Steve Mason (of The Beta Band) — live event
Chat to Steve Mason about his fifth solo album – the stirring and stunning Brothers & Sisters– and all manner of musical touchpoints crop up. From Wu-Tang Clan and LTJ Bukem to Adam & The Ants and Public Image Limited by way of Mahalia Jackson and The Cramps, Mason not only knows his musical onions, but remains resolutely a fan. However, when it came to looking for guidance and inspiration for the best album of his career – no mean feat when you consider his back catalogue – his cultural lodestar was expertly chosen. “David Bowie said that artists should push themselves to a point where they felt slightly out of their depth,” he explains. “Because that’s where the magic happens. And there were a lot of times during the making of this record that I felt like that. And I quite enjoyed that. Because I haven’t felt like that for quite a long time. It’s felt quite safe over the last few albums. It’s that thing… the fear of failure, it’s then when you realise the failure could be spectacular. It’s what drives you to make this thing work. To keep pushing forward.” In the wake of his fourth album, About The Light, Mason, one of British music’s true 21st Century renegades, with a back catalogue that has taken in electro, dub, indie rock, electronica, hip hop, folk and everything in-between, felt creatively bereft. Allied to this was the weight of adult responsibility that was starting to bear down heavily on him. In the space of a year he’d got married, had a child and bought a house. The spectre of making a safe, radio-friendly record – a sensation he felt he had already encroached upon with About The Light – didn’t sit easily.
Starts: 2024-04-23T20:00:17Z
Ends: 2024-04-23T22:00:17Z
Where: 158 Bleecker Street, New York, New York 10012, United States
Price: $32.96