TRACK-BY-TRACK: ZIGGY ALBERTS TAKES US THROUGH 'NEW LOVE'

New Love is out now!

Image: Janneke Storm.

Singer-songwriter Ziggy Alberts has unveiled his new album, New Love. To celebrate, the musician is taking us through the collection of songs track-by-track.

Albert will kick off his extensive national tour on the Sunshine Coast tonight, in support of the release of the album. The run of shows will continue on to the Gold Coast, Sydney, Adelaide, Melbourne, Fremantle, Margaret River, Cairns, Toowoomba, Kingscliff, Brunswick Heads, Bellingen, Newcastle, Gosford, Thirroul, Canberra, Corruna, Wodonga, Ballarat, Barwon Heads, San Remo and Port Fairy. Tickets are on sale now.

NEW LOVE

I wrote New Love in the middle of the UK leg of my 2023 REWIND World Tour, in Burmingham in my hotel room. It was a song that was a reflection of where I was at, in that moment of writing. This was different from my usual approach to writing; where I’d write about things or moments that either already happened or what I wanted to happen. It captured how I felt and what was unfolding in my life, and instead of providing a resolution, it was nice to write about precisely how things were/are.

Being on tour at the time, I got back in touch with the joy of writing music purposefully meant to be played live to people. The upbeat nature of this song resulted from that inspiration and speaks more to the origins of my songwriting and busking performances and to now performing in much larger venues. Another inspiration lead back to my roots is using environmental metaphors to explain my inner emotional world. While there are echoes of my earlier works in the writing style and arrangement, this song introduces a new melodic delivery for me, setting it apart from anything I've done before.

To me, New Love is more than just a song. It marks the beginning of a new chapter in my personal life, where I turned a page and things started to get better for the first time in along time. It tells a story of trading innocence for experience and trial and error. It encapsulates the essence of my artistic journey, channelling the lessons learned over the last decade into a celebration of simplicity and joy, and being present.

We recorded this album in a month – despite the album being in the wings for a long time. New Love was recorded as part of the album and made to be played for an audience; it was an unique process with great flow and cohesive ideas; maintaining the magic of the record. Which is really hard to do and I’m really proud that we did.

Favourite Lyrics:

• "I walked in as they walked out” - it was a dream I had on the tour bus, that love would walk into my life, into the room as I walked out.

• “Now I sit real quiet before going on stage” - not having all the answers but knowing if I can try and be an expression of love that would be enough. It’s also a reference to one of my rituals of meditating before stage.

I'M WITH YOU

I have a couple of early memories of this song. At home in Australia, late 2023, is where I think it started. I was working on this song backstage at The Forum Melbourne at the end of the ‘Rewind World Tour’ and was jamming it in our common room when Nathan Ball's eyes lit up, and he assured me this was a winner (haha). I remember feeling like I'd discovered the song when I found the 3 words & melody at th end of the chorus - "I'm with you". The melody continues upwards right until the end, which is rare for my songwriting style.

It's about second chances. It goes down memory lane before launching into a spirited realisation. Sometimes we are blinded by desire when some things are right in front of us. It's a really, truly happy song; it's not even sentimental; it's simply happy-go-lucky, which I love.

My favourite moment recording this track was just seeing how fast we could play the guitar. It's pretty freaking fast (haha).

Favourite Lyrics:

• "Working three doors down from my favourite bookshop, in the world the coastline" - it’s about where I met someone really special.

• "I'm ready now to give my heart to the sea again" - after so much touring I really have felt disconnected from the sea, and it has taken a moment to get to know her again. It's also a metaphor for surrendering yourself to love.

• I like the call-in response of verse 3; it's the first time I've done something like that, and it makes both verses really different!

FEELING BLUE

The idea for this song started around June 2023, in Europe - I remember working on it heavily in Ericeira, Portugal and Biarritz, France, on breaks between the ‘Rewind World Tour’!

The opening line says it all – “I'm not convinced in all the ways I've been living now”. It's about being really unhappy - and if you didn't listen to the lyrics carefully, you maybe wouldn't know, because the song is really upbeat and positive in every other aspect.That balance of opposites is a great analogy for the paradox of my life when I wrote it. It's actually one of the most honest songs I've ever written. I'm thankful to have come through some of the personal challenges I faced at the time of writing this.

The yelling and singing in the background of the chorus. So much fun to record.

Favourite Lyrics:

• "Sometimes I look within I see a deck of red flags, smart enough to see but, but never to tell" – self- deprecating honesty.

• "Got body doubts and Hennessy” is about the nature of toxic post-modernist pop culture.

• "Got demi-wolves to put on leash, dropping Western bombs and call it peace" – it’s about dogs, and our fake Western good guy persona.

• "Got demigods we choose to leave" is about how poorly women and men are treating womankind, and how we are giving up relationships so easily these days, despite all the superpowers ladies have.

WHERE DOES THE LOVE GO?

My favourite memory of this is from sitting at Wategos, Byron Bay, watching the waves, summer '23.

