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Shaping Your Own History With WENDY JAMES · HEAVY Music Interviews

• 0:19
  Speaker 1: Imagination, hid not no what to see.
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  Speaker 2: Hi there.
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  Speaker 3: My name is Wendy James and my new album, which
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  Speaker 3: is actually my tenth album, is called The Shape of
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  Speaker 3: History and it's out this Friday, the twenty fifth of
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  Speaker 3: October worldwide, so let's talk about it.
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  Speaker 4: Beautiful, Wendy, thank you for joining us this evening.
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  Speaker 3: My absolute pleasure. I'm so happy to be doing something
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  Speaker 3: Australian again. Yeah.
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  Speaker 4: I know we haven't heard much of you on this
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  Speaker 4: side of the world, so it's good. Welcome, welcome back.
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  Speaker 3: I know, you know, I don't know if you could
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  Speaker 3: have you seen on my Instagram and my social media,
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  Speaker 3: but in the countdown to the album released on Friday,
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  Speaker 3: I've posted retrospectives of all of the previous nine albums
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  Speaker 3: from Transition Vamp onwards and then the Elvis collaboration and
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  Speaker 3: then all my solo work. And the amount of Australian
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  Speaker 3: fans that are commenting, I mean the whole world, but
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  Speaker 3: the amount of Australian fans that are commenting on those
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  Speaker 3: Transmision Vamp albums is astonishing. You know, we had a
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  Speaker 3: really good time there. And have you seen the video
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  Speaker 3: for do You dig It? Do You Love It?
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  Speaker 4: I have, yeah, see all the old odd footage of
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  Speaker 4: its It was like a.
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  Speaker 3: Trip down so much of that is from Melbourne when
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  Speaker 3: we played Festival Hall.
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  Speaker 5: Wow.
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  Speaker 4: Yeah, I think I'll answered high school back then when
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  Speaker 4: you guys were coming out and yeah, there was a
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  Speaker 4: probably probably one of my formative years of music was
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  Speaker 4: listening to you guys.
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  Speaker 3: Wow. How about that? Well here we all are.
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  Speaker 4: Family.
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  Speaker 6: Yeah.
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  Speaker 4: As you mentioned before, you will be releasing your tenth
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  Speaker 4: album and your fifth solo album, The Shape of History,
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  Speaker 4: this Friday, October twenty fifth. So how are you feeling
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  Speaker 4: about it.
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  Speaker 3: About this album? It seems to be getting a really
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  Speaker 3: good response for me. The making of it was an
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  Speaker 3: absolute joy, working with the musicians I work with and
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  Speaker 3: the engineers, and you know, some of it was recorded
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  Speaker 3: in London, some of it in New York and Brooklyn.
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  Speaker 3: It was mixed in Berkeley, California, and then it was
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  Speaker 3: mastered in New York. So it's been all around the
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  Speaker 3: world to arrive in a local store in Australia for you.
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  Speaker 4: Fantastic. So can you tell us a bit more about
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  Speaker 4: the album from a musical point of view and what
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  Speaker 4: you're actually going for with it.
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  Speaker 3: I think I've been saying there is a consistency to
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  Speaker 3: my songwriting. You know, I often say that my comfort
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  Speaker 3: zone is that CBGB maxis Kansas City mid seventies to
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  Speaker 3: late seventies downtown new wave un sound that the Americans did.
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  Speaker 3: Even though I grew up with the English punks, it
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  Speaker 3: is actually that that kind of grime New York downtown
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  Speaker 3: scene that I really really enjoy. So there's always that
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  Speaker 3: in all of my albums. But the Shape of History
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  Speaker 3: is probably just an expanded outlook and sound on. You know.
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  Speaker 3: All of my albums have experimentation, not but they go off.
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  Speaker 3: So maybe there's a little country, maybe there's a little blues,
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  Speaker 3: maybe there's a little bit of girl pop, you know.
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  Speaker 3: And this album, if it's got anything that marks it
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  Speaker 3: different to the other albums, is the fact that there's
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  Speaker 3: a bit of California sound in there as well. So,
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  Speaker 3: you know, and it's called the Shape of History because
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  Speaker 3: it is my tenth album, and I did start when
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  Speaker 3: I was a teenager in nineteen eighty six, and so
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  Speaker 3: you can kind of chart the course of my life
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  Speaker 3: through all the albums I've made, and therefore you've got
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  Speaker 3: a Shape of History.
