Jann Klose
Jann Klose is a New York City based singer/songwriter who has just released a new collection of songs titled "In Tandem." Having spent some time in South Africa, Jann has worked with a variety of musicians from there. On this album he invited several of his musical acquaintances to work "In Tandem" on some songs. You will hear artists such as: Tamara Dey, Karen Zoid, RJ Benjamin and Annie Haslam from Renaissance. Jann states " The idea was to make a collaborative album after having worked with many of the artists and musicians on IN TANDEM in the past.
Jann is an ambassador for Desmond Tutu's TutuDesk campaign and is the singing voice of Tim Buckley in the movie Greetings from Tim Buckley. He has also performed in theater productions of Jesus Christ Superstar, Jeckyl & Hyde, The Who's Tommy and others. Jann plays the guitar, bass, piano and has a world class voice. I recently asked him a few questions about the new album.
R.V.B. - Congratulations on the release of your fine new album "In Tandem." The songwriting is solid but this just follows the reputation of your previous works. What was the concept or plan at the outset?
J.K. - Thank you! The idea was to make a collaborative album after having worked with many of the artists and musicians on IN TANDEM in the past. I met several of the South African artists including Tamara Dey, Karen Zoid and RJ Benjamin at a BMI songwriters camp in Cape Town in 2016.
R.V.B. - Was this sentimental for you in that you spent some time in South Africa in your youth?
J.K. - Absolutely! It was joyful to experience South Africa as an adult and through this music and these great artists. It was after all in this beautiful country where I first imagined becoming a musician one day!
R.V.B. - Some of your guest singers/performers add a great variety to the project. Can you give me an example on how you chose some of the artists to work with?
J.K. - Songs and performances… I wanted to work with people that were like minded and inspiring. All the artists on the album pushed me into directions I may have never explored without them. That’s what I was looking for and that’s what I believe I found.
R.V.B. - How do you enjoy working with Annie Haslam? I think there is eight octaves between the two of you.
J.K. - Annie has been a friend and collaborator for a long time… It was great working with her and Rave Tesar on “Don’t Give Up” which was originally written and recorded by Peter Gabriel and Kate Bush.
R.V.B. - Track 11... "What it is" has a pop rock feel and I love the line "brought out the 45's." What's behind this song?
J.K. - Finding joy in memories… We have so many memories and not all are good. I wanted to remond myself of all the good things that have happened in the past and everything good that can happen in the future if you can think positively.
R.V.B - You've lived in a lot of different places/countries and your rendition of "Hochzeitslied" is very fluent. Besides being a beautiful song, why did you choose to sing this in German and also in English?
J.K. - I wrote it for my Mom’s wedding… In addition to the Germany version which came quite naturally for obvious reasons, I wanted to include the English version since my main audience is English speaking.
R.V.B. - How did you wind up in New York?
J.K. - When I first visited New York City I decided then and there I was going to live here one day. Four years after that first visit I did just that and never left…
R.V.B. - Is track 2 "Dear Mel" written about anyone that you might know personally?
J.K. - It’s written about friends I’ve lost. I wrote it in celebration of them and their memory.
R.V.B. - What kind of an honor was it for you to depict Tim Buckley?
J.K. - Profound… I grew up listening to Jeff Buckley so it was quite meaningful to sing in “Greetings From Tim Buckley.” It’s because of it that I collaborated with Gary Lucas and later Larry Beckett on other songs. Larry wrote many of Tim’s lyrics and our collaboration sparked what became “After the Last” on IN TANDEM.
R.V.B. - What are your plans to support "In Tandem?"
J.K. - We are in the middle of it! In addition to shows and music videos (2 are already on my YouTube channel now!) my team and I are using social media and streaming services to build awareness of the album.
R.V.B. - What are some of your favorite live performances? BTW... I saw you at Stephen Talkhouse with Gary Lucas.
J.K. - Singing with Gary is always fun… I can lean back and sing and don’t have to play guitar with him. I do love performing with a band. I have great musician friends in America, Europe and Africa now. We are growing!
R.V.B. - Where was this album recorded and are the songs relatively current or were some in the works for a while?
J.K. - The songs are all very recent. Most of the album was recorded and mixed in South Africa, Johannesburg and Cape Town. “Don’t Give Up” was recorded and mixed in New York. The album was mastered by Ben Kesler in Nashville, TN.
Interview conducted by Robert von Bernewitz
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For more information on Jann Klose visit his website www.jannklose.com
Special thanks to Glass Onyon PR
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