As one-third of legendary 90s pop band Take That, Mark Owen made guest appearances on TV and radio last week. Albeit, this is nothing usual for the singer, and the norm for someone in the music business. He was going about cranking up the promo for the new album “Land of Dreams“, (the Northerner’s first new solo body of work in a decade).
It was refreshing however, seeing him speak about this new music on BBC’s The One Show programme. And listening to Mark, talk about music other than his own. Along with expressing his genuine enjoyment of that as a music enthusiast in general. I loved hearing him mention that he’s been popping out to gigs. Where he booked the tickets and drove himself to shows all of his own accord. Turning the tables and also enabling him to have the same live music experience as a fan would have. And yet, doing so instead of using his status or calling in favours. What an exemplary good lad.
At the moment, “Magic” is the track lifted from “Land of Dreams” used as the latest round of promotion. Since the song’s release in August. The music video has similarly also been launched to coincide with the new album that came out last Friday. In the clip, we see Mark take off for a spin around the highways of LA (where he now lives) in an uber-cool mode of transport called a slingshot.
As far as I can tell, this video wasn’t meant to be a full-blown production like some music videos are. The purpose is to evoke feelings of pleasure and abandonment. Finding delight in the simple things like experiencing the wind brushing through our hair on speeding down the highway in an open-top vehicle. I absolutely felt a sense of exhilaration just by watching the uplifting clip.
It was during launch of the new track, that Mark shared a cute anecdote about the writing process of the song. He mentioned that the track “Magic” came about on a visit to Nashville. Where he stayed at a pink hotel that had a picture of the singer Dolly Parton above the bed. Of the experience, he says the song “Magic” came to him in a dream. It sounds like the kind of fantasy scenario lots of songwriters would wish to happen. Only it did happen to Mark Owen and as a result has culminated in one of the most joyous stand-out tracks of his new album “Land of Dreams“.
Mark Owen will tour this album with 4 UK shows in October. (Ticket information, HERE).
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