É um álbum que seguiu um caminho muito diferente na criação em relação aos seus trabalhos anteriores. O primeiro single é intitulado “She's A Fighter”. Ele revela apenas parte do que se tornou uma jornada de criação de música com a família e amigos com a necessidade de encontrar alegria e consolo diante da adversidade.

Robert Forster explica:

“‘She’s A Fighter’ is the last song I wrote for ‘The Candle And The Flame’ album. I wrote the music for it in June 2021. I liked the tune and the quick energy of the song, but I didn't know yet what it was going to be about.

In early July, Karin Bäumler, my wife and musical companion for thirty-two years, received a cancer diagnosis.

In late July, with a series of chemotherapy sessions about to begin, Karin talked of fighting for her health and a path through chemotherapy to recovery.

The phrase, ’She’s A Fighter’ came to me.

I liked it. And I knew immediately that it would work with my new melody. I needed just one other line for the lyric. ‘Fighting for good.’ The song was finished.

I had written my first two-line song. I had just out-Ramoned The Ramones!

Because the song has so much meaning to us, we decided to record it as a family. The only time this happens on the album. Karin sings and plays xylophone. Our daughter Loretta plays electric guitar. Our son Louis plays guitar, bass and percussion. And I strum an acoustic guitar fiercely and sing.

And that’s ‘She’s a Fighter’.”

Essa união musical como uma família é capturada no vídeo de “She's A Fighter”. O vídeo foi filmado no mesmo estúdio (Alchemix Studios, Brisbane) em que o álbum foi gravado.

Portanto, há uma continuidade. “And the way the four of sit in a circle playing, is very much how we recorded ‘She’s A Fighter’ and other tracks on the album”, confessa Forster.

The Candle And The Flame consiste em 9 canções escritas por Robert. Produzido por Robert, Karin Bäumler e Louis Forster (The Goon Sax), o álbum foi misturado por Victor Van Vugt (Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds, PJ Harvey) e conta com o baixista ex-Go-Betweens e Warm Nights Adele Pickvance, bem como Scott Bromiley e Luke McDonald (The John Steele Singers), que trabalharam nos anteriores álbuns Inferno e Songs To Play de Robert.

“The recording sessions for the album were done sporadically over six months. Sometimes just one or two days a month. As that was all Karin’s strength and condition allowed her to do. So we had to record ‘live’, catching magical moments and going for ‘feel'. And that became the sound of the album.”, declara Forster.

Robert Forster está a planear concertos tanto na Austrália como no exterior em 2023, com datas a serem anunciadas em breve. Atualmente, ele está a escrever um romance e a preparar o lançamento do Volume 3 da série The Go-Betweens Boxset, G Stands For Go-Betweens.

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