It's a song I wrote about wondering - where does the love go, when it's not us? It's a question I was asking myself when I was feeling a lack of self-love. Now I've thought about it more, I think the love disappears unless we embody it. And it is the responsibility of humanity, wherever possible, to keep it alive.

Favourite Lyrics:

• "People talk about sex, hardly talk about touch, laying on the floor with my hands on your stomach in Perth where we have just" – it’s a provocative lyric about contradiction, pointing out the issue, then being a part of the problem anyhow.

LEARN YOURSELF

I started writing this song on the North Shore of Oahu, my very first time visiting Hawaii in 2023. I have beautiful memories of jamming this song on the beach, watching the sunset.

It's about learning and understanding yourself. I often believe I have to move mountains, to change so greatly, and then I will receive happiness in the future. It turns out more often than not, that I just need to meditate and reconnect with myself and nature, wherever I am. It's got this super sweet vibe, we call it a Disney song.

Favourite Lyrics:

• "Remember you are born of stars". It's just a really hopefully lyric.

• "I do belong, I’m here, I feel embodied". Mumbling turned into the actual lyrics!

OUTLAW

My earliest memory of this song was from Lennox Heads, NSW. Side door open, sitting in the footwell, under the shade of a tree.

It's about a lack of self-worth and doing the right things for the wrong reasons. I've had this bad habit of trying to fit myself into this ‘busker-living-in-my-van’, and that's not me anymore. I've been mute in expressing my needs, to myself or anyone else. I don't like to admit this, but at one point I realised I was trying to lose weight instead of getting strong; it's easy to get off track when you are suffering. This song is about realising that and changing course for the better. Standing up for yourself more often. Being kinder, letting yourself be a little more human.

GK really pushed me to sing loud and high on this record, and at one point in this song he asked me to go into the hallway and just essentially yell/scream. I hit some notes I never knew I could hit, and we layered them through the song. We also had this cool moment where we layered the loud singing (in the background of the song) and the harmonies in the outro, and realised they'd be perfect for the choruses, which really has made the choruses of the song shine.

Favourite Lyrics:

• "If I could remain more unfazed, you could be something earned not won". I like the mystery of this line, it's even a mystery to me (haha!)

ADDICTED

At home, QLD Australia, crying while recording the demo onto my phone. I think it was written in 2022. Writing and singing harmonies. This one really stands out. Also, I just love the production of this song. It feels

effortless.

I daydream, a lot about saying goodbye to my career and disappearing, doing something totally different. And it's not off the cards, but for now it makes me too happy - touring is the time in my life I feel most content. I think we live in a worldwide society of addiction; not just in drugs, or technology, but also addiction to thinking. This song is a realisation that the more you let addictions rule you, the less you feel free. Discipline is freedom, for me anyhow. It's about trading that struggle for commitment to a loving relationship, with your own life and somebody else, which is full of meaning.

Favourite Lyrics:

So many in this track.

• "Sometimes I'd like to fit my life into 2-2 by 23 babe" – it’s about baggage dimensions, and the romance of living out of only my backpack. Which I did on a trip to France once, which was glorious.

• "Some days I would like to call out, all of the money made, out of mining these dying stars" – it’s about how in society artists are worth more dead than alive, which sucks. And it's about the not so distant future when we are probably mining dying stars and having space wars (hope not, but yeah).

• "Quantum fields of loving" is just a fancy way of expressing the timeless, boundless nature of love.

• "These tired eyes in a mechanics workshop" – it’s about working yourself to the bone on self-improvement, which reminds me of myself and someone I was close to at the time.

• "Sometimes I'd like to be 32 or 33 again" – I wrote this part so I can sing in 2 or 3 years’ time and smile

CONFESSIONS

It started 9 years ago, Byron Bay, at the start of the year. of 15/16, on the ‘Runaway Tour’, Mid North Coast, NSW. I remember working on it/finishing it in the summer

I never quite knew what this song was about, and recording it all these years later, it's about being able to admit being in the struggles of a relationship. I have found it easy to speak about my personal struggles, or listen to my partners, but I think I've failed at saying "hey, I'm struggling in our relationship, with our connection". I hope to be better at this.

It's a cool song because I wrote it so long ago, it's so bloody nostalgic. I think long time listeners are going to be so stoked this one finally made it out. Total throwback.

The harmony choice and delivery are very emotive, and it makes this song really dynamic, which I'm stoked about, particularly since it's been around for a decade!

Favourite Lyrics:

Well, my favourite lyrics didn't make the cut. They were very reminiscent of my more risqué lyrics from Land & Sea. Maybe I'll sing the original chorus lyrics live and then you will know.

BLESSINGS

From memory, a road trip all the way down to the far South Coast, NSW. That was where the idea first started. And then, it was only this past summer (23/24) that it really came to life. I think it's the youngest song on the record, I'd only just really finished it a week or two before going in to record it.

It's about the desperation of wanting to be the best possible version of yourself, trying to do the right thing by yourself and for someone you love. To get a mother’s blessing, or to be a father’s best quality, is literal and also an analogy for embodying the highest masculine and feminine traits as an individual. When I say "trying", it’s a purposeful paradox, to express the limbo between doing and not-doing.

