Intro

South African Blues Rock Singer-Songwriter Ross Harding is back with his Maxi Single ‘Everything Is Black’ ; a grooving, sludgy, hard rock belter with lyrical-and-visual themes about death, the Apocalypse, doom, and gloom. Included are 2 bonus tracks ‘War Pigs’ (Live Black Sabbath Cover), as well as ‘Dark City Blues’ (Live Version). Hot on the heels of his successful EP ‘Chapter II’, ‘Everything Is Black’, is a commanding new release congealing exactly why Ross is operating at the top of his game!

We chat to Ross about the new singles and also some upcoming gigs

Enjoy The Read

Interview

Hi Ross, welcome back to Fanbase Music Magazine, for the purpose of this interview can you remind the listeners where you are from and where did you grow up, and what got you into music?

Thanks for lending me this platform again! I grew up in Johannesburg, South Africa. Born and raised in Johannesburg and the greater JHB area, but currently I live in Pretoria. I was always drawn to music, from an early age, and knew pretty early on that it was what I wanted to do with my life.

What sort of bands were you influenced by as a kid?

I became really obsessed with rock music, probably as young as 5 or 6 years old. By the time I was about 10, I was heavily into Seether and Metallica. I went down a musical journey discovering all kinds artists. Rock bands, blues, metal, classical. Among my most influential artists are Soundgarden, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath and numerous Blues and Rock Musicians.

Can you tell us who else is in your band and what they do in the band?

Merrick Kyle is our powerhouse bass guitarist. He also part-owns his own studio, Studio 31, where we’ve been recording the new music and work out of.

Matt Rennie is our drummer, who I personally rate as one of the top drummers in the rock & blues rock scene.

Okay, let’s talk about your 3-track Maxi single, what can you tell us about ‘Everything Is Black’?

Everything Is Black is a grooving, hard-hitting hard rock song with a blues backbone, an anti-establishment narrative and lyrical/visual themes that deal with death, the Four Horsemen and the Apocalypse.

You also cover Black Sabbath’s ‘War Pigs’ and also there is a live version of ‘Dark City Blues’, how do those two songs fit in the concept of what you are trying to bring across?

War Pigs, in my opinion, is the best anti-establishment rock song ever written. It was only fitting that it be included since we did the live version at Studio 31. The themes it deals with are very much present in Everything Is Black and I loved that. Dark City Blues (actually a song about heartbreak) still had that type of emotion and just worked with this release. The three tracks together almost form a kind of mini concept album, which I think is pretty rad and something that new and old fans will appreciate.

Where were the tracks recorded and worked on each track?

We recorded everything for this release at Studio 31. Essentially the recording / production personnel being myself (Ross Harding), Merrick Kyle, Matthew Rennie and Ruan Rabie. Ruan mixed the tracks and they were mastered by Rogan Kelsey.

When will the tracks be released?

Friday 31 March – You can stream from HERE