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  Speaker 4: That's sick and you've actually said that the shape of
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  Speaker 4: piece three, yes, said it's a love letter and a
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  Speaker 4: thank you note to your life so far. So how
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  Speaker 4: so is that in terms of the lyrics or is
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  Speaker 4: it in terms of experience?
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, yes, I think it's the experience of having lived
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  Speaker 3: for a few years now and just the wisdom that
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  Speaker 3: one acquires one's slightly older. And you know, when you're
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  Speaker 3: a teenager and one thing goes wrong, you think that's
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  Speaker 3: the end of the world, and that's a disaster and
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  Speaker 3: nothing's ever going to happen again, be it, you know,
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  Speaker 3: in the work or ambition you're pursuing, or even maybe
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  Speaker 3: a love life. But kind of when you get a
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  Speaker 3: little bit older, you know that all it is is
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  Speaker 3: the old cliche that one door closes and another door
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  Speaker 3: opens and challenge, you know, obstacles are merely challenges to
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  Speaker 3: overcome and all those cliches. And so it's just looking
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  Speaker 3: back at some of the things I've been through that
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  Speaker 3: have been amazing and celebratory and enjoyers, but all so,
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  Speaker 3: there have of course been challenging times. And it's just
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  Speaker 3: to say that, you know, the whole, the whole kit
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  Speaker 3: and kaboodle of life is a good thing and embrace
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  Speaker 3: all of it.
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  Speaker 4: Yeah, do you release the singles do You dig It?
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  Speaker 4: Do You Love It? Is It Groovy? Freedom's Bill? And
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  Speaker 4: Everything is Magic? So would you say that they're a
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  Speaker 4: good sonic representation of what you expect? Or are they just
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  Speaker 4: scratch your surface?
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  Speaker 3: Oh? There's even more in there. There's much more in
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  Speaker 3: there in terms of sounds of songs. But they're just
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  Speaker 3: three of my favorites. You know, it was a it
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  Speaker 3: was a completely random pick which ones do I like hearing?
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  Speaker 3: Everything is Magic? It is such a dark, rich, you know,
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  Speaker 3: beautiful ballad type of thing. Freedomsville is pure eighties since techno,
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  Speaker 3: and you know, much like Transmit Ramp originated with trash It,
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  Speaker 3: Do You Love It? Is It Groovy? Is pure what
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  Speaker 3: I was saying earlier, new wave pop and with really
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  Speaker 3: good attitude and what your listeners will find interesting when
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  Speaker 3: you can see on all my social media because I
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  Speaker 3: posted the video. All the footage accompanying do You dig It?
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  Speaker 3: Do You Love It? Is It Groovy? Is an old
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  Speaker 3: super eight footage that we Transmiss the band members shot
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  Speaker 3: as we did all of our world tours, and so
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  Speaker 3: it's an incredible snapshot of time, whether it's the actual
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  Speaker 3: footage of the band, or even just looking at the
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  Speaker 3: old police cars on the street and you know, all
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  Speaker 3: the old motorways, or for instance, there's shots with us
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  Speaker 3: at the Berlin Wall as it came down, because you know,
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  Speaker 3: that was nineteen eighty nine, our peak year and also
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  Speaker 3: the year that communism kind of fell across Europe, so
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  Speaker 3: interesting times, and it was all captured on film because
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  Speaker 3: that's how that's where we were living, you know, that's
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  Speaker 3: what we were living through. So go and check the
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  Speaker 3: video out and also so then come over to my store,
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  Speaker 3: the Wendy James dot com FOURD slash store and get
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  Speaker 3: your deluxe copy of the album on final or CD.
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  Speaker 3: How about that?
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  Speaker 4: That's fat And it would have been a really cool
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  Speaker 4: trip down memory lane for you putting that video together
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  Speaker 4: to because like as a musician, you're usually looking forward.
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  Speaker 4: You don't get a chance to reflect on the past
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  Speaker 4: as much as what you probably like, So putting together
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  Speaker 4: something like that would have been a nice trip down
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  Speaker 4: memory lane for you.
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  Speaker 6: Yeah.
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  Speaker 3: When it's actually an Australian guy that does my editing
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  Speaker 3: and all my photography called David Lee Dodd, and he
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  Speaker 3: managed to reduce down forty eight hours of solid footage
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  Speaker 3: into three and a half minutes, which is quite a feat.
