The album title "Illusory Blues" is meaningful. After all, the seven airily arranged songs have very little to do with blues. Rather the core trio Khaled Lowe, Barnaby Maddick and Jaime Gomez Arellano want to show with their music how one can productively use one's own worries - the "blues" - and thereby draw new strength. You yourself have achieved this in an impressive way. In an interview, the British, supported in the studio and on stage by Dan Knight (g, keys) and James Leach (b), talked about their musical roots, the message of their lyrics and the spirit of the seventies that they want to capture with their songs.
The band got together two years ago. Lowe and Maddick, both singing and playing guitar, had already tested the chemistry between them before: "Khaled and I had been jamming for a few years before the band was formed," Maddick reports, "and that had resulted in very strong things. Our tastes are very broad: We like fusion, jazz, heavy metal and classical." Jaime Gomez Arellano has introduced another special element. Born in Colombia, he sits at the drums at Messenger and has produced the album. He also runs Orgone Studios in London's High Barnet district. Bands like Cathedral, Mothlite and Ulver are among his customers
The fact that Lowe and Maddick Arellano were able to win over Messenger was a lucky coincidence: "I was a big fan of his productions," says Lowe. "When he finally had time for us, we decided to record with him the material we had written so far. Most of the songs came spontaneously, and when we finished recording, we knew we had a real band line-up together."
