Jack Savoretti’s seventh album arrives with its own genre. Europiana is both its title and a term coined to capture the spirit of the songs and the sun-soaked influences they absorb.
Think Riviera glamour and Italian elegance. Picture golden beaches, endless azure skies and piano bars with punters spilling onto cobbled streets. Grab a rosé – heck, the whole bottle – to spur memories of lunches that last until dusk and heading home with loved ones to dance until dawn.
“When I came up with the concept, some people thought I’d lost the plot,” laughs Jack. “What? You want to invent a new genre? In fact, it already exists - it just isn’t acknowledged. There’s no chart or award for it.
“Europiana isn’t a sound. It’s references and inspirations and the emotions they evoke. It’s the music of my childhood summers, remade for today. It’s apparent which artists and eras inspired us, just as it was obvious Oasis loved The Beatles, but the music is modern, not a pastiche.”
The sonic seeds of Europiana were sewn with 2019’s sumptuous Singing To Strangers, Jack’s first No.1 and his third consecutive gold seller, which mined the romantic ballads of Jacques Brel and Charles Aznavour.
That album was recorded in Rome, at Ennio Morricone’s studio with the maestro’s orchestra. Europiana came to life in much more casual circumstances, in between lockdowns at Jack’s Oxfordshire home, with doors and windows wide open.
“We were very fortunate with the weather,” says Jack. “And, to some extent, lockdown. My house became a haven for the whole band. The moment restrictions lifted, they were all calling me, asking to come hang out in the countryside.
“For weeks we literally lived Europiana. They’d arrive and I’d make a big lunch, eaten outside with loads of rosé. Then we’d go inside to write in what is usually my living room, but became a studio. The sun and fun seeped into the songs. It was a genuine, joyful experience. This isn’t an album we could have made in winter.”
Produced by Cam Blackwood (George Ezra, London Grammar, Florence & The Machine and Singing to Strangers) and recorded late last year at Abbey Road, Europiana is the sound of an artist utterly at ease. Confidence oozes from every song. Risks are regularly taken, but nothing feels forced. Seven albums in, a fired-up, blissed-out Jack has firmly found his own lane.
“Singing To Strangers was my first album that wasn’t all about me, which I loved,” says Jack. “Europiana pushes that further. There are more characters and bigger concepts. I’m looking out at the world, not inwards. The album sleeve sums it up beautifully. I’m on there, but blurry, and the sea is in focus. Gaze at the sea, forget about me!”
Two guests joined in remotely. Nile Rodgers features on disco-fuelled first single Who’s Hurting Who, an instant classic doused in Riviera life and roller skate parks. John Oates, stranded in Nashville, played guitar and sang backing vocals on the lush When You’re Lonely after he and Jack connected on Instagram.
Aptly for an album about family, friendship and the precious nature of love, you’ll also hear Jack’s wife and children sing on a trio of tracks, plus vocals from Cam’s wife. The bulk of the album was co-written with members of Jack’s longtime band, the striking strings were arranged by violinist and close friend Phil Granell and soul-pop belter Calling Me Back To You is a collaboration with Jack’s newcomer and friend Gizmo Varillias.
“We had the option of writing the whole album remotely, but that isn’t for me,” says Jack. “I love filling a room with mad creativity and communicating in a language not everybody can speak. Having so many talented musicians in my home was a dream. I discovered new instruments and new ways to play. Writing with Gizmo, for example, took me in a different direction with rhythm and groove.”
Europiana’s romantic lyrics were largely the result of a loved-up lockdown where Jack really appreciated time spent with his family.
“My wife and I, my whole family in fact, had an incredible first lockdown,” says Jack. “It was an epiphany for me. I needed time at home to reconnect with them after the best, busiest couple of years of my career. My kids got to know me not as papa always working or off on tour, but as the guy they ask to peel a banana or help with homework.
“With the gift of time, my wife and I were like kids again, the 20 year olds who first fell in love. We remembered why we are together and what our lives to this point have really been about. Hence, lots of lyrics about love and happiness and not taking each other for granted.”
I Remember Us, both the album’s first track and the first song written, bottles that sentiment and opens with Jack’s wife and nine-year-old daughter singing.
“I wanted a French/Italian choir sound, scruffy and innocent, more theatre than pop,” says Jack. “You can’t get that with professional singers. My daughter understood straight away because she hears that music at home.
“The song is about remembering who we are as a couple and not letting love die. It had to be the opener because it introduces the theme. It’s reflective but set in the present.”
On the slinky Secret Lives, real-life husband and wife trade whispered lines.
“Some French philosopher once said we all have three lives – personal, professional and secret,” says Jack. “I agree. And to love someone means acknowledging that, accepting their secret thoughts and desires.”
Beneath the frivolous fun of Who’s Hurting Who are some of Jack’s strongest lyrics.
“It’s my take on the great Kris Kristofferson’s song Nobody Wins,” he says. “About behaviour I’m all too familiar with, but hopefully is behind me. It’s a serious song in shiny packaging.”
More Than Ever finds Jack reminiscing about childhood summers spent in Italy. Too Much History, written with Joel Pott, has him ‘dancing like its ’76’, committing to his relationship against a backdrop of beats, strings and his wife and daughter on backing vocals. The cabaret-tinged Way To Say Goodbye, written with his pianist Shannon Harris, was inspired by early dates with his wife, visiting piano bars with his parents in his teens.
Disco-soul scorcher Dancing In The Living Room is not, as it may be perceived, about life in lockdown.
“We did do a lot of living room dancing during the first lockdown,” says Jack, “but the song is about going home with people you love. The highlight of nights out for me is always coming home and staying up dancing and drinking with friends or family.”
Rousing album closer War of Words was written as a lesson to his kids and features both his daughter and five year old son.
“There are so many fiery topics at the moment, so many people shouting their opinions and unwilling to listen,” says Jack. “I realise how idealistic the lyrics are, but a war of words isn’t the answer. Step back, take a breather. It’s a song of hope, with a bit of nursery rhyme vibe.”
Recording took place at a socially-distanced Abbey Road, with the band playing as live.
“I arrived with a suitcase of 18 songs and we recorded them all as live takes in ten days,” says Jack. “Everyone was so excited to be back at work, to experience the joy of making music again. The love and camaraderie was nuts. As cheesy as it sounds, it was an emotional experience.”
Jack’s first album on new label EMI, Europiana is a summer soundtrack crying out for a crowd. Gigs have already been booked. Plans are afoot for a series of special outdoor shows. Put the rose on ice to toast both its release and a genre that now has a name.
Jack Savoretti’s new album ‘Europiana’ is out
June 25th via EMI Records
