When The Cardigans’ Lovefool first came out all those years ago, a neighbour described the song as, “so cute, it’s like these tiny little fairies in a glass bottle made the song”.
And that is exactly the same image that is evoked when listening to Digby and the Lullaby. It’s just such cute music.
The singer/songwriter team of the very much married couple, Rouchelle and Darren Peens ( pictured), have finally released their debut album. The Cape Town couple recorded the album in New York. It was produced by Kieran Kelly.
“As soon as we heard Angie and Julius Stone’s album we tracked down the producer, Kieran Kelly,” explains Darren. “We sent him our track For Now and also made a video for YouTube. He mailed us back within a couple of hours. He said he loved everything about us,” adds Rouchelle. “The way he works and his style are suited to our music.”
When they returned to South Africa their time was taken up by wedding plans. In between that they refined the album and honed their live performances.
“It’s our debut album and we wanted to give the finished product proudly,” says Rouchelle. “You have your whole life to make your first album.”
The album, called The Somewhere Wind shows fine song-writing skills and has positive messages of love. This could be because the two are so in love to the point of nausea.
This comes across when he relates the story about how they met. After growing up on the Bluff in Durban, Darren moved to St Francis.
“Yeah, that’s a posh small town,” blushes Rouchelle. “I’m just from Uitenhage.”
Anyway, Darren set up a studio in Port Elizabeth and ran a competition on a local radio station for a singer/ songwriter.
Rouchelle sent in the beautiful track, Promises, and won the competition. “The song was about finding your husband,” smiles Rouchelle. “And now, down the line I found my husband.”
That song is just one of 11 tracks on the album. It is a great debut album full of folky fun and odd quirks. This quirky couple also have a different view on performing.
Having seen them win over the hearts of the Kirstenbosch Garden crowd last year, it is clear that the two can perform in front of thousands of people.
However, they prefer a more intimate environment, like someone’s home.
“We have always had this romantic image of playing small towns,” says Darren. “The big concerts are great but people are so focused on becoming famous and not trying to connect with people.”
“Yeah, and that becomes an empty journey,” adds Rouchelle. “We want to meet people where they are at. There is a song on the album called Hidden Agenda. It’s about not having an agenda when you love others. When you try to be cool you detach yourself from yourself.
“The journey on this album is about accepting ourselves and accepting each other. It’s been challenging but we were able to do it together and create memories.”