“When I heard The Streets what I loved about it was that it was British,” he says. “At the time there was nothing mainstream that was talking about our stories and our culture. That’s what I admired about The Streets and MCs like Rodney P, Blak Twang. I was drawn to that and I loved doing it and I loved touring. I still love them boys. I don’t get to see them enough, which is a shame. There’s no beef, that’s just life – everyone’s doing their thing.”
Trail actually released his first solo record Just Living in 2005, but found only limited success and was soon back on the road with The Streets. When Mike Skinner called an end to the alternative hip hop outfit in 2011, it prompted Trail to give his solo pursuits another go. Looking to make a fresh start, he decided to get out of London and, oddly enough, spends half of his time in New Zealand these days.
“I left and came here and it’s just been busy,” he says. “I fell in love with the country and the people and met a bunch of musicians. A saxophonist called Nathan Haines, I did a track with him, and now I’ve started doing stuff with Sola Rosa over here. And my friend Sharlene Hector, who sings with Basement Jaxx, she loves New Zealand as well so she came over and we’re writing an album together.
“I just feel free when I’m here. In the UK people aren’t as open and it’s in some ways a pretentious business there. People that I’ve met here, they do what they say and they’re actually just nice.”
As well as these various collaborative ventures, Trail’s adopted surroundings have allowed him to get productive with his solo work. Ahead of his forthcoming Australian headline tour, Trail’s releasing his third album, The Knight, this week.
“It’s totally different from anything I’ve ever done,” he says of the self-produced record. “It’s about waking up. The way that we live is kind of madness – this ego-driven shit and destroying our planet. We’re not sustaining ourselves and we’re living out of balance with life. I feel like there’s a lot of stuff that we’ve forgotten. The Knight touches on waking up to see the madness and that we’re all the same deep inside.”
The electronic flavour of The Knight distinguishes it from Trail’s 2012 LP Hope Star which was dominated by live instrumentation. Yet, the electronic emphasis doesn’t exactly indicate the direction he’ll follow going forward. Trail’s got another record, The Traveller, alreadydone and it focuses on a reggae-soul sound.
“I work fast, I work instinctively and I work with the truth,” he explains. “Some people write fast, some people take photos well. Everyone’s got different gifts. This is mine.”
On top of letting him explore his prolific potential, it seems like getting away from London has let Trail relax about his music’s commercial fortunes.
“I do music wherever I go,” he says. “[Whether] it’s playing to one person or playing to thousands of people. The reality of it is, ‘Are you happy? Who are the people around you?’ and ‘Do you enjoy the music that you’re involved in?’ You could be on stage and perform to thousands of people, but how many people are you going to get to talk to? How many people are you going to inspire on some level?”
BY AUGUSTUS WELBY
