“The album is a diary of the last seven years of the journey that we went on recording this music as Blitz Vega,” says Kav Sandhu about ‘Northern Gentleman’, the debut album by BLITZ VEGA, a band that he and the late Andy Rourke (The Smiths) started in 2016 and officially launched in 2019. A solid collection of ten songs recorded over the span of seven years, ‘Northern Gentleman’ captures the dynamic vitality of Andy and Kav’s combined songwriting. Launching with the chiming ‘Disconnected’ that showcases Andy’s signature melodic bassline and Kav’s mesmerizing vocals and capping off with the scratching and big beat percussion of its closing track ‘Pass The Gun’, the album glistens and sparkles in a musical swirl.
Titled in Andy’s honor who, as a Mancunian, was a “northern gentleman,” the 10-track album documents the duo’s time together: a record informed by their creative connection, their brotherhood and the spirit of pushing on in the face of overwhelming challenges of Andy’s illness amidst the pandemic lockdown. Yet, if you spin the record without knowing its context or back story, you’ll discover a record which, at varying turns, inspires with an escapist exuberance, hits hard with swaggering rock ‘n’ roll hooks, and offers unexpectedly unorthodox touches and classic sonic touchpoints further infused by an undercurrent of forward-thinking electronica.
Kav says that every song on ‘Northern Gentleman’ tells a story and personally takes him back to a specific memory recording that song, the drive to the studio, that conversation or whatever was happening surrounding the recording session. He adds: “The songs on the album evoke not only the emotions of sadness for Andy’s death but also the happy memories that came with their personal friendship and musical collaboration. “I hear his voice in my head, replaying everything we talked about when we were recording the songs. I see his face smiling at me. On one of my last trips back to LA, I was driving to the studio and it felt like Andy was sitting there with me like he had been so many times before, talking about music, just excited to get this album made. So, all the songs mean the world to me.”