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THE BITS INTERVIEW: ROB KORAL

Rob Koral has played on well over 30 albums which have featured great musicians such
as Jeremy Stacey, Laurence Cottle, Roy Babbington, Gareth Williams, Robin Aspland,

Django Bates, Mark Fletcher, Mike Bradley, Chris Dagley, Pete Whittaker, Paul Robinson,
Ian Ellis, Andy Gangeden, Paul Simm to name but a few.

Rob comes from a self-taught background, and first came to prominence with the

successful band SKETCH featuring vocalist Sue Hawker.

He is life partner and band partner of Zoë Schwarz in the highly original Zoë Schwarz
Blue Commotion.

RK: Hello.
BiTS: Hello, Rob. It’s Ian.

BITS: I really want to talk to you about the new album that you’ve got coming out, which I gather
is some sort of compilation. Is that right?

RK: It’s a remix of our first studio album “Good Times”, with three bonus tracks. So it’s kind of a
then and now. The official release
date will be the 27th of January
next year. So very soon. Very soon.

BiTS: What stage are you at with
it now?

RK: Just going to check the final
mixes tomorrow.

BiTS: Right.

RK: So, almost done. It’s got some
brilliant artwork. So it’s
repackaged, remixed, re-
mastered with three bonus tracks.

BiTS: Oh, three bonus tracks.
That sounds good. Are they
originals?

RK: Yes, yes they are. There’s an alternative take of one track from the album. Which one was
it? ‘The Blues And I Should Have A Party’. There’s a remix of a track from the album, one of the
other ones [chuckles]. I can’t remember which one and there’s a very recent live track as well
recorded at the Ropetackle Arts near Brighton.

BiTS: Okay. Now tell me something about the last gig that you did at the – I was going to say
Pizza Hut – PizzaExpress [chuckling].

RK: [Laughs] We’ve come a long way since the Pizza Hut days, but yes. It was a fantastic night.
It’s an iconic venue in the middle of Soho, as you no doubt know.

BiTS: Absolutely.