Arkells have released their new album ‘Campfire Chords’.
A stripped-back collection featuring 17 of Arkell’s singles reimagined, alongside new single ‘Quitting You‘, the project surrounds the premise of finding comfort in the people closest to you – an all too familiar feeling for us during lockdown!
To celebrate their album release, Arkells take us through the influences behind 5 tracks from the new album.
Knocking At The Door
All of the ‘Campfire Chords’ versions of these songs have taken on a new life. The original is a big old rock ‘n’ roll song with brass. This version features Aaron Goldstein on pedal steel guitar and Shezelle Weekes on vocals. We recorded this in isolation and the only instruction I offered Shezelle was “make it sound like ‘Hit The Road Jack’ by Ray Charles.”
Quitting You
This song is the most traditional folk song we have. Growing up I loved listening to Neil Young and The Band, and the extension of that in the modern world is Bright Eyes and The Lumineers, who I also adore. But! I was getting tired of everyone going on and on about how much they love The Lumineers, so ‘Quitting You’ is in part a spite song, to prove to myself that we could do something like that.
Relentless
The original version of this song was based around a sample by a South African artist named Chicco, but when you strip it down the chords are really beautiful. Lyrically, the song is inspired by a conversation with The Tragically Hip’s Paul Langlois about his bandmate Gord Downie. Paul said that Gord was “Relentless, like a dog on a bone.” I’d never heard of that expression, and it was immediately the chorus hook.
I’m Not The Sun
Originally the inspiration was The Weakerthans guitar playing meets a Death Cab For Cutie arrangement. But at its core, it’s just a folk waltz. This song is from our first record, but this new version features a long-forgotten third verse. Normally when we’re working on songs, we have to cut and edit lyrics to fit the structure and arrangement of the song. But 2020 all rules are off the table, and the third verse is BACK!
A Little Rain (A Song For Pete)
As a teenager, my dad took me to this local venue called Hugh’s Room for a Sunday Gospel Brunch hosted by a local musician Ken Whitely. This event featured the best gospel players around, and it was a spirited, exciting Sunday morning of music. I’m not a religious person at all, but I love the communal aspect of gospel music. Those performances have made their way into the Arkells live show, and this new version of ‘A Little Rain’ is inspired by the Gospel brunches from my youth.
You can stream Arkells ‘Campfire Chords’ below via Spotify: