Local singer Farryl Purkiss talks music, Skype and TV show Private Practice

It sounds like the story out of a romantic movie. Boy meets girls on Skype. They chat and boy jets off to the UK to meet the girl. In the arrivals hall, they see each other, he drops his bags, runs to her and they embrace and kiss while all the people in the arrivals hall starts clapping. "It was so surreal," laughs local singer and songwriter Farryl Purkiss when The Beat asked him about meeting the girl of his dreams on Skype. "I never thought in a hundred years that I'll be one of those guys that will meet his girl on the Internet, but it has happened and we're very happy together."
Durban born Farryl (born Farryl David Purkiss on 20 March 1980) has just re-released his CD Fruitbats & Crows (out on Sheer Sound), which now sports an extra disc. "Most of the songs on the extra disc are those that fans had a hard time finding. Like the cover I did of the Bob Dylan song Positively 4th Street. The song was actually commissioned for a car advert in the UK, but Bob had to sign off the final version, and that piece of paper with his signature on is probably one of my career highlights. Another interesting track on there is my take on the 80s electro-pop group New Order's mega hit Blue Monday."

He adds that he can never label his music. "It's hard to describe my own music. I always tell people it's honest and evolving music." He then stays quiet for a minute before starts laughing, "with that said, I can never listen to my first ever CD released. It makes my skin crawl! Then I vowed I'll never use electric guitars, and now I just bought one to use on my new CD, which should be released beginning of 2012". Farryl's music has also been introduced to an international TV audience when his song  Sticks & Stones was used in the medical drama, Private Practice. "I've just heard that they're going to use my song Pennies in the Snow, from Fuirtbats & Crows, in the 11th episode of the new season, which should air around 12 September on M-Net. I'm always the last person to find these things out, but I'm humble and appreciate that my music gets that maximum exposure."
Farryl also just finished shooting his new music video Seraphine, in the UK. "It was crazy," he says. "We shot for three days in a 100 different locations. It was like gorilla style filming. For instance in the underground, where you're not suppose to film. When we didn't see any officials around, out comes the camera and this huge light and we'll shoot. It was great fun."
He also told The Beat that there is a good chance that he'll be the guest performer on Idols SA on Sunday 11 September on M-Net, "but nothing is confirmed yet." Then, add a performance on Studio 1 on MK on Thursday 15 September, and you get the idea that this dude is quite busy. "When I'm not making music or touring, I try to relax on the 'plaas' in Constantia, Cape Town, where I stay. I just love the squirrels!" He also tries to listen to as much music as possible or try his hand at surfing. That's not surprising, as he hails from Durbs, he is an amateur surfing champion.