A tree may lose its leaves but will continue to grow. For Teleman, the band’s fourth album Good Time / Hard Time is their first as a trio and sees them evolve as a force of nature as they navigate new beginnings building on a wealth of experience. ‘Good Time / Hard Time,’ their first album for five years, is cited as their “most dancefloor friendly record to date” and is due for release 7th April via Moshi Moshi.
Music and lyrical stream of consciousness entwined, the album makes sense of a world in chaos and its words of wisdom are a vital reminder that even when things seem heavy, life is precious. Teleman give us a glimpse of the upcoming album in their latest single, ‘The Trees Grow High.’ Watch here:
“Nature can teach us so much about patience and how you can’t control everything – you just have to let things happen as it intends… it’s great therapy,” says the band’s singer and guitarist, Thomas Sanders whose garden-dwelling and park strolls to the studio have inevitably wormed their way into Teleman’s songwriting. “I was reading about forests and how trees help each other, they don’t survive on their own, they grow together… as a band we’ve now grown into each other as a triangle shape after having been a square for so long.” New track ‘Trees Grow High’ furthers this notion, commenting on how our childhood experiences can shape our adult life.
“Here’s a track for anyone who had a strange or difficult childhood.” Tom explains. “The chances are you’ll be drawn to someone else with similar experiences, for better or for worse, and this song paints a picture of two people in that situation. I often find myself going back to early life experiences when I’m writing lyrics, maybe it’s a way of understanding the meaning of childhood. The imagery of ‘Trees Grow High’ came to me as I imagined a forest of trees like a family or group of friends growing together and supporting, leaning on each other. A solitary tree is much less likely to thrive or even survive, especially when the storms come.”
The video was made by Tom’s brother and ex-Teleman member Jonny Sanders aka Prehuman and he’s explained the thinking behind it here:
“I’ve wanted to make this camcorder + old school TV screen idea for some time and when Tom suggested we make Trees Grow High with camcorders it seemed perfect. When we were younger we used to make videos with these exact cameras so it was a trip down memory lane. I came up with the performance elements and Tom added the more nostalgic day out with the kids filming each other as they adventure through the woods.”
Teleman take their idiosyncratic sound around the UK next year in support of the new album ‘Good Time / Hard Time’. Get tickets here
Pre order album here: Teleman | Official Website (telemanmusic.com)
Live Dates
April
18 – Portsmouth, Wedgewood Rooms
19 – Totnes, St Mary’s Church
20- Oxford, O2 Academy 2
21 – Canterbury, Gulbenkian Arts Centre
22 – Cardiff, The Globe
24- Dublin, The Button Factory
26 – Leeds, The Wardrobe
27 – Gateshead, Sage
28 – Glasgow, King Tut’s
29 – Manchester, Gorilla
30 – Sheffield, Crookes Social Club
May
02 – Birmingham, Castle & Falcon
03- London, KOKO
04/05 – Bristol, Thekla