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CMU Approved
Approved: Pete Spiby
By Andy Malt | Published on Thursday 5 July 2018
A good two decades or so into his career, Pete Spiby is preparing to release his debut solo album, ‘Failed Magician’. One-time frontman of Groop Dogdrill – whose ‘Every Six Seconds’ album remains one of the greatest from the turn of the millennium – Spiby first considered going it alone after his last band, Black Spiders, came to an end last year.
Recuperating from an operation on his left hand – a hindrance to a guitar player – the final Black Spiders performances filled him with a renewed sense of purpose. “When we did the farewell shows, it gave me such a confidence boost that I was even able to play guitar without the pain and medication that I’d had for the last three years”, he says.
As a result, he decided that he should carry on doing “the only thing I’ve been doing since I was at school”. Quickly smashing a PledgeMusic target, he got to work recording a new set of songs with a wide range of musicians, and that became ‘Failed Magician’.
“If it’s the last thing I ever get to do, recording wise, I’ll die a very happy man”, says Spiby of the solo project. “The greatest success is just even getting it done in the first place. Proud as fuck. That’s me”.
And rightly so. The songs maintain the innate atmosphere that has always been a part of Spiby’s sound, while exploring new facets of his songwriting. There are a couple of days left on the Pledge campaign, if you want to get in on that. And here’s one of the new album’s songs, ‘Bible Studies’…
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