Taking a cue from the Old Testament and Mississippi country hill blues, Melbourne duo The New Savages have a new single they’ve been touring around the country since January.
Titled ‘Brother, I Am Your Keeper’, the dark country/ blues track is songwriter Milan Milutinovic’s twist on the biblical tale of brothers Cain and Abel. “It’s like flipping around the Cain and Abel story really,” Milan explains.
“Because [Cain] says ‘I’m not my brother’s keeper’ and I thought that I’d flip it around and say ‘brother I am your keeper’, so it’s kind of a twist on that theme.
“Religious imagery and themes work well lyrically with blues and I think it’s a pretty powerful story: the first two brothers in the world, one kills the other one because he’s jealous of God – that’s a powerful thing.”
The single marks a step forward in Milan’s evolution as a songwriter as well as the entrance of new drummer Darren Seknow with who Milan has been working for the past six months. “I think the songwriting is just a little bit better, it’s more crafted melodically and everything,” Milan says.
“Darren just joined the band as well and this is the first single we did. We seemed to have really clicked together and I’ve got some other songs up my sleeve that are just a little bit better.
“It’s a step forward; I’m not going backwards, which I think is really important for artists to feel that they’re improving. I’m not going to rest on my laurels and I thought it was almost like a pop song but within The New Savages’ darker blues style, which is a nice balance.”
In working with Darren, Milan has procured an injection of fresh creativity for The New Savages that gives their music a new dimension. “I think artistic relationships can run their course and Darren’s come in with a whole bunch of new energy,” he says.
“He’s got a slightly different style on the drums, which has quite an impact on a band like this with just two guys, and he can sing, so we’re working on harmonies.
"There’s things in the mix that we’re working on, which ‘Brother…’ was just the first of that and we’ll be releasing some more music probably before the end of the year; we’ll probably do another single.”
With the current single tour taking them through to the middle of the year, Milan says he plans on spending half of 2017 writing more music and also deepening his cultural understanding of the blues. “I’m going to America in the middle of June for about two months,” he says.
“I’ll be going through the South mostly to understand the music history. I’m a big nerd and I love this stuff. I’ve never been to America, so here I am playing all this music and I’ve never actually been there. I think it’s very important; it’s a pilgrimage, really, for the blues for me.”
