Andrew Roachford’s new album Twice In A Lifetime, originally scheduled for April and now released in September, is a record well worth the wait.
Lead single ‘High on Love’, setting a high benchmark with its blend of upbeat pop-meets-soul, has had excellent support already from Radio 2 and demonstrates fully the sound of its accompanying album.
Damian Robinson caught up with Roachford to find out more about the album and next years tour.
Congratulations on the album, it’s so good, has it been frustrating to have had to wait for it to be released?
Thanks, and more than frustrating, yes, but I think if Covid has taught us all anything it’s how to be patient. There’s not much of a wait left now before it’s released and I’m hoping it’ll be worth the wait.
There’s a really rich, soulful, sound on the album. How did you manage to produce the texture?
I co-produced the album with Jimmy Hogarth who has done some great work with Amy Winehouse and Paolo Nutini amongst other people, and together we tried to really capture the essence of the songs as best as we could.
And you wrote the album as well as co-producing it?
I did yes, all of the album is co-written by me. It’s funny because people often remember me for Cuddly Toy, especially when I was on Top of the Pops dancing, and perhaps never realised that I was a songwriter as well as a performer. In fact, often I’m playing most of the instruments on the records you hear. People might be surprised when they come to see me and I’m sat behind a piano rather than dancing but it’s all fine. I consider myself to be a musician first and that’s partly why with this album there’s photos of me standing beside a piano and a general emphasis on the song writing.
When you take the album on tour there’ll be a lot of you playing live instrumentation then?
Yes, we’re putting the band together now for the tour next year and I’m considering adding a horn section as I’ve never played with live horns. But I’ll be playing live and singing and it’s going to be real fun.
Your vocals on the album are really sharp
Thank you. I find it harder to sing when we record than I do to sing in front of a live crowd, so the songs and the voice are going to sound even better when they’re played live. I can’t wait to get out and sing and feel the energy of the crowd.
‘Twice in a Lifetime’ is released on 11th September.
Roachford will play Newcastle o2 Academy on 4th June 2021