British jazz guitarist Neil C. Young is an incredibly gifted musician. On his latest EP relwase, ReWorks Vol. 1, Neil reimagines several popular songs and turns them on their head, adding in a jazzy vibe. It’s a really intriguing record and it’s well worth a listen – why not check it out after reading through this interview?
By Jane Howkins
You recently released a new EP called ReWorks Vol. 1. What can you tell us about the record?
It’s a record of tracks of ‘ReWorked’ versions of tracks by Julia Michaels (Issues), Lana Del Rey (Video Games), Gomez (Tijuana Lady) and Maroon 5 (Sunday Morning). With each arrangement we’ve found a little hook or other feature from the original and used that to create a new riff or feel that has then become an underpinning feature of our version. For example, with Issues, at the end of the chorus in the original there is the line, ‘and one of them is how bad I need ya’. We’ve taken the melody and used this to form an ongoing riff throughout the verse and bridge sections with some developed and new chord sequences over the top. This is similar to the other tracks and there are some ‘behind the reworks…’ info videos on our YouTube channel that gives more on each of the four tracks.
On the EP, you cover several popular songs in a jazzy style. Do you write your own music too?
Yes, it’s in the fusion world still and a lot of that informed the creative and arranging process on ReWorks. There are 3 EP’s and 4 albums out and about along with an ongoing DuoWorks projects with musicians that I haven’t worked with before and want to know more about what they do. (All available on BandCamp and the other streaming platforms)
How has the reception to the record been so far, and where can it be purchased?
It has been received well, people are enjoying the new takes on the tracks and are enjoying the way in which a single, short feature from the original has become one of the bigger features in our versions. We play most of the tracks from the EP on our gigs and the bit of background I give before we play them has gone down really well too. People have enjoyed the chance to listen out for the particular bits from the original we have used and then listen to how we develop and improvise with them live, and, in some cases, sing along, which is cool as we are an instrumental band..
Do you have any singles planned for release?
Not as such but we have had a brilliant animation made for Issues by Sabrina Schnell which is available on YouTube and with clips of it on our Instagram. I suppose that is as close to a single release as it gets, but all the EP is now available to listen to, stream and download as and when anyone needs to get their fix of fusioned covers of these tracks!
Are there any plans for a full-length album anytime soon?
No, but, there are two more ReWorks EPs due for release this year, Vol 2 in the spring and Vol 3 in the autumn, which means that by the end of the year, there will be ReWorks Vol. 1, 2, 3 and 4 out. Vol. 4 is already available and has tracks by Alice in Chains, Sting, Status Quo and Daniel Johnstone. The reason why the numbers seem back to front is due to the fact that Vol 1 and 2 were written before Vol 4, but not released due to a technical reason, which in short meant I couldn’t release them under my name until now.
In 2025 I have plans for original music to be released under the working title of StringWorks which, as the title suggests, is music with the trio but with a string section also, which has been a long running project that I’m very keen/borderline desperate to fulfil!
Your music has an experimental jazz sound. What/who are you most influenced by?
Mostly influenced by instrumental music, but the music of Herbie Hancock, Allan Holdsworth, George Benson and Wayne Krantz are the more direct and obvious influences. I’ve spent a lot of my time listening to Bach and the solo violin works in particular for how it’s possible to get so much music out of one instrument, it’s nuts, still!
Where are you based and what is the local music scene like?
I’m based in the North West UK and get around a bit between Lancaster, Manchester and Leeds and occasionally get further afield into the Midlands and London, which is pretty cool. There’s all sorts happening it seems, a lot of music is happening and that is always good to see and be a part of.
Do you have anything else exciting coming up in the next few months?
We’ve a few gigs coming up, Feb 4th in Lancaster (Gregson Centre) and then the 21st in Manchester (Matt and Phreds) There is another one but we’re waiting on confirmation for that at the moment and then all being well, March time will see the release of ReWorks Vol. 2. So, I guess, yes, for us that is pretty exciting!
Do you have any tour dates lined up for the UK?
We’re working on some tour dates for April/May/June time which hopefully will mean we can get around the UK a bit more this year.
Any last words for the fans?
Thank you for your time in hearing my thoughts, do come and say hi online via Instagram or YouTube and hopefully we may well see you at a gig at some point, if so , come and say hi there!
All the best for 2024 and take it easy!