Chris T-T, Komedia, Gardner Street, Brighton, Apr 8

9:49am Friday 4th April 2008

Musicians often sound like they are just going through the motions on the phone for the umpteenth reporter they have spoken to that day.

But not so with Brighton's own Chris T-T, who seems to genuinely enjoy talking to the Press.

"I have done more interviews in the past two weeks than I have ever done for the other albums," he says. "I'm still loving it - it feels like being a grown-up!"

The album that has caused this sudden increase in activity is Capital, the final part of Chris's London trilogy, which began back in 2001 with his album The 253 and continued in 2003 with London Is Sinking.

"In my head it started being three albums between recording and releasing The 253," Chris says. "I was looking at how many songs I had left off about London. I felt I needed to qualify the ideas in a formal way rather than just doing them on the next record.

"I feel really relieved that the trilogy is done. It has taken a lot longer than I expected."

Part of the reason for the delay was the release of Chris's political album Nine Red Songs in 2005.

"I had all these overtly political songs that wouldn't work on Capital," he says.

"I needed to stop writing Capital and have a break from it."

After Nine Red Songs' digs at huntsmen, roadbuilders and even Chris's hero Billy Bragg, he deliberately made Capital into a less political affair.

"The negative stuff is more violent than political," he says. "It's almost reacting against Nine Red Songs. "It is going to be so much fun to do a record without an agenda, when I can pick any songs I want!"

Capital was released last month on Chris's new label Xtra Mile Recordings.

"This is the first record which has had a proper team working behind it," he says. "It's the first time I have had to knuckle down and live up to expectations.

"I have never been so busy, but that is exactly how I wanted to be. I have always been a control freak - I always wanted to do things myself. So it is really liberating to give it to other people.

"One of the things that attracted me to Xtra Mile was that they weren't Chris T-T fans of old. They were interested because they liked the music on this record. They weren't saying they loved me since 1999 - they had come to it fresh.

"They are also quite a rock label which I quite liked. I didn't want to get tied into a label that just does singer-songwriters."

With the new record already getting positive national reviews, the future is looking good for Chris.

"If this works and the album does well the future will be more about pure music-making," he says.

"I can spend my life doing what I was put on the planet to do - write music and play my guitar or piano."

• Starts 8.30pm, tickets £6. Call 01273 647100.

Editor's Choice