Gareth and Mark Haze Talk to Fanbase Music Magazine About Brotherly Love And New Single Called Home

Interviewed by Duzy Clayton 

Featured Cover Photo By Ruth Smith

Intro

‘Home’ is the first single from London, UK-based Singer-Songwriter Gareth Haze and features his brother, South African-based Singer-Songwriter Mark Haze. This Acoustic Folk / Pop ballad talks about coming home to someone you love even when the chaos of life and the world around us seemingly confuses and consumes us.

Also known by many as the former drummer for his brother Mark Haze, Gareth moved to the UK in 2017 where he decided to take on the challenge of performing solo in unfamiliar territory. This experience has inspired the songs for his forthcoming album ‘Stranger in a Strange Land’. Gareth recently spent time back in South Africa after his and Mark’s father passed away. During the visit, the two brothers couldn’t resist working on music together, resulting in Mark featuring on ‘Home’, as well as co-producing the track with Gareth. They have also started work on the rest of the album, which they will be co-producing across continents to create something truly special.

Photo by Nicci Hayden

Interview

Welcome Mark and Gareth, it is great to be featuring you both, the new single ‘Home’ is amazing, can you explain the concept behind the track and what is the song about?

At its core, “Home” is a song about coming home to the person you love, even when life and the world around you pull you in different directions and make you feel like you’re not quite in control of things. It’s that feeling of peace that you get from being back in your own space with the people who matter most to you. That said, I never really like to dictate what people should think a song is about, so I always try to keep it as open to interpretation as possible. Music is made to be shared so I’m always excited to hear what listeners feel the song is about and how it relates to their own story. 

The track has been out for a few days now and what I can see online is already doing well, how do you feel the release has been?

I’m really happy so far. It seems to be getting a fair few plays and I’ve received a number of messages from friends and supporters letting me know how much they enjoy the song. I’m so grateful for anyone and everyone who’s listened to it so far. I didn’t really know what to expect so the amount of support that people have shown has been so good. 

Gareth do you get nervous on release day when you have to release a track to the world?

Yes, I do. It always feels like you’re sharing a big piece of who you are when you release a song and releasing “Home” was especially close to me, as it’s my first single as a singer/songwriter. I’ve released loads of material that I’ve co-written with Mark, both as part of 12th Avenue, and his own solo career, and every time it’s been really exciting to put the music out there and hope that the audience enjoys listening to it as much as we’ve enjoyed creating it. 

Where was the track recorded, Mark I know you are also a great producer and Gareth I know you now live abroad so can you explain the process of how this track came about and was recorded?

The majority of the track was recorded in my home studio here in London. The song was probably 95% complete when I sent it to Mark just to listen to and see what he thought, as it’s something we always do when we’re writing and recording new material. He thought it was really great, but it was only around the end of March that he pitched the idea of us co-producing it and him featuring it to me. I ended up visiting South Africa, as our dad had passed away, and toward the end of the trip, I spent a couple of days at Mark’s studio. He had tracked new backing vocals, and some additional guitars, and had improved the mix, and I was super happy with how it turned out. We discussed the idea of a co-release, which I agreed to and then while I was there, he asked if I wanted to begin tracking the guide tracks for the rest of the songs I was planning to work on for my forthcoming album. He loved the songs and convinced me to let him co-produce the album, so we are now working on that across continents, which is a challenge, but is also super fun. 

Gareth you have been living in the UK since 2017, how has it been over there what is the music industry like compared to South Africa?

I love living in London. I’m not quite in the city center, but about 30-40 minutes outside it so I kind of get the best of both worlds where there’s plenty to do, but I can still enjoy a little bit of peace too. I think that the industry is quite similar in a lot of ways, but there are a lot more artists and venues in a very small area. I’ve found that the open mic scene is quite big and there seems to be one somewhere every night of the week so as an emerging artist, you have plenty of opportunities to try things out in front of an audience and gain valuable on-stage experience. However, getting paid gigs takes a fair bit of work and you have to really be persistent. I think in terms of access to inspiration, the UK is a fair bit ahead of SA. There are plenty of live shows and touring artists coming to town all year long so if you can save up a bit of money for tickets, you can see all your favorite bands and take notes as to how they do it. 

