I went through a lot of treatments before settling on this video. Having spent so long writing and recording this album, it took a while to adjust to the sunlight outside the cave.
I wanted to see how a director would react to the song and picked the one I wanted to see. Being a pretty cooperative person I felt I had to step into the mindset of a petulant artist working with a major label and stick to my guns on the iguana issue, something that may haunt me for the rest of my life. A friend of mine said she loved the video but couldn’t stand the iguana! I told her that was my only major artistic contribution to the video.. awkward. Being hung upside down was unpleasant and it hardly made the cut, of course. Despite that Colin and his crew nailed it. The video captured the dark heart of the song. This pleases me no end.
The process of making this Album has been a marathon rather than a sprint. The Songs chosen for Old Tyme Religion are from all the different stages and experiments with various collaborators and Places.
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Born and Mekong Delta are basically tracks recorded in Thailand nearly five years ago, Bread&Butter and 99 problems came at the end, just when I’d figured out the sound. I love old records from the mid 20th Century but had no desire to remake them, nor could.Thats where Dave McCracken (producer) came in. He is super modern and works with a jet pack on, he’s more futuristic than German Scientists on Mars. I listen to a lot of Rock n Roll, Country, Blues and Soul, which I consider American music, so moving here is a real pilgrimage for me.
My main go to guys when I’m in the studio are Howlin’ Wolf and Marc Bolan. When writing I seek guidance from Messrs Cohen, Dylan and Lennon.
-Hugo | follow me @hugoofficial
