Just Jinjer Everything Since Then

Just Jinjer is one if the biggest rock bands in South African music history, having releases a stack of hits, played countless gigs and festival and shared the stage with some of the most iconic artists from around the world.
Just Jinger have recently released their latest album, the first since 2006, entitled Everything Since Then. We had the opportunity to interview lead singer, Ard Matthews about the new album, the band and what sparked then to get recording again.

Congrats on the release of the new album guys. What does Everything Since Then mean to you?
We are very proud of this record for the simple fact that we were not convinced that we would do another record at all, never mind create something that can hold it’s own against just about any other current rock band. In that sense, it means a lot!

With your last release being back in 2006, explain why we had to wait so long for your next album to launch?
I think life just came at us fast. Brent has two kids now, that keep him quite busy. Denholm has a flourishing producer career that pretty much consumes his as well. I’ve also been focusing on my solo, which means that all of us had enough distraction going on to forget about recording new Jinjer material.

How, when and where did you decide to start working on and recording Everything Since Then?
In April of last year I moved to Joburg with the full intention to record a new album. Eventually, around the end of June, everyone’s schedules cleared enough for us to be able to be able to spend week days in B# Studios in Benoni which is also where we happened to record the demos for our first ever album ‘All Comes Round’, so it was quite fitting!

Where did you draw the inspiration for this album?
Each song had it’s own timeline of inspiration. Some songs had been demos for many years that we only now recorded properly, so the inspiration is spread across quite a few years.

The album launched in November last year. What has the response to it from your fans been like?
Everyone who has heard it so far has loved it. We are only on our 1st single to radio so, as of yet, it has not had the benefit of being exposed to as many people as we’d like but we have a lot of legs still, so we hope more and more people will learn about the release as the new singles gain traction at radio.

How would you sum up your December coastal tour?
It was slightly premature as we had not enjoyed any proper love from radio yet and didn’t quite get the word out in time. A lot of people did not know about the shows so we missed the opportunity to play the new album for as many people as we would like to have. All in all, a great learning experience.

Which track on the album has received the most attention and why do you think that is?
We’ve only had ‘Wonderful World’ at radio so far but firm firm favourites across the board have been ‘Love Anyone’ and ‘Thanks for the Trouble’.

When will we be seeing some music videos for the new songs?
We are working on this as we speak. Stay tuned!

If you had to pick your favourite song off the album, which would it be and why?
I think my one is ‘Thanks for the Trouble’. It has such attitude and really portrays where we’re at in our lives at the moment. We have a bit of a ‘don’t give a damn’ attitude at the moment, which is refreshing and new for us. Don’t get me wrong, we’re still professional in all that we do but it’s just a general attitude of rock n roll that we’re only recently truly identifying and owing.

Where to next for Just Jinjer?
‘Same thing we do every day, try and take over the world’ – Pinky and The Brain.

Photos by Daniel Craig