Gary Kemp has released his third solo album, “This Destination” through East West Records

Great British Songwriter Gary Kemp has released his third solo album, “This Destination” through East West Records available HERE.

The guitarist, songwriter and co-founder of Spandau Ballet has been touring worldwide with Nick Mason’s Saucerful of Secrets since 2018, alongside bandmate and fellow host of the renowned podcast Rockonteurs, Guy Pratt.

Kemp’s new body of work follows on from 2021’s INSOLO. “This Destination” is his most personal to date and sees the songwriter channel his own thoughts and feelings about the past, present and future through the guise of uncanny storytelling and character work. The album is simultaneously semi-autobiographical and an exercise in empathetic scene-setting.

The album’s release is accompanied by a stunning AI-generated music video directed by Mike Bennion which depicts a hyper-real, rainy London and its commuters. See HERE.

This marks Kemp’s second of three AI-generated videos directed by Bennion, reflecting a shift in the creative landscape.

Bennion said, “Each of Gary’s tracks which I directed videos for have a traveling motif in the lyrics and I echoed that in the visuals, but gave each one its own look. This one had a documentary approach. The idea was various people trying to get home on a London night bus. I was fascinated by the AI technology's ability to render convincing moving lights on glass and through condensation”.

Speaking about the video, Kemp said, “It reflects the desire to find home in an urban landscape, a theme that runs through much of the album”.

Video for This Destination - directed by Mike Bennion

The single represents a moment of symmetry for Kemp during the writing of the album. Kemp said, “It’s about my relationship with music. Whatever I’m going through, whatever conflict arises, the process of making music is my resolution. That’s my destination.”

The album puts on show the culmination of a lifetime dedicated to songcraft, featuring intricate arrangements including strings by the renowned John Metcalfe (formerly of The Durutti Column and more recently string arranger to the likes of Peter Gabriel, Blur and U2).

A special Dolby Atmos mix, created by musician Steven Wilson, is also available. Wilson uses spatial audio mixing which creates an immersive sound by placing audio elements into a three dimensional space. The effect is a stunning recreation of how we hear sound in the real world. Wilson is the renowned master of this.

This Destination features keys and backing vocals by longtime collaborator Toby Chapman who co-produced the album alongside Kemp at London’s Reformation and RAK studios.

The aforementioned, renowned bassist, Guy Pratt - who handled rhythm section duties for Pink Floyd circa 1987 onward - was called upon to play bass on some of the songs. Pratt’s previous work includes performances and cuts for Madonna, Roxy Music, The Smiths and Womack & Womack to name a few. The album’s closer features throat-singing by the Mercury Prize nominated Sam Lee.

Lyrically, the 11-track offering marks a journey in discovery for Kemp who, in the years following the pandemic, hit an unexpected wall of anxiety and a lapse in self-belief. ‘This Destination’ is the soundtrack to the artist navigating his way back to familiar surroundings.

The first song composed for the album was the arresting and cinematic ‘Take The Wheel’ - a piece of music which evokes the vivid imagery of a couple leaning forward against a windscreen trying to see the road through the rain.

Kemp pleads, “Is there anybody out there who can take the wheel?”. The lyric is a genuine call for somebody, anybody to step in and take over.

Elsewhere on the album, Kemp reflects on his relationship with the City in which he’s spent his life. ‘Borrowed Town’ reckons with the notion that London belongs to no one. The ever-changing cultural hub is something we all inhabit but can never claim ownership over. Kemp says, “London is in constant flux. When you live here, you’re just borrowing it for a time.”

Kemp also recalls a remarkable moment in the album’s conception when a spell of writer’s block was broken by an unexpected intervention by a fellow musician. He’d been sitting by the piano for hours to avail when the phone rang:

“It was Richard Hawley. We chatted for a while and I told him I’d been going round in circles trying to write something that day. He said ‘Okay, here’s what you do. Go over to the piano and sit down’”. Kemp obliged. “‘Put your hands out over the keys. I’m going to go now, and you’re going to write a f*cking brilliant song.’”

Sure enough, the encounter led to Gary producing the McCartney-esque ‘Work’ - a semi-autobiographical tune in which he celebrates the unsung heroics of a parent’s everyday life. In ‘Work’, Kemp embarks on a trip down memory lane in an evocative account of his parent’s working life. He says, “I remember going into the factory with my Dad one morning. I have this vivid recollection of the moment he put his brown overalls on over his clothes. To me he was Superman putting on his cape.”

The song's outro builds into an uplift of staccato strings while Kemp repeats the mantra “Got to make it work”. The statement almost takes on new meaning with each repetition - partly summarising the song’s narrative whilst also acknowledging the pressure we put on ourselves in every aspect of life; from relationships to health issues to career decisions.

It’s on the album’s final track ‘I Know Where I’m Going’ that Kemp reaches his resolution. He sings, “I know where I’m going, I plan to take a rest there”. Clearly Kemp finds his peace of mind on the album’s full circle moment. He said, “It’s the most personal on the record... It had to go last - it just made sense”.