It took Ben Watt 31 years to follow up his first solo album, North Marine Drive, with his second, 2014’s Hendra. Thankfully, it’s a shorter gap to his third – Fever Dream arrives on 8 April, and we have the video to the song Gradually for you.
Those who still think of Watt as “the bloke out of Everything But the Girl” might be surprised to learn that for Gradually, “I told the band I wanted Pentangle meets Crazy Horse.” And there’s certainly a ragged rock tone to it. “Gradually’s about what can happen to a long ongoing relationship over time; the gradual shifting sands; how love mutates, changes speed; how interior worlds can be obstructive,” Watt says. “I wanted the sound to have a grainy intensity. It’s just four of us in RAK Studio 2, pushing simple instruments – two guitars, double bass, drums – to the max.”
The video came about when director John Jeanes approached Watt with a view to working together. “John was working on the story of a misunderstanding in a short-term relationship,” according to Watt. “He wondered if I had music that might fit. At the time, I was thinking about making a film for my song Gradually, which looks at misunderstandings in a long-term relationship. I thought the intersection of the two ideas could be interesting.”
The film, shot in London, contrasts the worlds of the city. “The backdrop to the story could be seen as contentious,” Watt says, “but I think John’s storytelling is nuanced and skilfully clear. Compassionate. Never gratuitous. The lyrics chime with the action, then seem to diverge. Literal then non-literal, but still linked. For me, it heightens the complexity of the characters’ thoughts. I think it is great film-making.”
Have a look and let us know what you think.
