Veteran front-man of rock-group Velvet City, Craig Heath is set to release his first solo single off his recently launched own label, Global Records this March. The single “All Because of You” is co-written by Craig with country-music superstar Keith Urban and Monty Powell. The song features vocals by Rick Springfield who is best known for his Grammy winner “Jessie’s Girl”.
Craig said on working with Rick, “When cutting the song, it just sounded like it deserved to be a duo. We sent it to Rick and he loved it. He put his voice on there and it just sounded great together.”
We went on to speak at length about his time recording in Nashville, “In Nashville, their motto is ‘three cords and the truth’ and if you can make a song stand up by just sitting there playing it on an acoustic guitar then you know its good, without adding all the bits and the production and trying a bunch of stuff to make it sound like a good song.”
Music has been in Craig’s blood since he was young, with Metallica playing a big influence on him and his band Velvet City (who are currently on a break while Craig works on his solo project). It’s this raw rock sound that Craig brings into his upcoming album.
“[The songs are] definitely are a rock-based way. It’s definitely all that influence coming through,” he says. “I just don’t want to be pigeon-holed into the whole country-thing. It has the full banjo and the twang with a crossover with a bit of pop in it. A lot of the records done these days in Nashville are rock and pop so I think it’s country/pop with rock elements in it. It is country for sure, but the songs have got potential to cross over into pop.”
An album is set for release later in the year with an upcoming tour to coincide alongside – including an afternoon acoustic session at the Breslin Gallery in Melbourne on April 19th. So what can we expect from the future album? Craig promises the same good wholesome songs that have a meaning and make sense from start to finish.
“You want to be taken on the emotional journey and also the physical. You want to feel good, you want to cruise along in the car and be excited, or you want to cry to it, you can do that as well. You know, I think it’s about having that connection.”
“If someone gets something out of it, that gets them through a period or a time or something in their life or they can feel that someone else is relating to the experiences that they’ve been going through then I’m happy.”
“All Because of You” is set for release in March 2015.
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