You are both obviously brothers and have worked in the past, did you feel any different with this track and working together this time around?

I think the creative process was quite similar to what we’ve done in the past in terms of sharing ideas and trying out parts for a song to see how they fit. The main difference here was that we weren’t necessarily in the same room at the same time, so the ideas were being recorded and then played back rather than us jamming a song together. It was probably a more controlled process than in the past, but I think I kind of prefer that. Often when we would work on songs with a full band, my brain would sort of get lost in all the sound, and I would end up going home to work on ideas in a quiet space and then bring them back the next day, so following that process from the get-go suits me quite well. That said, Mark and I did put down a ton of great ideas during the couple of days I spent at his studio, which we will be refining for the album, so the time together is also very valuable. 
The Oasis brothers are known to have a sibling rivalry, I would think you don’t have that in your relationship but sometimes working with family can be tricky, how do you work around that sort of thing where the music comes first?

I feel like it comes down to exactly that; the music has to come first. Being brothers, we have a tendency to sometimes take things personally, but for the most part, we only really clash because we both care so much about making the song sound as great as possible. You end up fighting for your part because you want to be a part of the song and you want your voice heard, but if the other person’s idea fits better, you have to be mature enough to step back and accept that their part is what will benefit the song most and give the listener a more enjoyable experience. We’ve had our fair share of arguments in the past, but they always get resolved by walking away, thinking about it from the perspective of the song, and then trying again. 

Are there any other future plans to work together again?

We have a couple more tracks that we are planning on doing together. They’re actually older songs that we wrote together quite a few years back so it’ll be cool to breathe some new life into them. Mark will also be co-producing my entire album with me. I’m really looking forward to it. He has some excellent ideas and does very well to elevate my existing sound and ideas. 

Mark, the last time we featured you, you were releasing the awesome track, ‘Don’t say goodbye’ which in my opinion is one of my favorite tracks of you as an artist, how did you feel the track did, and also are you working on new music?

Mark’s Answer: Thanks for the kind words. The song has gotten a lot of attention ever since its release – I’m very very happy with how it’s been received by the fans.  I’m working with my band on some new material at the moment. I’ll be dropping a new single soon which will be part of a new album that I’m hoping to complete and release this year.
You are a great producer as mentioned earlier and have worked with some amazing artists, including one of my favorites at the moment KAT, who has just released the single Tokyo, can you tell us what it is like working with such talent as her?

Mark’s Answer:  Kat’s material is always interesting and she never seems to have a shortage of new ideas.  I’ve had a good time working with her on her songs and from what I can tell, she’s only just getting started. Every time she brings me something, it seems to get more interesting and diverse.  

Gareth what is the pipeline for you musically, will you be releasing new music soon and do you have plans to play in South Africa again?

I’m hoping to release a couple more original singles during the latter half of this year and then release a full album before 2024. I’m looking to keep on gigging in and around London and essentially anywhere else that’ll have me. I’d love to play in South Africa again. At the moment, there are no solid plans in place, but I do feel that any future trips there with the family will have to include at least a couple of shows. If anything, Mark needs support acts, right? 🙂

Can you give us all your social media?

Mark Haze

 

Photo by Carlo Coetzee
Gareth Haze
Photo by Ferenc Fertoi
Thank you for doing this interview. Do you have any last messages for our readers?
Thanks for the support; it means more than you realize. Please keep on supporting your favorite artists and venues. If you can, buy their albums, t-shirts, stickers, and any other merch you can afford. Buy them a cup of coffee, go to their gigs, and tell your friends about them. And be kind to each other; the world has enough angry people already be one of the friendly ones. 
Photo by Jason Hardaker
Social Media 

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