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Ed Kowalczyk Still Happy with Switch to Solo Work
By: Ryan | Follow @altaddiction
Source: Alternative Addiction

Thursday, December 06, 2012

Following up a successful solo debut, Ed Kowalczyk has released a new EP titled, The Garden EP while working on the follow-up album to 2010’s Alive. The EP features the first four songs completed from the upcoming album and then remixes of those four songs. The EP also has Kowalczyk covering John Lennon’s song, “Mind Games.” Alternative Addiction recently caught up with Ed and discussed the new music and if he was still satisfied with the switch to a solo career.

“This has been a labor of love for a solid year and a half,” said the former lead singer of Live regarding his new music. “Amidst the rest of the album that I’m still piecing together, these are the four that were ready first. In this new era, where the distribution of music is so different, people are more used to things coming out in EP form every year, sometimes maybe sooner. I was used to the process of five or ten years ago, you do your record and tour for a year or a year and a half and it ends up being two years between albums. It was about a year and a half between projects so it feels like I’m beating my curve a little bit. It was going to be earlier but I wanted to add the remixes to it.”

The new album has Ed working with a new producer that he hasn’t collaborated with before, Jamie Candiloro. In the industry he’s known for working with R.E.M. and Ryan Adams, but he’s also produced two Red Wanting Blue records. Kowalczyk gave Candiloro extensive credit for the sound of the new material.

“He has a studio on Melrose Ave. in Los Angeles and the idea behind this was to go down there and lay down the tracks with my guitar and go from there. But we did things differently. We kind of erased the guitar and just started with the vocals and the melody, which I had never done before. It really opened up the production to some new elements and some re-thinking about how to record. It really inspired me too. There are still plenty of guitars on it, but the process was different for me.”

Although Candiloro has had Ed start with his vocals and the melody on the new music, Ed’s writing approach still hasn’t changed. The charismatic singer mentioned that he’s still writing the way that he always has, but his producer has stirred up artistry with these songs in a number of ways.

“With writing, I just try to sit down and come up with the best songs, lyrics, and melodies that I can. Then I go in the studio and make them as dynamic as possible. That part has never changed for me; it’s really the nuts and bolts of it. The biggest changes for me are who’s going to perform with me, who is going to produce it, and how that’s going to feel. Jamie really inspired me on this; he’s one of those guys that can play every instrument. He’ll come up with wacky arrangements and we’ll pick things we like and move past certain things. It’s been a really exciting creative process, more exciting than even the last album.”

The EP is a preview of the full-length; something that Ed said would ‘ideally be done at the end of this year or the start of next year.’ People can anticipate the record to come out late in the spring of 2013. In the meantime, Kowalczyk will still be playing acoustic shows and doing some touring while putting the finishing touches on the album.

This coming year it will be four full years since Ed left the band Live, a group that he helped grow and one that has had platinum-earning success. Live wasn’t just successful though, they helped shape music for two decades. When asked if he was still happy with the switch to a solo career, Ed remained excited about the prospects of his new music and his current path.

“Absolutely, this music, if you really hear it, I hear more excitement with me than ever. Working on it with Jamie and exploring these different avenues has been great, and to keep moving as an artist… I couldn’t ask for anything more. I’m just as excited as ever.”