South African songwriter Jeremy Loops has always been quick to form a strong connection with each audience he picks up a guitar in front of. Currently in the middle of a world tour that has seen him return to North America and Europe triumphant off the back of his new album, Critical as Water, Loops has continued to thrive as a live performer.
“It still moves me every time,” he says of the crowd’s reaction, night after night. “It’s wonderful validation that the energy and emotion we put in the music is received and shared right back by the people the music is intended for.”
Making this album in the face of environmental and societal issues continuing to envelop Loops’ home nation of South Africa and by extension, the other territories he tours to, Critical as Water is as much an escape from the madness, as it is a striking portrait of a crazy and ever-changing world we are all navigating.
“The album was actually made in two phases,” Loops says. “Like a stand-up comic, I wrote lots of songs for about two and a half years and would test them on an audience in smaller more forgiving circumstances, thinking the ones that stuck would make the album. Not one song from this period made the album, because I was unhappy with the overall quality of my output. It was wild because I knew I had become a far better songwriter since my first album, but I just had this wall I needed to circumvent. The second songwriting phase happened in a quick six months. I was turning out tons of songs I was really proud of at a rapid rate, and where I had previously had the problem of a dearth of great songs, I had the problem of having to select a few from a big batch.
“One of the beautiful things about making something with as many moving parts as an album – which goes through cycles of updating and revising – is that as you discard songs for stronger songs, an album mutates into something quite different from your initial vision for it. I knew the emotional intent and the themes I wanted to cover, the sound I was going for, and all that remained intact, but it would be misrepresentative to claim I had all the specifics down. I know some artists working on major labels go, ‘I need x number of bangers, x number of features, x song for triple j or y song for BBC One, and so on’, but that’s not how I approach it.”
The debut of Critical as Water on Australian turf this month is one that has been built on early album acclaim and a heavy anticipation from Aussie fans for Loops’ effervescent performance ability. Still, a heavy tour schedule does take its toll.
“Down days are inevitable. When they come, I like to remind myself why I’m here, what I’m doing here, how many incredible people dedicated countless hours of work and focus to make it possible for us to be here and, finally, I remember what the music means to people who come to shows. Live music is more than just music for many people. It’s a sacred, almost spiritual space for some. And respecting that and their time makes it easy to focus inward on our purpose, even if I’m home sick or weary of long periods on the road.
“I’ve always been hyper-focused on what matters most to me; that is family and community. I know that the accolades that come with fame or celebrity aren’t real and they don’t last, even for the most successful, so I don’t look to it for validation. It makes it easy to keep my head down.”
