The former Middelburg and eMalahleni band are now South Africa’s most successful rock band. They are also making serious inroads into the European market.

Ahead of their album’s global reveal on 22 September, Prime Circle launched their new 10-track album exclusively to South African fans on iTunes on 15 September.

The first single, called ‘The Gift’, dropped in South Africa on 30 August.

The band has just returned from Germany where they played at various sold-out shows and will perform at the Rustique Boutique Hotel in Middelburg on Friday, 3 November.

The album’s worldwide release coincided with a multi-date tour of Germany including Hanover, Nuremberg, Munich, Konstanz, Essen, Hamburg, Berlin, Frankfurt and Karlsruhe.

The band has now returned to South Africa and Namibia for several months of summer festival appearances and concerts.

If You Don’t You Never Will is Prime Circle’s seventh studio album. It is their first new recording since their acclaimed 2014 release Let the Night In, which was repackaged as a deluxe edition in 2016.

Regarded as South African rock royalty, with a string of awards and sold-out concerts to their credit, the band has spent the past couple of years ratcheting up its international profile.

They have succeeded in building a solid following in the tough-to-crack and discerning German market in particular.

Prime Circle may have secured a German agent and an international recording deal, but their roots remain firmly lodged in South Africa – which is why they gave local fans first dibs at hearing their new material.

“We’re very excited about the new album,” says lead vocalist and songwriter Ross Learmonth.

“We feel like we’re coming back with a new energy after three years. Musically, there’s definitely been a progression – we’re not fans of repeating ourselves.

“What’s great about the album is that the songs flow nicely – I just sing, open up and let loose. A lot of it stems from the free, subliminal nature of much of the writing.

“We recorded the album in a tight period of five weeks, which meant we weren’t overcooking things or going through the songs with a fine-tooth comb.”

Learmonth says that the band’s “secret weapon” was, once again, his MadHouse studio creative partner Gavin Davis, who was also the brains behind their Ghosts music video. “We’re so proud of this album – it’s something special and a step in the right direction. It’s not overproduced to any degree.”

He says there’s no specific theme running through the album but “there is an element of romance in it” – also echoed in the album cover, a dreamy image reminiscent of surrealist René Magritte’s art, of a man with his head literally “in the clouds”.

In a departure for the band, the album title isn’t echoed in the track listing – but, says Learmonth, the lyrics If You Don’t You Never Will do appear in one of the songs and refers generally to “the procrastination in all our lives”.

For Prime Circle though, there’s clearly no time like the present to seize the day – and make the dreams and opportunities happen for themselves.

• Prime Circle’s line-up is Ross Learmonth (vocals and guitar); Marco Gomes (bass); Dale Schnettler (drums); Neil Breytenbach (keyboard) and Dirk Bisschoff (guitar).

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