose sustained a spinal injury. Medical opinion was that Neil would be
unlikely to walk again. For Fran, Dougie and Andy, there were no 'ifs' or 'buts'
about it. No Neil. No Travis. They subsequently cancelled all plans.
Three weeks on from that accident, Neil was sitting at his drum-kit. It was not a
Lazarus-like resurrection but given time Neil was going to recover as long as he took
it easy. While he recuperated, the band took six months off. This was their first
true break since 1999, when The Man Who went supernova (and multi-platinum).
"We hadn't anticipated the success of The Man Who and by the time of The Invisible
Band little cracks were beginning to appear," explains Fran. "Suddenly we weren't
this little band in Glasgow any more. We desperately needed to take a step back and
re-evaluate. Neil's accident was devastating and almost the end of Travis. This band
would not exist without one of the four members. Neil's recovery was amazing, we
were all given another chance.'
As 2002 drew to a close Travis reassembled at Crear, West Scotland. They set up a
makeshift studio and once again lived the communal life that they had led when they
first came to London in 1996. They would stumble out of bed and play songs still
dressed in their pyjamas. They would wander up the road to the pub owned by Neil's
parents and have a few shots of malt. After two weeks they had written and recorded
nine new songs. "It was like falling in love again," says Dougie. "Crear seemed like
a healing place."
And indeed it was.
Travis returned to the studio at the start of 2003. They relocated to Real World near
Bath and worked towards completing 12 Memories. There was one further change in the
Travis dynamic. This time they opted to oversee production of the record - the Crear
sessions being produced by the band and Steve Orchard; additional production and mixing
at Real World was undertaken by Tchad Blake. And in, 12 Memories they have made their
best record yet. As Dougie so succinctly puts it:
"It just feels like us."
Travis are expected shortly to announce a set of shows to coincide with the
album's release.
12 Memories
1. Quicksand
2. The Beautiful Occupation
3. Re-Offender
4. Peace The Fuck Out
5. How Many Hearts
6. Paperclips
7. Somewhere Else
8. Love Will Come Through
9. Mid-life Krysis
10. Happy to Hang Around
11. Walking Down The Hill
(And the 12th memory? Discover for yourself)
A preview of the cover artwork for 12 Memories is now online in our preview section.
Twelve Memories Release Dates:
08/10/03 Japan
13/10/03 UK and Europe
14/10/03 US
Also previewing today on Travisonline:
Re-Offender: Full Video.
The full length video for Travis' new single "Re-Offender" is now online. And we can
guarantee this is Travis as you've never seen them before.
Directed by Anton Corbijn and shot over three days in and around the band's home
town of Glasgow the full length video is available in the preview section of
http://www.travisonline.com
:cool: