00:00Good morning, my name is Phil Hewitt, Group Answer Editor for Sussex Newspapers, and good
00:07evening to Andrew and Laura, who are in Australia, but not for long. Andrew and Laura, who are
00:12the Weeping Willows, are heading our way touring the UK, and it's a place that you both like
00:18to perform, don't you? What's special about being in the UK, given that you're travelling
00:23so very far to be here?
00:26Oh gosh, I mean, we just love it so much. I mean, Andrew has a lot of family.
00:30I have a lot of family over there, and a lot of history of going back and forth to the
00:36UK and travelling and touring there. Look, there's lots of different ways I can answer
00:42the question, but I think all the audiences are really understanding and appreciative
00:48of different artists coming over, and they really do give you a chance to play and they
00:53listen. We were talking before about the amazing folk scene that's over there, and
00:59just in general, a great live music scene that's still really strong in the UK, and
01:05it's really beautiful.
01:06And Laura, you were saying there's an appreciation of Americana, which is essentially what you
01:10do, and you were slightly surprised that UK audiences are so appreciative of it.
01:15Yeah, I guess I was just shocked. I mean, we've been doing a lot of American touring
01:19over the years, so I just wasn't sure if that also translated to the UK, but it's a
01:23big deal. It's a big scene. There's a lot of Americana festivals, a lot of Americana
01:27venues, so it's lovely to have receptive audiences in the UK.
01:31Brilliant. And am I right in thinking there's a new album? There is, isn't there?
01:35It's new-ish.
01:36New-ish.
01:37Yeah.
01:38What's the album called, Andrew? What's happening on the album?
01:42So yeah, this is our third long play, I guess, album, you'd call it. So it's called
01:48You Reap What You Sow. And yeah, it's 10 tracks? Yeah, 10 original tracks. And yeah,
01:59like everyone would say, I think it's the best work we've got at this point in time,
02:02until the next album comes out, and then it won't be. Yeah, until the next record comes
02:08out, and then it won't be. But yeah, it's...
02:11It's called Progress. But Laura, tell me about some of the things that are happening
02:14on the album. What sorts of things are you singing about and talking about?
02:18Yeah, sure. So Andrew's the main songwriter within the duo, but we share the lead
02:24vocal, and in fact, most of the album is in harmony, which is, we love harmony
02:29singing, we love harmony duos. That's what we're really drawn to. And I guess you
02:32could say that we are influenced by a lot of Southern Gothic music. So there's
02:37definitely a Southern Gothic theme throughout many of the songs, some darker
02:42themes, some temptation and redemption and all those sorts of things. There's the
02:47black crow omens, but then there's some lighter songs as well, and some songs
02:50that are closer to home. Some songs inspired by end of relationships and the
02:56ebb and flow of that grieving process. There's also a song about mental ill
03:03health on there. There's a song about being on the road for a folk duo. There's
03:08always going to be a song about being on the road. So lots of different themes in
03:12there.
03:13That sounds fantastic. And the fact is you are, of course, a couple. That must
03:17make it so much easier, practically, to be touring.
03:20Absolutely. It's one car, one hotel room.
03:24And the majority of the time, people always ask us this question. They're like,
03:27oh, do you guys, you know, surely you have lots of fights and you find it really
03:31frustrating working together as a married couple. You know what? We both have
03:38strengths that we can help each other out with as we tour. And we, apart from
03:44arguing over the set list, I mean, we really, you know, it's actually a hell of
03:49a lot of fun.
03:50Well, if that's as bad as the arguments get, you're doing pretty well.
03:54Yeah.
03:55Yeah.
03:56Indeed.
03:57Indeed.
03:58Fantastic. Well, have a safe trip over here and enjoy your time in the UK. And
04:03the date local to us is Brighton on July the 11th. Really lovely to speak to you
04:08both. And yeah, nice to do so all the way in Australia. Thank you.
04:12Thank you. Bye.
04:13Thank you so much, Phil.
04:14Bye-bye.
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