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  Speaker 3: And he's a massive transfer band, so he was, you know,
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  Speaker 3: because all of it is behind the scenes on the
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  Speaker 3: making rule of our videos. Baby, I don't care, I
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  Speaker 3: want your love system Moon, all these famous videos and
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  Speaker 3: it's all behind the scenes stuff of that. So he
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  Speaker 3: every half an hour he was texting me saying he
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  Speaker 3: couldn't believe what he was watching because he was a fan.
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  Speaker 3: He was actually fourteen or something and his mum had
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  Speaker 3: told him he was too young to come to festival Hall,
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  Speaker 3: so it's exciting for him to see all this stuff. Now.
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  Speaker 4: Yeah. Now, the album starts with a beautifully ambient piano
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  Speaker 4: intro for the track Sweetlight Love. So most bands go
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  Speaker 4: for some of the more up Champo was the first song,
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  Speaker 4: but this one works really well for you. So it's
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  Speaker 4: a beautiful intro to the album. What was it chosen
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  Speaker 4: for that reason?
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  Speaker 3: Thank you? Well, all of my albums, all of them
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  Speaker 3: have come out with the track listing which they were written.
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  Speaker 3: So this is literally the first song I wrote for
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  Speaker 3: the Shape of History and so and in my mind
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  Speaker 3: I wanted to do almost like a musical interlude or
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  Speaker 3: an overture, like you get at the beginning, like, for instance,
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  Speaker 3: the famous Woody Allen movie Man, and you see the
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  Speaker 3: city scape of New York and you hear Leonard Bernstein
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  Speaker 3: conducting George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue. So I wanted to
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  Speaker 3: have kind of like, oh, there's an alarm I want.
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  Speaker 3: I wanted to have kind of a musical into all
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  Speaker 3: of his keyboards. And he came to me through Nick
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  Speaker 3: James Glavunos, who always drums with me, and you may
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  Speaker 3: know him as Nick Cave's drama as well, and James
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  Speaker 3: had and David been on the road with Nick Cave
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  Speaker 3: as well, so James could vouch for him. So I
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  Speaker 3: flew over to New York and did the pianos with Dave.
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  Speaker 3: And the first thing he played me, because I always
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  Speaker 3: I'm really methodical, I started track one and I worked
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  Speaker 3: my way through whatever instrument we're on, whatever stage of
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  Speaker 3: the album we're at. And so I showed up in
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  Speaker 3: their little studio in Brooklyn and arm Dave played me
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  Speaker 3: this beautiful bit of piano, and you know, and it's
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  Speaker 3: what a wonderful way to open the album. I just
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  Speaker 3: think it sounds heaven.
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  Speaker 4: And I'm the same like I like my hard rock
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  Speaker 4: stuff a lot more. But listen to that is just
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  Speaker 4: an engaging way to start the album. It sort of
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  Speaker 4: puts you in.
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  Speaker 3: Yes, yes, it takes Yeah.
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  Speaker 4: And you also kick off a two week run of
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  Speaker 4: instore appearances from October twenty fifth, So tell us who
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  Speaker 4: are those?
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  Speaker 3: Well you can hear that I've got a little bit
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  Speaker 3: of a frog in my throat, a bit croaky. So yes,
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  Speaker 3: we head out at ten am on Friday morning, UK time,
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  Speaker 3: drive up to Newcastle and start a sixteen date tour
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  Speaker 3: of the UK. So we'll be playing. I'll be playing.
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  Speaker 3: We're doing twelve songs, which comes to about fifteen minutes,
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  Speaker 3: and I'll be playing a selection of all the songs
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  Speaker 3: from this new album and also two no I think
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  Speaker 3: it must be one actually one off of each album
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  Speaker 3: I've done through the years. So there's something I'm doing.
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  Speaker 3: I Want Your Love, I'm doing what am I doing
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  Speaker 3: from velveteen? Gosh, I can't remember what I chose. I
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  Speaker 3: was practicing it yesterday, but anyway, yes, something off each
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  Speaker 3: album and also fielding some Q and A as well
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  Speaker 3: from the audience. You know, if they've got a funny
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  Speaker 3: or an interesting question they want to ask me, I'll
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  Speaker 3: have a microphone. I'm very happy to answer those questions
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  Speaker 3: and then sign everybody's records at the merch desk at
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  Speaker 3: the end. So it should actually be a really fun
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  Speaker 3: evening in lieu of a bigger tour next year, I'm sure.
