Last week we caught up with friend and musician, Roo Panes about his upcoming album release, The Summer Isles.

Roo grew up on the coast and shares our love for being outdoors, with wild swimming being his latest outlet. 

The Summer Isles drops on 24th March and we’re excited to be supporting the launch event in Hoxton. Roo will be performing alongside South African band Beatenberg. For a chance to win tickets, add your name and email to the form at the end of our journal entry. Winners announced on 26th February.

Tell us about your new album. 

My new album is called "The Summer Isles", it's quite an anecdotal and nostalgic record but also has a bit of a travelling theme. It began with an inspiration trip up to Scotland, where we set up a portable studio overlooking the Island of Mull, and finished with recording it in my home town studio.

When’s it launching?

We've released a number of singles already over the last few months, but there's still a good chunk of the album that is yet to be heard. We'll be officially releasing it all on March 24th and following up with a couple of shows in London and Europe this June. 

What’s been the biggest inspiration for your songs? 

This time around I think themes like love, childhood and adventure are the main topics. It changes with each project, but I found with the "Summer Isles" that the songs were very narrative, and were about finding beauty in the ordinary. 

How do you stay motivated? 

When it comes to songs I feel they tend to just arrive if you are patient. I think writing songs is always a fascinating chance to explore life and meaning, and hopefully bring something beautiful to the world, so I find that motivates me.

What are your go to healthy rituals?

I've recently got into wild swimming, whether down at the sea or the local rivers. That's been such a nice thing to discover, and feels so refreshing and clarifying. So if I ever have writers fog I find that's a go to for a clear mind!