It can be a bit daunting opening yourself up to a new kind of performing experience, and this was definitely new to us.

We’ve played in world renowned concert halls, town squares, tiny clubs, huge clubs, stadiums, discos and fairgrounds to name but a few but we’ve never played in someone’s house to a group of their friends. Not even to our own. This was certainly on our minds as We packed up our cars with a basic p.a system, percussion rig,amps, mics, guitars and a keyboard and headed out to the Sussex countryside to our first “Heavies in your Home” Pledge gig.

This was not a full band affair as that would’ve been too crazy on all fronts but rather a broken down raw Heavies “whites of their eyes” session; vocals ,bass ,keys guitar and percussion. The audience were gonna be close, as in right there!

We rolled through picturesque Sussex villages in the early evening till we reached a lovely house perched on the side of a hill overlooking the Sussex downs and the party was already in full swing! It didn’t take long to break the ice with a glass of wine and soon we were setting up our gear, IN THE KITCHEN. This was going to be interesting.

We plugged in, tested the gear, the people came back in and we were off and it was not long before the hosts broke onto the floor and the party really started. It was so much fun! We played they danced, we danced and an hour later we were done and joined the party for real. A little while later we drove home smiling at a night we didn’t know what to expect but which exceeded our expectations and the following night we did it all again in Wiltshire. This time at another lovely house in the countryside, through a lovely English village.

This time no kitchen but a converted barn. They even laid on a curtain for the opening! More lovely people, more dancing, a great party and a mellow journey home only to awake the next morning to that “did that happen last night” feeling or to quote one of our best “or did I dream it, all the time”.

Check out all the photos here on Facebook.

During the show we talked in-depth about Forward giving a real insight into the record. It’s a great chance for you to find out the story behind our first album in 6 years.

If you missed it you can listen to it all over again by going to http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01sfgkw

The release is our first full studio album in 6 years. As well as featuring N’Dea on three tracks, Forward also features the vocals of Dawn Joseph.

You can buy the digital download of the album now from the following online retailers;

7 Digital: http://www.7digital.com/artist/the-brand-new-heavies/release/forward/?src=live-search
Amazon MP3: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Forward/dp/B00CE8SS9Q/ref=sr_shvl_album_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1367918069&sr=301-2
Deezer: http://www.deezer.com/en/album/6516946
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/forward/id635273550?ls=1
Spotify: http://open.spotify.com/album/2g9gN6fuaMlqmoklnORVPF

You can check out an acoustic session and interview we did with Radio 6 Soul & Jazz by heading over to http://www.radio6.nl/2013-04-24/134027

We also stopped by GI:EL on 3FM to perform Sunlight and have a quick interview.

Watch our performance of Sunlight:

Watch our interview:

Forward, our first full album in 6 six years, is now available to pre-order on iTunes and other online outlets.  It will be released on 6th May in the UK.
You can pre-order it now at the following links:

Amazon http://www.amazon.co.uk/Forward-Brand-New-Heavies/dp/B00BI4BA3S/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1366719975&sr=8-1&keywords=brand+new+heavies

Sainsburys http://www.sainsburysentertainment.co.uk/en/Music/CD/The-Brand-New-Heavies/Forward/product.html?product=E11223337

iTunes – https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/forward/id635273550
The tracklisting for Forward is:
1. Forward
2. Sunlight (Full Length Heavies Mix)
3. Do You Remember
4. On the One
5. A Little Funk in Your Pocket
6. Addicted
7. Lifestyle
8. Itziné
9. The Way It Goes
10. Lights
11. Turn the Music Up
12. Heaven
13. Spice of Life
14. One More for the Road

We have just got back from playing at Cape Town international Jazz Festival in South Africa. And we had a blast!

It had been a while since the band were last in the Rainbow city and excitement and expectations on both sides were running high, we’d escaped the miserable weather in the coldest English spring for fifty years and arrived in much fairer weather a little jaded from a long flight the length of the African continent.It wasn’t long before the atmosphere of our latest surroundings began to seep into the ether of The Brand New Heavies sub conscious and things started to pick up.
There’s something really electric about the atmosphere in a large international hotel when there is a big international jazz festival coming to town and it wasn’t long before the lobby was buzzing with the colour and vibrancy of so many talented artists and musicians from all over the international scene, Jill Scott, Robert Glasper, Jack de Johnette, Buena Vista Social club and Gregory Porter, to name just a few.

We plugged in and seeped into the vibe and started to get really excited about our first show of the trip,which was open to everyone as a free show in the large main square,a few acts proceeded us including the very talented guitarist jimmy Dludlu who tore up the set with a tight band and set the stage for the Heavies. Outdoor shows are some of our favourites especially when they are open to everyone and a truly diverse crowd was wowed by what followed as the band transcended a couple of technical issues to shake off any cobwebs left from the journey.

The biggest impact of this show was to really get people  excited about our next show at the 14th Cape Town Jazz festival,and following Andrew and Simons appearance on a major breakfast tv show everything was set up for a fantastic sold out performance in the big hall at the festival.

It was a special night as the photos show,the band were ready to throw it down and Dawn strutted the stage in a blur of costume and seductive energy to fire up the large crowd. As always the night went on after the show and the band boarded the flight back to England with warm memories of such a wonderful, vibrant, cultured, colourful and  friendly city….and went straight to… Gateshead….which, in spite of another long flight and stopover was a fantastic gig in the beautiful Sage centre ,we even had an aftershow at the legendary Hoochie Coochie club , it was another heavies takeover….. where do we find the energy. Here is a small gallery from our time in South Africa. Cheers,  Jan XX

[Show as slideshow]

And you can download the single from Amazon HERE

Watch the video for Sunlight below:

The world exclusive premiere of our new music video for Sunlight featuring N’Dea Davenport took place at midnight last night on MUZU.TV.
MUZU.TV is the only platform hosting the video for a 48 hour period. The video will be live worldwide from Sunday.
Sunlight is released on 15th April ahead of new album Forward on 6th May.

Watch Sunlight now:

The Brand New Heavies – Sunlight featuring N’Dea Davenport on MUZU.TV