Terri Dunbar-Curran
WHEN planning their latest album Let the Night In, Prime Circle front man Ross Learmonth said they asked themselves, “Are we going to do the same thing as before, or be crazy?”
The South African rock band opted for the latter, and as a result, Let the Night In has been described at their most stylistically diverse album to date. “It’s because we’re ADD, we have attention problems,” laughs Learmonth. “We didn’t want it to sound the same.”
So they selected 13 songs to include, some written over a few years and others “in the moment” and teamed up with producer Denholm Harding to bring their fans something unique.
“When you listen to the album you can hear the band flexing their muscles,” says Learmonth. “When the guitarist is hitting the guitar, you can hear it. You can literally hear the plectrum on the strings. Each song required a different level of attack.”
A lot of planning went into putting this album together, right down to when to bring the keyboards to the front. “But we didn’t plan a ‘theme’, even though it’s kind of meaty in places.”
The reaction from fans has been great so far, with some saying it’s their best yet, and even first-time listeners are giving good feedback. “We want people to take away good memories and a love for the album,” says Learmonth.
In addition to Learmonth on guitar and vocals, Prime Circle features Dale Schnettler on drums, Dirk Bisschoff on guitar, Marco Gomes on bass and Neil Breytenbach on keys and samples.
While he loves each of the songs included, Learmonth has a particular fondness for My City. “Because it’s a very old song – I wrote it a few years ago. I was always scared to put it on an album because it had to be right. And it came out better than I expected,” he smiles.
He sees Let the Night In as the next step in the evolution of Prime Circle. “We’re really proud of it, we don’t just feel it’s ‘okay’ – and not in an arrogant way. It’s what we’ve worked so hard for, and people are loving it.”
Because the album is the next step, they knew they had to do something different with their coming series of live arena shows as well, so they’ll be “dialling it up 100 percent” at GrandWest’s Grand Arena on August 9. A show of that magnitude has given them more freedom to plan everything, from what they want to do with the stage and lighting, to visuals. “This is going to be the next level,” the guitarist promises. “And not only for the band, but for the industry of rock in the country.”
Learmonth hints that he will be wearing a kilt and that there may be a handstand involved.
Besides their arena tour, the rest of the year will see Prime Circle touring Europe in October as well as working on some other “cool ideas” for South Africa. And they’re always producing new material.
“I can’t sit and play old stuff,” says Learmonth. “My attention problems require that I continuously write. I sit down, see where I’m at and what’s been inspiring me lately.”
And it’s not just Prime Circle’s music providing the soundtrack to his life, at the moment he’s also enjoying music from Cross, the musical side project of Deftones singer Chino Moreno; PH fat; Eminem and Nine Inch Nails.
He is extremely grateful to the band’s fans for their support over the years and is looking forward to performing for them in Cape Town. “I’m really excited to play the new stuff,” he says.
“It’ll be a heavy hitting set-list. All killers, no fillers.”
l Tickets are R145 to R315. See www.primecircleband.com To book, call Computicket at 0861 915 8000.