Teitur
Title: Let The Dog Drive Home
Release date: 11th April 2011
Format: 1CD Album & Digital download
Catalogue number: A&B 10
Album of The Week ***** - The Independent
Never Less Than Extraordinary ***** - The Guardian
Ludicrously talented... - Word magazine
"I can only hope these songs will become someone else's modest companion and I feel honoured that anyone would even listen to it once - although it'll probably take more than one listen to be moved. Thanks for your time. There is a lot of music out there." - Teitur, January 2011
Having already earned an enviably reputation as the songwriter's songwriter, the Faroe Islands' favourite son, Teitur, returns with his highly anticipated new album, ‘Let The Dog Drive Home', on April 11th 2011.
Counting the likes of Rufus Wainwright, KT Tunstall, John Mayer and Aimee Mann as fans, Teitur's third album but UK debut release, ‘The Singer', gained the kind of critical acclaim most artists can only dream of. Both The Guardian and The Independent gave ‘The Singer' 5-star reviews, the latter handing it the ‘Album of The Week' accolade, while The Sunday Times described Teitur as "a wonderfully idiosyncratic talent".
So what can we expect from Teitur's new album...and what's with unusual title? "‘Let The Dog Drive Home' is an old song I wrote in America a long time ago," Teitur explains. "It ties this collection of songs together, as I usually look at my records as one entire song. Most of these songs are about letting go, about being small and the realisation that things seldom turn out the way you expect them to."
‘Let The Dog Drive Home' was recorded in what Teitur describes as the "safe surroundings" of Copenhagen and the Faroe Islands, where he has felt most at home over the past few years.
Because of the American flavoured nature of the album's songs, Teitur landed on a West Coast approach for its sound & production, taking extra care to make sure everything was very well tuned and clear in the mix.
The result is what Teitur describes as "night radio music", making it more about body & soul and less a creation of mind and thought, free of fashion statements and the desire to impress others.
"I felt I needed to just be true to my basic songwriting and to make everything less intense and healthier. This is because I've learned that you become the music you write," Teitur reveals. "It sucks to travel around and sing about funerals, death and yourself. Trust me. It does. And I know it's very cool and so different to arrange the songs for three clarinets, delay-bass and marimba, but I've found it's just not always that necessary in the long run. I am in a place in my life where I need to make something that is safe, comfortable and more effortless. As an artist, one does one's best to write the music that only you can write."
The release of ‘Let The Dog Drive Home' will be preceded by the release of the single, ‘Betty Hedges'. Teitur is also set to announce details for a UK tour & festival appearances.
Teitur's guide to ‘Let The Dog Drive Home'
FEEL GOOD
"This is a very simple song in a soul-song tradition. I originally wrote it for French singer NOLWENN LEROY, while working on her record. It's about a gut feeling. On the production we triggered all the drums, with the hi-hats into old analog synthesizers. Basically, it's the drummer and me playing live. The bass you hear is an electronic bass-drum triggered into a Moog Synthesizer. The drummer played the electric drum-kit while the bassist received and changed the notes on his Moog. I often thought about this when in a loud club or bar, and all you really hear is the bass and drums. I always want to change those bass notes around in a more harmonious and playful way.
GOD, I HAVE SO MANY THINGS TO TELL YOU
I wrote this song for a film about a guy who has Asperger's syndrome and finds it difficult to communicate. I think many people would feel better if they spoke to God. I believe in God as a good spirit. I don't believe that he sits up there and punishes us. And yes, that bass line is like the guitar riff in a classic soul-song. And no, I don't sit around and talk with God.
WAVERLY PLACE
This one is about growing up and time spent in New York City. It's about how you meet someone after a long time and realise that you finally know who they are, that you didn't understand what they were all about until much later. I wrote the majority of the songs on my first album, ‘Poetry & Aeroplanes', on Waverly Place with my friend Jeff. The sounds you hear at the beginning are from Greenwich Village.
FREIGHT TRAIN
This is one of my favourites to play. It's about how parents often wish for others all the things that you couldn't do. It's a song about someone who did all the right things. The "Freight Train" metaphor is very American, about being a hobo, hopping from train to train. Getting high in Spain...
BETTY HEDGES
It's a play on words of the saying "To hedge one's bets". It's about the fear of making decisions. It's very much the creation of songwriter Mark Nevin - we wrote it together in London ages ago. He kind of gave me the yellow card for wanting to change the song too much once I'd just recorded it, so I had to go back and change the lyrics back to their original shape. I'm glad we did. I love the sentiment, "Big questions need small answers like yes and no".
YOU NEVER LEAVE LA
Almost everyone I've ever met who lives in LA says that they don't really like it there. That's very interesting. I always come back to the city and I've had some great times there. I guess it depends on who you know and what you're doing there. I got signed there as a songwriter in my earliest twenties. The place has a lot of history, like most places if you scratch underneath the surface. Musically, I really wanted to have those classic chords with lots of fifths and fourths over an American drum beat. Like Bruce Hornsby or something. That sound and feel always reminds me of Los Angeles.
STORMY WEATHER
I wanted this to sound like the view from my house just before a storm sets in. That's what I think about when I play it. It's funny how storms actually bring cosiness when you're indoors.
LET THE DOG DRIVE HOME
I think this is the fourth time I've recorded this song. It's ironic that the song itself is about letting go.
VERY CARELESS PEOPLE
This used to be a quirky up-tempo song, but I changed the music drastically. I think it's my favourite from this recording session although I wish I never met that girl.
ALL I REMEMBER FROM LAST NIGHT IS YOU
This song is written very much in the tradition of musical songs. I once woke up remembering nothing but a girl and I always feel very guilty if I've had too much to drink. It's a necessary sin to get drunk.