Razorlight share new track ‘Burn Camden Burn’ and discuss return of guitarist Bjorn Agren
Razorlight have shared new track ‘Burn Camden Burn’, a never before heard track recorded in 2009.
The new effort, which has been produced by Orange Juice‘s Edwyn Collins, coincides with its use in Trying – a new TV series which today debuts on Apple TV.
Describing his work with Collins, singer Johnny Borrell told NME: “I loved working with Edwyn, he’s a hero to me and I remember meeting him for the first time when I was nineteen, maybe 20.
“I went into a pub and it was his birthday and he was having a party. I was this kid with £2.50 to get a pint and I got talking to him and he invited me to hang out with them. I had a great night and remember thinking what a lovely bloke he was, and how grateful he didn’t throw me out of the pub.”
As for the track itself, Borrell insists that it isn’t a reflection of his relationship with the titular North London spot.
“I was hanging out in Camden in the nineties and it was the scene that was around then after Britpop,” said Borrell.
“All the pop stars had moved on from The Good Mixer and The Dublin Castle, but everyone else was left and that was the scene I grew up in. I was a teenager and this song is about that. By the mid-noughties, I’d only ever go to Camden because the bass player from Squeeze had told us about this pub that would serve us until three in the morning, and that was The Hawley Arms.
“It didn’t feel like a scene when we were there, and it was just the place we’d go in the days when it’d be unusual to get a pint after 11PM.”
He added: “For me, Camden is memories of speed, heroin and people in bad make-up.”
The new offering also comes as Razorlight continue work on the follow-up to 2018’s ‘Olympus Sleeping’ – with original guitarist Bjorn Agren coming back into the fold once more.
Discussing Agren’s return, Borrell said: “It’s brilliant. I just phoned him up when I was writing new material and we needed a good guitar line on this one song, so I rang him up and said I don’t want to bullshit you, but I’ve got a new song I need a guitar line for.
“Bjorn is Mr Music, he’s just in his apartment sleeping under his mixing desk, and he said to me ‘Johnny, I like you and I like most of your songs, so why don’t you send it to me and I’ll tell you if I like it or not.’ I thought that was a brilliant answer. I sent him the song and two weeks went by, and he sent it back with these killer hooks.
” I sent him this very Spinal Tap text saying ‘uh, do you wanna come back on the road.’ He came into rehearsals and it was better than it was ever.
“Musically, our connection was immediately there and it’s been the best thing to happen to me in the last year.”
‘Burn, Camden, Burn’ is out now via Atlantic Culture Records.