The hazy line between tranquility and chaos, comfort and affliction and giving in and apprehension effectively sum up just a few conflicting feelings one experiences when exposed to Cape Town-based Andre Leo and Lucy Kruger’s dream noise outfit, Medicine Boy.
With a seductively earnest single ‘E.V.I.L’ in the bag, a European tour in September in the works and their debut album “Kinda Like Electricity” having just dropped, I caught up with the pioneering and determined duo.
Timothy Kohler: Your last release, ‘E.V.I.L.’ was born as a result of experimenting with an array of ideas. The first line and melody was conjured up by Lucy and Andre furnished the rest – is this songwriting process one which you strictly abide to or is it more lenient?
Medicine Boy: The writing process is extremely unpredictable. Songs get born, formed and finish in various ways. There’s no real formula – for us at least. With ‘E.V.I.L.’, I was sitting on the carpet messing around on the acoustic guitar and somehow that riff came out. If Lucy wasn’t there to catch it, it would have disappeared back to where ever it came from.
TK: Do you two find it particularly difficult to coordinate Medicine Boy, Lucy Kruger and The Lost Boys as well as your respective solo works? Not to mention your endeavours on the side and past venture The Very Wicked?
MB: No, not really. We see ourselves as working musicians. Hard working musicians, I think. There are a lot of hours in the day. We also plan stuff quite far in advance so we don’t have to juggle too much.
TK: A number of European Tour fundraiser shows have and are being coordinated. Are there any particular strategies in place to aid the trip abroad that would differentiate from your more usual performances?
MB: Well, had the one on Friday the 15th of July at Mercury. It was incredible. Our friends Dangerfields, Oh Mercy, Roastin’ Records & Permanent Record all joined us. The amount of people that came out, not to mention their genuine thirst for the music, was amazing. Financially it’s a big help but it’s also a great morale booster. Thanks Cape Town.
TK: Your inaugural full length album just dropped and a copious amount of fans have been at the edge of their seats. Can everyone expect a collection in a similar, reverb-soaked, angst-esque direction as heard in your latest release ‘E.V.I.L.’, or perhaps an array of unprecedented and unforeseen touches?
MB: The thing that I’m most proud of regarding the album is that it pretty much touches on all our influences a bit. It just happened that way naturally, we didn’t push anything in a certain direction. There’s the kind of piercing fuzzed-out psych rock that you hear on ‘E.V.I.L’ but then are a bunch of other things going on – blues, gospel, country… I think people are definitely going to be surprised.
TK: It’s pretty evident that you’ve been hard at work during 2016, how are you two feeling reaching such pinnacle milestones in your careers?
MB: I’ve got to say, this year has been a good one. It’s felt like the hard work is starting to pay off a bit. And we’re extremely grateful and humbled by that. But also, we’re more ready than ever to start from scratch abroad to try and build up the same momentum. Still a long way to go.
TK: Has the working relationship the two of you have developed over years writing music together in a conundrum of groups had a significant influence on what you produce?
MB: Definitely. There’s nothing more valuable than time and experience. The two of us have quite different approaches to writing. I think when we really work well is when we meet in the middle.
TK: Is there anything else already on the cards for Medicine Boy post the highly anticipated “Kinda Like Electricity” and European tour?
MB: We’d love to visit the US next year. We’ll see how that goes.
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Listen to “Kinda Like Electricity” on Deezer and look out for the review tomorrow.
