Three Colours Dark
Former Karnataka bandmates take a proggier turn with their second release.
When Three Colours Dark released their debut album last year they had no idea just how welcome it would be. Sixteen months on, the duo – comprised of Karnataka, The Reasoning and Panic Room alumni – have teamed up again for Love’s Lost Property and a rather unusual single. Rachel Cohen and Jonathan Edwards discuss working with XTC’s Dave Gregory, their love of Duran Duran and why they decided to give in to genre labels.
There was a sense of unexpected delight from lovers of Panic Room, Karnataka and The Reasoning last year, when the duo of Jonathan Edwards and Rachel Cohen unleashed their debut under the Three Colours Dark moniker, The Science Of Goodbye. Perhaps even more surprising is that a mere 16 months later, they’ve returned with an equally stirring follow-up, Love’s Lost Property. The pair admit to a certain level of unanticipated contentment from the fan positivity which followed the release of their first album.
“It really was brilliant,” enthuses singer Cohen. “We just thought we would have a go at writing together to see what happened. The reception to it was lovely, as there was so much enthusiasm. We were very touched by it and it meant a lot to us both.”
“I guess it had been quite a long time since Panic Room had done something and it had also been a while since Rachel had done anything as well,” adds Edwards. “We really did it for ourselves, but when it came out the reaction was really good. I think people had obviously missed Rachel’s voice. We didn’t have any build up to it, so it came as
a surprise to a lot of people and the reaction was almost universally positive, which is always gratifying.”
Frequently, debut recordings can be slightly tentative affairs, with the musicians involved in the project gradually becoming comfortable with each other’s foibles and work ethics.
But for Cohen and Edwards, they soon rediscovered the musical chemistry that had been present during their tenure in Karnataka. Consequently, their passion for writing and recording continued immediately after their first album was released.
“We didn’t ever stop writing after the first album,” says Cohen. “I know it sounds very hippie trippy, but the creative energy was still there, and we had a lot of momentum. We were really enjoying writing together, so we just kept going. It got to the point where we thought we had enough songs for another album. I’ve counted the months and it’s been just over a year, which is unprecedented for me. What’s also really nice about working with Jon is that we’ve got a very similar work ethic. We’re both people who, if we decide we’re going to do something, we just do it. It isn’t like we faff around for a bit. I really like that, as that’s where a lot of tensions can happen – if you have people who just don’t want to get motivated.”
“I think this time around, we’re much more relaxed about it,” agrees Edwards.
“We’re really getting used to what works for each other in terms of writing and how we perform in the studio. I must admit, for this album, it was even easier to work together. Things just slotted together well and we’ve rediscovered a friendship through doing music again. If anything, I think that the way we work together now is the easiest it’s ever been. I know a lot of musicians have struggled during this period but Rachel and I both found it had the opposite effect, as the normal distractions weren’t present. If I was at home and unable go out, I might as well write another album. It’s also very much a true collaboration. People tend to assume that, as I don’t sing, I must do all the music and Rachel does the lyrics. But it’s a lot more complicated than that and it’s a very collaborative process. We spark off each other.”
There’s a more progressive edge that infuses many of the tracks on Love’s Lost Property, and although they haven’t discarded the lilting, violin-fused sound that enthralled on their debut, there has been a noticeable shift. Edwards recalls that when working with Panic Room, he initially felt uncomfortable with some of genre-boxing aimed at the band, before he adopted a more belligerent stance.
“We really did it for ourselves, but when it came out the reaction was really good. I think people had obviously missed Rachel’s voice.”
Jonathan Edwards
“It wasn’t a conscious decision, but this album does have more progressive elements,” he says. “I think with Panic Room, we went through a period where people would describe us as a prog band. We would deny that and we were really against being labelled, but it got to the point that I just thought, ‘Why should I be embarrassed about saying that I still listen to Yes?’ So these days, I’m more embracing of it, as it was what I grew up listening to. I still listen to that stuff and I still like it. That’s still part of the music that I create as well.”
As a precursor to the album, Three Colours Dark released an endearing cover version of Duran Duran’s Ordinary World that garnered plaudits from their existing fanbase and newcomers who stumbled across the video on YouTube.
“Anybody who knows me reasonably well will know that I’ve been obsessed with them since I was 14,” laughs Cohen. “My favourite anecdote is that my dad refused to let me see them live when I was 14, because he said that I wouldn’t be able to control myself. I think he was probably right. I’ve always loved Ordinary World and in my highly biased opinion, I think it’s a real example of what a perfect song could sound like. Although interestingly, it was actually Jon who suggested it for this album. We’ve worked with Dave Gregory [guitarist, XTC/ex-Big Big Train etc.] again on this album. He has a really enhanced role and plays on several tracks. Jon approached him and asked how he would feel about playing on a Duran Duran song. His response was, ‘If it’s Ordinary World, then I’m in.’ In so in many ways, our version is quite faithful to the original, but we’ve added violin and Dave Gregory’s guitar gives it an ethereal sound.”
Lyrically, the remainder of the album is thematically linked, with Cohen delving into the subject of the complexities of interpersonal relationships. Not the more familiar saccharin sweet ballads of love or tales of romantic misfortune, which can be rather predictable, but a more cerebral approach, as Cohen explains.
“My approach to lyric writing is always partly autobiographical,” she ruminates. “Some of the things that inspire me are universal emotions and experiences that make us human. This isn’t a concept album by any means, but once we’d written a few songs, I figured out what I was really doing with the lyrics. I was thinking about the idea of love as it gets experienced in different guises. It’s just a fascinating thing and it’s something that can be incredibly healing or unbelievably destructive. Particularly on the title track, I was thinking about what happens to love when a relationship comes to an end and wondering, why does the love go? What happens to it? Is it something that you can reclaim or is it gone forever? What would happen if we could go back to the place where we lost it, see where it has been kept and pick it up again? I think with lyrics, you start off with a few words and phrases and you don’t realise yourself what it’s about until you’ve written most of them.”
Continuing to write in what has evidently become a healthy period of musical creativity, Three Colours Dark have already amassed a further collection of songs, which are set to be recorded imminently.
“Towards the end of [August], we’re back in the studio to start doing some new recordings,” says Edwards. “I’ve almost got into the headspace now where it feels like it is a job. It sounds very cold and clinical when you describe making music as a job, but you need that kind of discipline. If I just sat around waiting for inspiration to come, I doubt we would have done one album. So, I sit down with an instrument most days and the ideas come. It’s Field Of Dreams stuff. Build it and they will come.”
“Jon approached [Dave Gregory] and asked how he would feel about playing on a Duran Duran song. His response was, ‘If it’s Ordinary World, then I’m in.’”
Rachel Cohen
Love’s Lost Property is out now via Firefly Music. See www.threecoloursdark.com for more.