Meeting Kurt Maloo: "Blue", more than a Balearic Album...

1985: The Double's song "The Captain of Her Heart" took the world by storm. Behind the song is a beautiful album (blue) that has more to offer than just a hit. I met Kurt Maloo for a nice chat!

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1) Dear Kurt, thank you so much for joining us here on the Balearic Breakfast blog, it’s an honour really! To me, “Blue” is an album that could be turned into a comic! The songs share a cool, free, and engaging feeling allowing the listener to picture their characters. Was making the album hard back then? How did you choose the song’s order?

It’s a pleasure to be on the Balearic Breakfast blog. Before we started recording songs for the album Blue, we released three 12”: Naningo, Rangoon Moon, and Woman of the World. The last two songs made it on Blue in different, smoother versions.

The success of the 12” "Woman of the World” must have convinced the record company to give us a go on the album. We suggested the running order, starting with WoTW, our biggest success so far. Actually, “I Know A Place” used to be the favourite as a first single. The decision to release "The Captain Of Her Heart" as a first single was made at the last minute because the record company's secretaries couldn’t stop humming the melody.

The Captain of Her Heart was featured in the 14th Episode:

2) Were you aware back then of the Balearic Nature of the album, was it something you worked on consciously during the creative process or did the direction reveal itself later on? How did you chose the album’s title?

We sort of created our sound while recording. Everything came out smoother than our previous recordings. Maybe it was the vibe in the studio (it was a great summer), or because we reduced the synths to a minimum in favour of classic instruments...

The album’s title is a tribute to Blue Note Records and its Jazz artists, who have always been an undeniable influence.

3) Blue also reveals, although delicately, some jazzy inspirations and the listener also finds himself somehow close to David Sylvian’s universe at times. It seems Blue is a poppy Balearic cross point! Do you feel that, too, when listening back to the album?

The songs on Blue are definitely pop songs. We weren’t really aware of the album's Jazzy side because jazz was the music we were listening to all the time, except some early Funkadelic/Parliament stuff. However, all the additional musicians on the album (saxophones, trombones, upright bass) were jazz musicians and gave the record the flavour you mentioned.

4) On “Loopy Avenue”, there is another beautiful cut of “The Captain of her heart”. Although it must have been a tough moment working on it following Felix’s passing, can you share with us how that album came to be and who joined you to complete it?

In the late 90s, Felix and I went back to the studio to record some songs for a possible comeback with Double. We weren’t fully satisfied with the results, though, so we decided to put it in the drawer for a while before starting a new attempt.

When Felix died in 2004, I was working on another solo album, but it was clear to me that the material we recorded together in the 90s had to see the light somehow. I didn’t want to “finish” the songs on my own without Felix, so I asked Pit Baumgartner of De-Phazz, being a neutral person, if he could imagine doing the job, and it worked out more than just fine. 

5) When reading the other great interviews you gave, it’s astounding to see with how much talented and renowned musicians you worked with over the years! To think that even Herb Alpert joined you on Double’s 1987 album is mind-blowing. Could you share with us how that collaboration hapenned?

When we visited our American record company A&M in LA for the first time, we met Herb in his private studio. He was the “A” of A&M and seemed to really like our music personally. He even played some melodies on the piano he was working on and asked our opinion.

Knowing he was on our side, we dared to ask him later in 1987 if he would accept playing Devil Ball's piano part on the trumpet. He immediately agreed, and Felix flew over to his LA studio, where Herb played the whole song through in one go. A real pro, a great musician… and two very happy guys on the other side of the World!

Thank you so much, dear Kurt!

Cheers, Artur!