Pepa Knight is not, I’m afraid to say, his real name at all. He lost his real name in a game of high-stakes poker one muggy night in Mumbai, where the mosquitoes were the size of lamps and the scent of shisha was heavy in the air. What he gained, however, was exposure to a culture and sound that would have a profound impact on the shape of his sensibilities. On the eve of a solo career, the Jinja Safari co-frontman talks about nostalgia, world music and tepees. Also, the stuff about the poker game is not, in the strictest sense, actually true.
When a singer decides to strike out on their own, for however brief a time, the first reaction from many is to question if this is the beginning of the end. Jinja Safari have amassed an amazing collection of songs over the last four years, and the Central Coast boys have enjoyed great success both at home (triple j high rotation, sold-out shows) and abroad (BBC Radio 1, international festival appearances). Though Knight remains hesitant to discuss future plans with the band, the excitement of his solo career is pretty damned infectious.
“Basically, with Jinja we’re on a hiatus and…” He stops to think. “It was mainly that we were doing it for so long. Jinja was never planned, it just sort of happened and it’s been non-stop the whole time. Just touring and touring and touring, and we got to a point recently when we’ve been a bit flat, or not putting in as much effort … It felt like it was time for a break, and the timing was there. I’d always wanted to do other projects on my own, get some songs out there. So it worked out to be good timing.”
So far his efforts have paid off. His debut album Hypnotized (due out later this year) was written and recorded during several trips to India between 2011 and 2013, and the evidence of his experiences is instantly recognisable on the two tracks that have been released thus far – he was even featured in India’s Rolling Stone magazine. Given the timeframe of composition, it allowed Knight a lot of insight into the benefits and anxieties of building one’s own vision.
“[Being in Rolling Stone] was incredible, especially because the project had a lot of influence and inspiration from India; it was really cool. There’s been a few little things really exciting [like that]. Even before we started Jinja Safari, I became obsessed with world music, I don’t know why. I went over to India a few times over the years and really drew from the sounds and the vibe over there. I can’t get enough of it. With Hypnotized, I’ve been working a lot closer to it than I have with Jinja, in that I’m managing it myself. With Jinja, we’ve always, from the get-go, had management and all these other people who worked on it. There were people who I didn’t even know who were doing stuff, so it’s been a really nice learning curve to see how to release music on your own, though I’ve still had a lot of help. I wanted to get the songs out there, but wasn’t really expecting anyone to really take the time to listen. So I’ve been really, really stoked with the reception.”
Outside of feedback he has received from the single releases, ‘Rahh!’ and ‘Clams’, Knight is still very much in the fledgling days of, well, Pepa Knight. His first gigs are ahead of him, and given the popularity of Jinja Safari’s performances the strength of his live shows will go a long way to determining just how far his solo success will stretch. He sounds excited at the prospect, but his expectations are tempered with a healthy dose of fear.
“It’s actually terrifying,” he laughs. “With the band, you can distribute the blame if it doesn’t go well. It’s something you handle together. But with a solo thing, it all comes down to you. It can be so daunting, but one of the things I’ve learned is to not worry too much. For this, I really just wanted to make the project for myself and write these songs exactly as I envisaged them to be; make it a special collective of songs for my experiences over in India.”
Not that he will be performing alone on tour, nor will he be entirely uninitiated in playing his new material for an audience. After assembling a band from local musicians, Knight put the word out to a handful of friends and lucky online strangers to come chill out in his tepee – yes, Pepa Knight has been living in a tepee in his backyard – and have an unbiased listen.
“Because every song is so complex and layered, I wasn’t sure how I’d be able to do it. But I have this great band who live literally a minute away from me and help me to pull off these songs live. One of them can play the flute exceptionally, which I’m really stoked about because it’s hard to find a good flute player,” he says.
“It sounds different doing it live, it has more life in it. What we did the other night [in the tepee], we did this special test run of the songs … it was really, really nice. I mean, we stuffed up a few times here and there but, you know, friends are always good for a compliment when that stuff happens.” He chuckles. “It was a really good vibe, so we’re really excited to play a proper venue where we can, you know, actually have a soundcheck and know how we sound.”
Pepa Knight is playing at Goodgod Small Club on Friday August 1, tickets here.
