Long Read // Ziggy Alberts about 'New Love' and staying healthy on tour
True artists are a different kind of human, they don’t move the way we do, speaking to one showed me that. Ziggy Alberts is in the middle of his third year of world tours and just released his beautiful new album ‘New Love’. I spoke to him about all of the above and more.
He started writing the album in Birmingham, “about what was real and true for now, I didn’t try to solve how I was feeling”, he simply wrote about it, “sometimes it’s good to write stories of hope, and belief, and about what’s happening. I hope that people can see that they have a lot more freedom then they believe, and that they can turn their life around when they feel stuck. That is pretty much the meaning of ‘New Love’.” Compared to the previous album, “what I was doing didn’t change too much, but I had to evolve as a person, for myself. I had to increase my discipline in order to give myself the self-care that I needed in order to get on stage every night. I listen to my body a bit more. I let go of some bad habits, it was a real beautiful moment of life.”
‘New Love’ has a purpose, an intention, and has a clear direction, which undoubtedly comes from the way Ziggy and the band went into the creation of the album; “We had a pretty good intention with this album, lived down the road from the studio, and moved into this little house to do the record, it was a precious time in my life. Very peaceful. We only sang harmonies together, there was only one guitar track for each song, lots of one-takes, we kept it really simple. I don’t think it’s too different from the last record, but maybe it’s a little minimalist on purpose.”
This and the previous albums were released on Ziggy’s own label, Commonfolk Records, but, why start your own label in the first place? “Because it allows me to do a bit more of what I want. I don’t really know the life of being signed to another label. I have my autonomy, so that is a pretty important reason for me. It’s the difference between being self-employed or being employed by someone else. The release of the album was pretty organised, I kind of like it being chaotic though… It’s worth it to be able to change with the world and be responsive. You can’t do that when there’s a twelve month plan that you’ve got to stick to.”
Being able to respond to the world around him allowed him to release singles for charity, however the tour he’s currently on, and previous ones, take at least a year of planning. It can feel heavy, daunting, and overwhelming, but Alberts has got his ways of staying grounded; “I turn to writing, music, and poetry and I just go for a run and put on some motivational videos on YouTube when things get too heavy. I run a lot when I’m on tour, do lots of yoga, sometimes I don’t do soundchecks because there’s only so many hours a day you can sing. Less than being lazy it’s actually about preservation. I try to stick to a routine, but sometimes even the stress of trying to get to bed earlier after a show isn’t worth it.”
It is clear that it is quite exhausting, and in its own way distracting, to be on tour, as we speak, he’s in Groningen, getting ready for a show at De Oosterpoort, “the Netherlands has been really good, my family is largely from Europe and my granddad is from Rotterdam, hence why I bear Alberts as the name.” It’s not just the Netherlands that’s treated him well so far, “Tour has been pretty good so far, this is maybe the tougher end of the marathon, personally, but the shows have been better than ever. However, trying to stay healthy is quite tough, there’s a lot of stress and pressure, it makes anyone sick after a while. It’s a big life, a big journey. My favourite thing is to return home stronger than I left, that is my ultimate tour-dream everytime, to get home to my parents being stronger and healthier, which is a big challenge, to adapt back to normal life.” As someone who works at festivals, I completely understand that and find it a noble goal to stick to.
What makes these aches and pains all worth it though? “The people make it all worth it. The people who keep coming back, and support me so intensely, they offer their energy and that’s what helps you get on stage. You can do anything, but you’ll have to want to do it with heaps and heaps of joy. Every show is a great show, I just want to be ecstatic about it. I think it’s also what people deserve.” There are still plans in the works for improvements of his show; “I have a real vision for the visual side of the show and I look forward to working with the team and bringing that to life.”
Those of us that have yet to experience Ziggy Alberts live can expect an awesome and fun live show, “It’s just me on stage, and I play everything live. My show is the most community-spirited concert people say they go to, even if they come alone, they leave with friends. It’s my favourite part about it. People are pretty mindful and I admire a lot of people that come to the show. People can expect a lot of laughter and smiling, and I consciously chose to offer an escape from politics at my shows. I think we need a place that is peaceful, where people don’t have to have their guard up. That is what people can expect from the show and that is what I hope to keep alive too!”
Words by Laura Rosierse
