With an album due out in January, Travel Songs have released a new single “Take Me Away.” We’re happy to premiere it and share an interview we did with them.
Hey, Zach congrats on the premiere of your new single “Take Me Away.” Can you tell us a little bit about this song?
Thanks man, very happy to premiere it with you.
The tune is mostly about escapism. I went on a surfing trip to Costa Rica last winter and came down with a nasty stomach bug. When I returned to Brooklyn I was sick for almost a year. It really sucked, and I was feeling pretty down about it. So for me, “Take Me Away” discusses the complete removal from your current space.
That was a big theme of 2016 for me.
How did you choose “Take Me Away” as the single?
I think “Take Me Away” really expresses what the rest of the album is about and it’s a good representation of what you’ll hear on Coco Bengali. It’s melody driven, the chords are mostly 7ths with jazz voicings, and it’s quiet.
This is something I have been experimenting with recently — and enjoying. I love being quiet. I love the idea of being the artist in the corner. Subtly providing ambiance to an environment is cool to me.
How about your album “Coco Bengali” that’s coming out in 2017?
Yes I am very excited about Coco. These are all tunes that I wrote over the course of one year, in one room — while living in Brooklyn. I moved to Philadelphia last year, and once my studio was set up I immediately tracked the songs.
When I had the main structure of the songs recorded, I worked with my Producer, Sam Nobles on arrangements.
I really like the idea of mixing analog, organic sounds with digital and synthesized sounds. It’s funny because the songs were written on the guitar, but once you listen to the final masters they become very keys driven.
Songs can do that sometimes. Completely take on their own identity. They are like a child in that way.
There’s a connection between you and the listener that draws them in on “Take Me Away.” Was that the feeling when you recorded it?
So far as a connection to a listener, I sometimes hate saying what a song is about because I think many songs can be about different things to different people.
There is an aspect of romance in the lyrics, and that’s on purpose as well. I’d like to think that “Take Me Away” can be understood through an optimistic lens or as a love song.
Where were you when you wrote this song and what helps with the writing process?
Writing is weird for me. Rarely do I ever sit down and say, “I’m gonna write a song now.”
I wrote “Take Me Away” one night while my girlfriend was on the phone with her mother. Her family lives in Seattle, and I started thinking about how it’d be cool to go to the west coast.
How it’d be cool to be pretty much anywhere but New York in the middle of the winter.
I really liked the 3/4 feel and the turn-around chords — so the melody came easily.
Your voice really carries the song, have you always had the ability to sing like this?
My perspective on how to sing has changed a lot as I’ve grown as a musician. More recently I have enjoyed singers that confidently hit notes on a melody line.
Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole — those dudes from back in the day really went all in on the notation.
I also listen to a lot Brazilian jazz and bossa nova. I feel like those singers use their voices similarly. I guess that’s why Frank Sinatra was so big in Brazil.
This style can sound almost cheesy at times, but it also makes for pretty stand-out melodies. Melodies that really get stuck in your head.
This is my favorite way to sing.
Are there certain types of music you can relate to or are influenced by?
I really like obscure music from around the world. 1960’s funk from Ghana, Brazilian Tropicália, Salsa, the like.
But I also really like contemporary stuff. Tame Impala, The Strokes, Bon Iver, and Rodrigo Amarante.
You’ve traveled and lived all over the world, how has your music grown from that?
The traveling and music have a symbiotic relationship.
I like music that sets a scene.
I like to make music that is descriptive and biographical — so naturally my environment always plays a large role in my music.
When I first started, I recorded my albums in a mobile studio of sorts. I had one set up in Tunisia and one in Thailand.
Those sessions were similar to the Coco recordings in the way that I would track the main tune and Sam would add accompaniment.
In a lot of ways the newest album is a slight departure from the others — but in that way, it’s the same.
You’ve already recorded five albums, right?
Yea, one solo. Three with Sam. Also one with the full band. That’s what I really enjoy about the music I’m making now. Sometimes it’s played solo in a cafe, and sometimes as a quartet. The songs kind of are what they are and take on the color of whichever musicians are around to play them.
There’s another side to Travel Songs, The Travel Songs Foundation. Would you mind telling us about that?
Sure, The Travel Songs Foundation is the non-profit branch of what we do.
I travel with a production team to countries around the world and film documentaries about the music and culture of the region.
Also, we launch charity projects in the countries where we film. For example, we filmed in Peru a few years back, and now we are building an instrument-making school there.
It can get confusing, but I often think of Travel Songs as having two purposes — the music that is recorded and performed, and the non profit work we do.
What can we expect from you in the upcoming months?
Well, Coco Bengali will be released in January, so that is pretty exciting. Also, I will be headed to Cusco mid-January to oversee the launch of the school project we have there — so I’d anticipate many photos and videos documenting that trip.
Any advice to people that want to travel, make music, help charitable projects and film documentaries?
Patience is pretty helpful. A lot of that stuff is very fun but takes a while to wrap your head around. So patient is key.
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