Johnny Borrell: Making Music Is Like Falling In Love

4 June 2013, 17:57 | Updated: 1 September 2013, 23:50

Johnny Borrell has been talking to Radio X about his "rocking" debut solo album Borrell 1 which he reckons is a return to the type of songwriting he did for Razorlight's much adored debut Up All Night.

The record - the Razorlight frontman's first studio album in five years - is out July 22.

Speaking to Radio X's John Kennedym Johnny admitted that he's not going completely solo.

"I've put together a new band and the band is called Zazou. I asked them to come down and play on my solo record," he explained.

"I wrote these songs over the last two years and I got Freddie from Razorlight to come down and produce this record and he brough his cassette four track down to my house in France and we just recorded. We just put these songs together."

"This is my first solo record but there's a lot going on. For me it's not just an album and it's not just a band - it's a whole new thing for me. It's hard to get across."

The first single from Borrell 1 is called Pan-European Supermodel Song (Oh! Gina) with Power To The Woman, Cyrano Masochiste and Dahlia Allegro among the other track names.

"I had these songs - they're the diary songs I guess. It's back to how I felt on my first record where Im just singing to the people around me and I am telling things that I have to say to people. And the music's rocking," Johnny told John Kennedy.

"We all just fell into this record. When music starts to work it's like falling in love - you can't plan it and you can't legislate for it you've just got to follow it," he commented.

"There's just this weird thing when the four of us get together. It just works.

"We were doing a photoshoot today, we had a tambourine and we were just mucking about and it just sounded good. It's pure music. There is no like 'oh it's time to go and do a gig we better thing about getting musical' it's just when we are together it is a way of life and that way of life is music."

Borrell 1 track listing:

Power To The Woman
Joshua Amrit
Pan-European Supermodel Song (Oh! Gina)
Ladder To Your Bed
Dahlia Rondo
Cyrano Masochiste
We Cannot Overthrow
Each And Every Road
Wild Today
Dahlia Allegro
Erotic Letter

Johnny and Zazou - have already announced a series of small club shows to preview the new album.

The June tour Dates:

Tues 11 -  Southampton, The Cellar
Wed 12 - Aldershot, West End Centre
Thurs 13 - Bristol, Louisiana
Fri 14 -  York, Fibbers
Sun 16 - Birmingham, Hare & Hounds
Mon 17 -  Leicester, Lock 42
Tues 18- London, 100 Club