The Beat Surrender

Despite a long career in the music industry that has seen Steve Cradock work with some of the greats and achieve mainstream success with his band Ocean Colour Scene, until now we’ve never had a solo record from him.

That is all changing with The Kundalini Target, which is released on the 9th February. Just ahead of that release I took the chance to have a brief catch up with Steve and find out why it’s taken so long for a solo record and what else he has up his sleeve in the coming months.

You’ve just released your debut album The Kundalini Target, why has it taken so long for you to do a solo record, or is it more a case of the time just being right for you?

I have never sat down and written a batch of songs before, also I never liked the idea of solo records, but I suppose those two factors have crossed.

What can you tell us about the record and how autobiographica and personal is the subject matter?

I tried to write a song for my two children without it sounding saccharine or stupid and that was the apple, so I went on writing from there, quite a size of it is about me and Sal and the kids, the kind of things 39 year old’s go on about I suppose.

Although you are known as a guitarist in the main you’ve also produced records in the past and have played all the instruments on your new album, do you feel you sometimes get a lack of credit in the press?

The press in some ways is fish and chip paper tomorrow, but I still buy it all, and buy records on good reviews, I don’t feel deprived of credit or love.

Are you planning on touring the solo material at all?

I played a showcase in Camden on Jan 20th, which was great, and I’d like to do some small theatres throughout the country sometime in the year.

I presume that your record won’t get in the way of you working with Paul Weller, you seem to work well together with some real chemistry between you?

No it won’t, definitely not!

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