Interview – Maverick Sabre
It has been a few years since Maverick Sabre, the biggest male breakthrough artist of 2012 released his brutally opinionated and honest album Lonely Are the Brave. With the London born Irishman’s second single having been released from the forthcoming follow up and a nine date UK tour starting later this week, Birmingham Live got the chance to catch up with the him ahead of his forthcoming gig at The Institute on Tuesday.
BL: You are heading back out on the road this Friday, are you looking forward to it?
MAV: Yeah always, I love going back on the road, you miss it y’know, we did three tours off the first album and it seemed like we were non stop touring, then two years out finishing off the second and we haven’t done a massive amount of touring so it’ll be nice to get back in the circuit again.
BL: …and you are back in Birmingham on Tuesday, have you played The Institute before?
MAV: I’ve played The Institute before yeah, last time I was in Birmingham. I love The Institute, it’s one of my favourite venues in the country to go down to so I’m really looking forward to it. Its a nice layout, with a lot of venues that have different levels like that you always lose a level because of lighting or they are too high so you can’t see them or whatnot but there i always feel like everyone is right up on top of me which is good to be performing.
BL: And with the new album, hows that going? How near are you to having it completed?
MAV: Yeah its completed now, there’s a couple of final touches and just a couple of little bits of production that I need to go back in on so its all there, the body is there I just have to fine tune it, I really don’t want to take two years out and then put out a record when I come back that’s not perfect, It needs to be perfect. I know we are in a time when everything seems to be fast moving with music but I still want to take my time with it and give the best record and the best body of music I can.
BL: The first album seemed like a very personal album. We have heard Emotion and Breathe from the new album, is it as personal as The Lonely Are The Brave?
MAV: Yeah it is in a way, I think all of my music is quite personal in a way, whether its about something that’s happened personally to me or something that’s inspired me or if its a story that I feel needs to be told or a subject that I feel needs to be spoken about, its all very personal to me. I think this record is even more so than the first, erm, its an even more honest and vulnerable record. In my own personal life in the past two years there has been a lot of learning and growing from my side, and its being reflected with the music on this record. It’s been the first time I’ve been able to write about certain situations in the public life and that’s definitely affected the music I’ve created so you will be able to hear the change on album two, its still very personal, my music will always be personal, I don’t think I’ll ever be able to write music that’s not personal and closely connected to me no matter what Its about.
BL: Is there a name and date for the album yet?
MAV: Haha, there is a name but I’m not allowed to put it out there yet, a date is much the same, it will be early next year I’m hoping, within the first three months.
BL: So in the last two years, aside from recording, what else happens in life of Maverick Sabre?
MAV: A lot, I’d need to sit you down for a good few hours to explain everything that’s changed, there’s been a lot going on and things that have forced me to change myself and that’s helped me a lot, y’know even through hard times. I think that’s when you learn the most, so the last two years have been a great experience that I’ll never forget and I’m very humbled to have experienced it. I’ve travelled a lot, I’ve been to India and South Africa recording on a project down there. I was in Jamaica and I spent a lot of time in the States recording and I just met brilliant people that have inspired me to to create the music I’ve recorded for album two, and to kind of change my perspective on life. In turn its affected the music so I’ve done a lot in the last two years and its been a bit of an eye-opener for me.
BL: Your music doesn’t really seem to sit into any genres so what has influenced you musically through your life so far.
MAV: I think mainly my Dad and his song-writing. He’s a musician and I always used to sit down and watch him write tunes and he used to come and play songs at the end of the day. He’d come and sit on the end of my bed and play me all these new tunes. I learnt a lot of song structure off him when I was a kid and the simplicity of how to write simple but effective tunes and how to get your message across. So from him to Tupac Shakur to Bob Marley and Bob Dylan and UK hip-hop was a massive influence on me growing up and just great soul singers like Otis Redding and Marvin Gaye and Sam Cook. They also influenced me massively growing up as well as powerful reggae musicians like Gregory Isaacs, Dennis Brown and Burning Spear, a lot of them had a massive influence on me too, but I think initially my Dad was my biggest influence y’know learning song-writing off him and how he constructed his chords really and put them down into music.
BL: What are you listening to at the moment? Is there anybody on your radar that we ought to look out for?
MAV: Well, George The Poet and Jacob Banks who are supporting me on the tour are fantastic artists. I like to hand pick the artists who support me on tour because I’m inspired by them and the art that they create, so there’s the two of them but to be honest I always get stuck when I’m asked this question, even though I’m always listening to new music all the time. There’s an interesting group called Ratking from New York that are doing a really interesting kind of underground hip hop. There’s also two artists that are the only two to feature on the new album they are Joey Bada$$ who has some great new music around at the minute and Chronixx whose a Jamaican reggae artist with some great music out too. Apart from that I’m listening to a lot of jazz; I’m really into my jazz at the minute, people like Miles Davis and Ahmad Jamal, y’know Duke Ellington so there’s a lot of different jazz that I’m into at the minute, so its quite a broad mix
BL: Well thanks for taking the time out to talk to Birmingham Live and we look forward to seeing you in the city next week.
MAV: No worries brother, take care of yourself and thank you too for taking the time out as well, see you in Birmingham.
Maverick Sabre starts his UK tour this friday
Fri 17th LIVERPOOL, O2 Academy
Sat 18th SHEFFIELD, The Plug
Sun 19th GLASGOW, 02 ABC
Tue 21st BIRMINGHAM, The Institute
Wed 22nd MANCHESTER, The Ritz
Fri 24th BRISTOL, Bristol Bierkeller
Sat 25th OXFORD, O2 Academy
Sun 26th NORWICH, Waterfront
Tue 28th LONDON, O2 Sheperds Bush Empire
Tickets are on sale now, are priced at £16 (£18.50 London) and are available from http://mavericksabre.seetickets.com
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Photograph – Steve Gerrard