Sel Balamir – the Worthing-based half of duo Amplifier – absolutely loves the Worthing vibe.
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00:00Good afternoon, my name is Phil Hewitt, Group Arts Editor at Sussex Newspaper. It's lovely
00:07to speak to Sal from the duo Amplifier. Now Sal, you are based in Worthing, a place that
00:13you love, and it's exciting times. You are just about, well it's out, your new album,
00:18your eighth album I believe, Gargantuan. But the curious thing is, it's not quite as gargantuan
00:24as it was going to be, is it?
00:27It's not quite as gargantuan as the three hours that we had originally earmarked for
00:33the release, so sometimes self-editing is worthwhile.
00:39And you've got it down to about an hour. And what's happening on the album? What makes
00:42it an appealing album, do you think?
00:47Do you know, it's quite an expansive wall of sound, that's like Amplifier's trademark,
00:56and coming from Worthing and Sussex, it soaks up a lot of the vista of the sea, and hopefully
01:06the big blue skies that we all get in summertime over our lucky little corner of the woods
01:13that we've got down here.
01:14Absolutely, and this is, let's remember, an ex-Londoner talking, I'm used to that.
01:20I'm a mancunian, I've lived in a lot of cities, and for me, Sussex is probably the most beautiful
01:28part of the country that I've ever been in. I'm certainly not going anywhere from here.
01:33This is where people come and stay, not passing through.
01:38Right, and what is it about it then that you love so much? Clearly, for you, the sea is
01:43a big, big thing.
01:44The sea is a big thing, but you know, the sea has an effect on the people that live
01:49around the sea, you know, and I find, compared to the other kind of urban places that I've
01:58lived in the country, there's like a sense of kind of easygoing, you know, just getting
02:09on with life, you know, watching the seagulls, you know, picking up the litter from the street
02:15in front of the house and putting it in the bin, you know, it's just, it's little things
02:18like that, that basically give us the flavour of life.
02:23You were saying it's a little bit like how London was when you were growing up there.
02:27Yeah, I kind of knew everyone on my street then, you know, and I know everyone on my
02:32street now, but it hasn't been like that in other kind of cities that I've lived in.
02:38I really appreciate, you know, Worthing. It's a great deal. Yeah, love it. It's got a good,
02:46it's got a vibrant alternative kind of counterculture there.
02:50Fantastic. Russell, lovely to speak to you. Congratulations on the new album from Amplifier,
02:55the eighth studio album, Gargantuan. Thank you.
02:58Thanks, Bill.