When I say, "whatever that means”, I really mean to say – “what the f*ck does that mean?”

It may be my favourite song of the record because it really captures the anxiety of what I've felt for as long as I can remember, one of the biggest questions I have, and what I still grapple with in my pursuit of greatness.

Recording the guttural, scream/yell moment towards the end of the song. I'm finally getting to express my love for pop punk (haha), and it's fun to add this colour into the song. I think makes it extra emotive.

Favourite Lyrics:

• "You asked me, baby are you nervous, I said all the time" – it was a literal conversation, and it's the truth of how I feel in general about interacting with women (haha).

• "It ain't how we break bread, it's how we turn this water into wine, on all these summer storms". People are probably asking if I'm religious at this point: and I can confirm, I'm not, but I don't mind using religious language as a way to explain something... I'm open and curious, and this phrase was a poetic way to explain making something special out of the crazy floods we've had in Australia, and societal chaos we've faced the last couple years.

SINGING FOR COUNTRY

Mid North Coast, Bellingen & Scotts Head, sitting under the stars. Maybe a year or two ago, I woke up one morning to Kookaburras singing early in the morning. I was sleeping in the van, so I put my phone on top of the van through my hatch and I’m pretty sure I went back to sleep. I'm so, so happy I could use these recordings. They fit perfectly, and you can even hear the car drive past after, which is a perfect way to end the record.

It's about being Australian, loving my country, and loving our planet Earth. To be Australian, to me, is fundamentally being a total mix of culture on a sunburnt land. I'm really thankful that I feel I found a way to explain how it feels to be Australian; and I think that people who love the natural beauty of their countries would feel camaraderie in this too.

This is not a political song in any way, it's just a celebration. The world doesn't belong to us; we belong to the world. That may sound obvious, but if we can live this reality more often, we could make earth a place that is one - and hopefully - in sync with nature.

It speaks to the core reason I write songs; to sing and celebrate people and nature.

Favourite Lyrics:

• "any notes for me? nah, take it easy" a conversation between me and GK before starting to sing that I had to keep in the start of the song.

• "My hair is blonde but my blood runs ochre" – being Aussie with foreign heritage.

• "Eagle rays and bottle-nose dolphins" I could barely sing this line it's so funny. It's like a Disney movie lyric. But it's literally what I love about surfing particularly here on the East Coast.

New Love is out now!

ZIGGY ALBERTS NEW LOVE AUSTRALIAN TOUR 

TICKETS 

Friday February 21 The Station Sunshine Coast QLD SOLD OUT

w/ Frank & Louis

Saturday February 22 Miami Marketta Gold Coast SOLD OUT

w/ Emily Rink

Sunday February 23  Liberty Hall Sydney NSW SOLD OUT

w/ Ben Morgan

Tuesday February 25 Hindley St Music Hall Adelaide SA

w/ Rhys Coventry

Wednesday February 26 Palais Theatre Melbourne VIC 

w/ ISHAN

Thursday February 27  Metropolis Fremantle WA

w/ Riley Pearce

Saturday March 1 3 Oceans Winery Margaret River, WA

w/ Coterie, Salt Tree, Keira Jas

Thursday March 6 Tanks Arts Centre Cairns QLD SOLD OUT

w/ Tessa Devine

Saturday March 8 The Powerhouse Toowoomba QLD

w/ Arianna

Sunday March 9 Kingscliff Beach Hotel Kingscliff NSW SOLD OUT

w/ Gaudion

Tuesday March 11 Hotel Brunswick Brunswick Heads

w/ Jordy Quinn

Wednesday March 12 Bellingen Memorial Hall Bellingen NSW SOLD OUT

w/ Saije

Thursday March 13 Bellingen Memorial Hall Bellingen NSW  SOLD OUT

w/ Saije

Friday March 14 Bar on the Hill Newcastle NSW

w/ David McCredie

Sunday March 16 Drifters Gosford NSW

w/ David McCredie

Wednesday March 19 Anita’s Theatre Thirroul NSW  

w/ Hein Cooper

Thursday March 20 Anita's Theatre Thirroul NSW SOLD OUT

w/ Hein Cooper

Friday March 21 UC Refectory Canberra ACT

w/ Azure Ryder

Saturday March 22 Tilba Winery & Alehouse Corruna NSW 

w/ Daniel Champagne

Wednesday March 26 The Cube Wodonga VIC

w/ Rod Coote

Thursday March 27 Civic Hall Ballarat VIC

w/ Tom Harrington 

Saturday March 29 Barwon Heads Hotel Barwon Heads, VIC SOLD OUT

w/ Tom Harrington

Wednesday April 2 Westernport Hotel San Remo, VIC

w/ Rod Coote

Friday April 4 Oak and Anchor Hotel Port Fairy, VIC

w/ ISHAN

Saturday April 5 Oak and Anchor Hotel Port Fairy VIC  SOLD OUT

w/Brittony May