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  Speaker 3: But I also saw that Beyonce did it when she
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  Speaker 3: released Cowboy Carter the other month she did an in
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  Speaker 3: store tour of the US. I think it is a
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  Speaker 3: really good much like that footage, and you dig it
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  Speaker 3: with signing records, aren't we And that is in Moburn
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  Speaker 3: for sure. So it's a really good way to meet,
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  Speaker 3: you know, say hello to everyone, and very beautiful to
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  Speaker 3: strip the songs down to just myself and a bit
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  Speaker 3: of grungy guitar, you know, like I can assure you
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  Speaker 3: it sounds like a cross between Johnny Cash and the
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  Speaker 3: White Stripes, so it's sounding really, really lovely.
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  Speaker 4: I say, where can people find out more information about that?
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  Speaker 3: You've got to the hub for all information on me
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  Speaker 3: is my website, Wendy James dot com. And so there's
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  Speaker 3: a news page on there, there's a press page, there's
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  Speaker 3: a live page. There's the store where you can buy everything.
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  Speaker 3: It's the one stop shop, the Wendy James dot com
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  Speaker 3: and buy your and all the records that maybe Australians
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  Speaker 3: don't know that I've released in the interim in my store.
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  Speaker 3: So if you want to catch up on my discography,
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  Speaker 3: you can do it via there and including all the
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  Speaker 3: all the information on this instare tour. There's a QR
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  Speaker 3: code and a link to all the different venues.
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  Speaker 4: Thanks very much for your time. It's been a pleasure
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  Speaker 4: speaking with you. Slape of History is out October the
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  Speaker 4: twenty fifth, so best of luck with it and you're
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  Speaker 4: going to rest up made get to get that dread better.
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  Speaker 6: Mean it's available to.
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  Speaker 2: Us in certain plays.
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  Speaker 5: It is no longer available.
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  Speaker 3: To the imagination.
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  Speaker 2: I did not know what to say. It is so
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  Speaker 2: a bit crazy. Dog do you love?
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  Speaker 4: Do you dig it?
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  Speaker 1: Do you love a disagres ge dig it? Do you
• 13:43
  Speaker 1: a love of discapreency? I do as a Danger Wilment day,
• 13:52
  Speaker 1: as a Dojoe Wiling daily, as to Joe.
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  Speaker 6: Wiler, my lists, to my chances, one last cry.
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  Speaker 3: Some of the artis the artists.
• 14:13
  Speaker 4: That's oh Jack, that's.
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  Speaker 2: For squares never a thing to nobody, you know, because
• 14:23
  Speaker 2: being surprise, I did.
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  Speaker 6: Not know what to say.
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  Speaker 1: It is so so fun came crazy.
• 14:35
  Speaker 4: Do you dig it? Do you love?
• 14:36
  Speaker 1: It is a greuzy Do you do you do you love?
• 14:39
  Speaker 4: It is a.
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  Speaker 1: Crazy Do you dig in to your love?
• 14:42
  Speaker 6: It is you grusy?
• 14:46
  Speaker 5: How are you looking to the us doing Joe one
• 14:49
  Speaker 5: of them did as Joe one of us did job
• 14:55
  Speaker 5: one of them? Please do I still till I still
• 15:05
  Speaker 5: tell my God to get with going to the top.
• 15:31
  Speaker 3: This as clear as the f I kid in the ice.
• 15:35
  Speaker 5: Boats English names the foolish spaces of tena the public places.
• 15:43
  Speaker 4: Why don't you get yourself yourself of.
• 15:48
  Speaker 6: The I did not know what to say? Is so
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  Speaker 6: a bit crazy?
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  Speaker 4: Time?
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  Speaker 1: Do you dig it to a love disciple? Do you
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  Speaker 1: do your love of disciples?
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  Speaker 4: Do you tri to your love?
• 16:10
  Speaker 6: It is s.
• 16:14
  Speaker 1: And give you tri to a love of dis.
• 16:19
  Speaker 4: You love?
• 16:19
  Speaker 6: It isn't say it to your love?
• 16:22
  Speaker 5: It is.
• 16:24
  Speaker 6: Time? How you could take it as.
• 16:28
  Speaker 3: You would change your.
• 16:29
  Speaker 1: Way, as you would change your way, as I would
• 16:34
  Speaker 1: change your about? Do you t it loves? To dig
• 16:43
  Speaker 1: it to a love a disciple?
• 16:45
  Speaker 2: Do you trig it to your love?
• 16:47
  Speaker 1: It disciple Do you love disciple