In Our Element With Jose Gonzalez

However, an important thing which 'Veneer’s success gave Jose was more breathing space for further creativity on his new work. He wanted a far more intense sound for 'In Our Nature' and he describes how this was done, “All the songs were written on my own and this kept the intensity which I wanted. I recorded these in one when they were done and that’s when they were taken to the studio to be worked on.” Jose continues, “It is similar to my last album in that it is still ‘feel good,’ and I use the same guitar… a nylon string Spanish classical guitar… but I wanted more intensity, so I concentrated more on the rhythm and a feel of intensity in the songs… I focussed a lot on one guitar to do this and there were more vocals and percussion included.”

Gigwise has heard a few tracks on the new album, and it seems that Jose has indeed done what he set out to do. 'In Our Nature' is a touching, rhythmic collection of songs which seem to soundtrack the movements of everyday life. Far from the advert Jose gave his music to before, with this new material he could quite easily put his music to the movements of a river, or the darkness of the night, or the playful rhythm of a soft breeze. It is no surprise then that this sensitive and emotive music was used on the cult-Californian teen soap The O.C.

What did Jose think of his finished article then? “I was happy with how things turned out, I was comfortable with it… it certainly passed my expectations and that’s what’s important.” It sure is Jose. Moving away from the music, Jose Gonzalez has been touring on and off for almost over a year, “I have had small breaks in between my tours back home in Sweden but also in Spain… I’m on tour again now,” Doesn’t this get hard? Asks Gigwise, “Sometimes, but I’m use to it now, and it’s what helped the new album… It’s nice to have songs with rhythm for the live shows and the touring on my last album made me feel more confident in finding myself … I have become more comfortable with myself yes, and that helps my music…I have had a good reception and this has given me a kind of acceptance… a bravery to be myself and explore new things.”

Jose is now on tour until Christmas, and then back on the road in February until May and then he has already confirmed to Gigwise that he will be playing next year’s festivals; so there’s no excuse to miss him.