CRAIG CONNELLY’S DEBUT ARTIST ALBUM “ONE SECOND CLOSER” NOW AVAILABLE

Manchester DJ and producer of 11 Beatport Trance chart-topping singles, Craig Connelly (Garuda, Armada), released his debut artist album “One Second Closer” on February 24. Comprised of 12 new tracks, including singles with Christina Novelli, Gavin Beach, Jessica Lawrence and Sue McLaren, “One Second Closer” delves deep into a medley of vocal Trance, Progressive House and pop, showcasing Craig‘s immaculate production and songwriting skills through a variety of melodic dance tunes that inspire from day to night.
I wanted to say thank you for spending a little time answering some questions. I think your fans and the Fresh Music Freaks followers will enjoy knowing a little more abut the album. 
CC: Thanks guys. Great to catch up with you.

The Album cover is very cool and shows a man at the edge of a body of water. What was the idea behind the cover? Is that a picture of you at the water’s edge? Is the album title “One Second Closer” a reference to the picture?
CC: The man is yours truly. We actually found this location by going off the beaten track whilst on a walk with the dog. You could say the dog found it. It’s one of the rare locations where you get the full panoramic view of the lake with a horizontal edge facing it, so it creates an epic backing.
The idea was a moment of intent, basically capturing me entering the walk. I like to leave the cover and album title open to my fans own interpretation, they can decide for themselves what it means.
Personally I experience it as my journey from where I was to where I want to go, the passing of time, and also my journey to ultimately the end of my days where I believe I’ll see my father again.
We’re all on a limited timeline and our time can be up in a heartbeat so we should spend everyday doing what we absolutely love, keeping the end in the back of your mind helps you enjoy the present.
This is coming from someone who has spent their life worrying unnecessarily which has escalated at times to almost depression levels, but when I lost my dad it all just hit home that what I was worrying about just wasn’t worth it at all.
I try to keep this in mind daily but sometimes I slip back into my old worry habits. “One Second Closer” as an album project and a title/experience reminds me to stay present in the moment. If you were looking for a deep answer, there you go… haha.

You are from Manchester England, what was the Electronic Music scene like when you were growing up? Did it have an effect on you at a young age? How has the “Rave scene” in your home town changed in the last 10 years? Has that changed affected your music on the upcoming album?
CC: Well I actually started to DJ because of an U18’s night in my local town of Wigan, they plated all kinds of dance which was big in 99 but I gravitated towards the Trance records which were massive at the time.
I just wanted to collect records and then moved on to making my own at the age of 16. So without the dance scene of the late 90’s and that club I went too I may not have fully discovered dance music, glad I did though.

I read that you decided to include vocals in your music on “One Second Closer” was that a hard decision to make?
CC: No, it was the easiest thing to do really, my biggest records have been vocal tracks, they’re my favorite records to play and make.
How did adding vocals affect your song writing process? Did you write any of the lyrics?
I wrote a bunch of demos first and had them sent out to various vocalists I wanted to work with for years, eventually getting down the final vocals took a while and some unfortunately didn’t make the cut.
The whole album is a journey and the focus is telling stories so it was key to have the best vocals and lyrics on there. I co-wrote ‘We Are’ and contributed to most of the lyrics on the album but left the majority up to the artists who collaborated with me.
You worked with the singer/songwriter Jessica Lawrence on the new single “How Can I” she has an amazing voice! Did you know Jessica before working on this track? Had you been friends or was it strictly business for recording purposes?
CC: We actually met on a producer/artist forum and after hearing her demo track I was instantly hooked on her voice. I knew I had to work with her so I sent the lead single, hoped it would come back good and my god it did.
She smashed it out of the park, nearly fell off my chair when I heard her demo. Went back and forth a couple of times but the finished product was totally worth it.

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I saw that there was some buzz and rumors online about a possible romance between you and AllyLoves the voice of your new radio podcast “Higher Forces Radio 001” on SoundCloud. Is there any truth behind those rumors? 
CC: I couldn’t possibly confirm or deny these rumors but if you look back on my Instagram over the last 4 years you should be able to work it out for yourselves 😉 She’s been my girlfriend for a long time and helps me out with a lot of stuff massively.

Do you have any plans for future music videos for songs off “One Second Closer” that people can get excited for? If so, what tracks are you thinking about putting a visual element to?
CC: We’d like to but the industry has changed since we made the video for Black Hole, people just aren’t consuming music videos like they used to anymore–they’re nowhere near as popular as they were. Maybe we will, but I can’t confirm this right now.
Are there going to be any more live performance by you coming this summer besides the April 22nd gig at Concorde2 in Brighton U.K? I’m sure everyone is going to be eager to hear the new songs live.
CC: I’ve actually just announced a 15 date world tour plus a bunch more shows to be added to that. This is just the start, we have so many live shows lined up, plus a huge album launch in either Manchester or London, or probably both. Stay tuned.
If you were going to recommend one track off the new album for all Fresh Music Freaks readers to listen to first, what song would it be? 
CC: Really hard to pick just one song but go listen to “One More Shot” in the shower and sing your heart out.
Thank you for your time.
CC: Thank you.

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