As a self-professed “typical teenager of the X generation,” Arno Carstens grew up listening to The Smiths, Pixies, and Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds. When Springbok Nude Girls formed in 1994, those iconic alternative influences were immediately evident. Nine years later, he released his debut solo project, 2003’s Another Universe. “Today it represents a little bit of a light at the end of a tunnel,” Carstens tells Apple Music. “Little did I know the title song would eventually be the best of my career.” As Carstens progressed towards a solo career, Cat Stevens, Bob Dylan, Lloyd Cole & The Commotions became influential on his acoustic work. All the while he’s been listening to everything from rock to metal, grunge, hip-hop, and beautiful ballads. According to Carstens, a good song is a good song. Finding the essence of the song has been like “getting to that lonely place where you can hear a pin drop if you sing it.” Carstens expects to be able to sing these songs until he’s in his eighties. It represented a clear transition, but it’s still very much a rock album. He’ll certainly never lose that insatiable thirst for knowledge. Here, he talks us through the project. “Something We Started” “I love it as a starting song. It’s like a flower opening and it’s something we started. It’s just a perfect title for the first song. It invites the audience into a world where they are part of the song because there’s a lot happening in the world. Group mentality is a big thing, obviously because we live on an overpopulated planet. So the song says, ‘There’s a virus in the Bible/And it’s called survival.’ It’s quite direct. All of us just go along living in this frivolous world. This virus has been with us forever. ‘It’s something out of me, something out of you/It’s something we started.’” “Another Universe” “This song starts out from zero-point energy. If you listen to the intro, it’s a start and it leaves the notes hanging. Where it leaves the notes hanging, that’s where I start singing, and it starts with, ‘Let’s take the final bow.’ It creates a vacuum in that beginning section. And then, ‘Nobody knows where we’re off to/We’re not living in the west and we’re not coming from the east.’ It’s essentially a song about escapism and being in control of your own destiny, choosing a better future for yourself. The song is the action of trying to change your outlook. ‘No more crying and just maybe, somebody to hold,’ is almost like a prayer or a wish at the end. It dabbles in a positive, fantasy realm, almost like a dream, where there can be an uplifting, positive outcome from the daily grind.” “Boy” “In school once, a teacher played some Christian music. I didn’t know what it was, but it was quite theatrical and awesome. It reminded me of the train story with the Devil and Jesus playing cards. I liked the story vibe. ‘Boy’ is a summary or a portrait of a family and their struggles with normal human issues and the celebration that people have of their own families. It’s quite a descriptive folk song, heavily influenced by Nick Cave. The man speaks of his boy as the fruit of his loins, his toil on Earth.” “Tonight’s Dragons” “This is a story about a guy and a girl. She’s got a heroin problem and is slowly but surely slipping away. ‘I don’t want you to go/No, no, no, I don’t want you to go,’ is a plea from the guy. The song describes that dark and dingy world where they’re chasing the dragon.” “Neon Girl” “We wanted to make the most lighthearted song that’s easy listening and uplifting. It’s also got an emotional yearning to it, which is nice, and the lyrics are beautiful. ‘Put the memories in here/Like the ribbon from your hair/The only thing that we’ve got left/Is soft and gentle care.’” “Cooler Lifestyles” “This is another song closely linked to the concept of escapism but the lyrics are drenched in a discussion around humanity. It’s an opus to humanity in a way, and a direct conversation with ourselves, talking to the more destructive side of human nature. It’s also got a Swiss music vibe. A song will always have an associated taste or some other sensory experience linked to it. That can be something to do with water or a desert, or the song is cool or it’s hot. This one had a big mountain vibe. Growing up in Worcester amongst the mountains, it probably came from that. It’s a flowing, acoustic-driven song. ‘Delightful delirium, infringement of/Space still blinded by the age where the truth is a maze.’” “Life Is a Bitch” “This song is a colorful, audibly visual journey transporting you from an island to outer space. It’s a guy describing his situation through his subconscious mind, having an internal conversation and arriving at the conclusion that life is a bitch. It conjures up a lot of cool images and sounds. ‘I’m stranded on an island/I can’t see my family/I’m waiting to be rescued/From palm trees and heavy seas/I’m starving of the hunger/I can’t eat their money.’ I like to use little pop pieces in acoustic-driven songs. It gives them a little bit of a commercial edge where it’s normally more of a folkish track.” “Hiroshimama” “‘Hiroshimama’ portrays a family setup where the father and the mother fight constantly. I like that it sounds as though I’m signing it like an Italian person. I do that a lot. Singing in different accents can produce amazingly interesting lyrics. It’s quite a fun song with a big dark humor theme. It’s got these beautiful, disastrous, stormy weather chords and melodies that flow around the chorus. There’s a romantic flavor and quite a bit of drama and chaos. I love it. It’s a bit of a movie.” “Viva la Liberty” “I thought it was a cool way to start the song by going, ‘I battle barefoot/You’re riding,’ as a new beginning from [the Springbok Nude Girls track] ‘Bubblegum on My Boots.’ This song is about how time relentlessly marches on and we continue to look for the truth even though we very seldom find it. Although there’s always a struggle, we’re thankful for the small mercies afforded to us on the journey. ‘There’s a song for every occasion/It’s hidden like a misfit/Viva la liberty/In the beauty we find the diamonds.’” “African Sunrise” “There’s a couple of amazing verses in this song. I envisioned standing on a sunrise somewhere in South Africa, probably in the Karoo. There’s a rhythm to it, like the sounds of thunder. ‘Hush now my angel or don’t say a word/As I’m no longer cold but I’m warmed by the thought and I’m stilled by the heart and stronger by will/One too many and a thousand is not enough/This love is no surprise/This is an African sunrise.’ It’s an ode to my love affair with the African continent. Funnily enough, this song really kicked ass live.” “Woman” “One of my favorite songs. I thought, ‘Tonight I’m a woman,’ was a cheeky kind of thing, having a connection to my past. It’s about a guy who wants to be sensitive towards his partner with the sexual innuendo being one of role reversal. It’s multilayered because it’s got super romantic lyrics too.” “Sleep With Tigers” “Again this is getting to that zero-point energy in songwriting. It’s a beautiful ode to us all and the colorfulness of humanity. You also can’t have beauty without the bad things as they go hand in hand. It’s how we tickle a big lion’s balls constantly, always living on the edge. ‘Hey, Lucifer to Jesus/Another shock, another cog/In the wheel of old forgiveness.’ It’s the age-old concept that there is beauty and harmony in everything if you observe it from a distance.”