Josh Kempen returns with his long-awaited sophomore album. Recorded in South Africa and Australia between June 2018 and June 2020, ‘Oltramarino’ is both a logical progression and a left-turn for Josh.
Exploring the same themes of love, loss and natural beauty, Josh breaks free of the indie guitar band, one- minute channeling his rock poet through Tame Impala, and the next distorting the Dylan in him. Throw in some country swagger, dark comedy and a Tascam 4 track and you have ‘Oltramarino’.
Latin for 'a blue from beyond the sea, ‘Oltramarino’ was recorded in bedrooms between Cape Town, Brisbane and the Gold Coast, and first began to see the light of day in 2019 when he released once off single ‘Need Some Company’ with Zulu vocal group SoulphiaTown, followed by ‘Promises’ with its epic ‘salt-pan’ video. Originally written as a
safety valve for emotional pressure during a difficult break up, he didn't think the album would ever be released, but in the time and solitude afforded by a global lockdown, Josh found the mental space to finally finish the album.
Primarily recording himself, Josh was able to be tireless in achieving the sounds that he wanted. 'Unkind' was recorded directly to cassette and pitched down to make the melody really ooze. 'The Means' sounds like it fell of a Springsteen record, and with songs like 'Take Me Back' and 'Whether or Not', Josh proves he can still have fun doing this.
