Van Morrison at Scarborough Spa: Music legend's creativity depends on 'energy'

It features 14 new tracks including singles Cutting Corners and Down To Joy, which featured on the soundtrack to Kenneth Branagh’s acclaimed film Belfast, and comes before Morrison – best known for songs like Brown Eyed Girl, Into the Mystic and Moondance - perfoms at Scarborough Spa in November.

There is a strong sense of spirituality in this record. How have his personal beliefs changed over the years?

Morrison, 79, says: “Well, it’s not a belief. It’s an energy. It’s a frequency. That’s how I see it - a frequency.”

And do you feel that you are channelling that? "Absolutely."

Can it be summoned or do you have to wait? “Sometimes you wait, but most of the time, you have to summon it. Other people meditate or use other methods. I have to actively summon it.”

He adds: "I had to work my way through this. You have to deal with the energy. Back in the ’70s, I didn’t know how to deal with it — it was burning me out. People around me were burning out on drugs. One of them almost died.

"So I was given this book by Carl Jung, Man And His Symbols. I started to discover what it was about — projection. When you’re famous, people constantly project on you. This happens to everyone, but with famous people it’s amplified. It can destroy you if you don’t understand what’s happening. Or you can work your way through it. So I had to learn to deal with the energy and the negativity.

"The media constantly projects negativity — they think that sells. So they create what I call a ‘third party.’ There’s you, and there’s the audience — that’s a two-way street. But the media creates a third thing that people start relating to instead of you.

"That took a long time to work through and come out the other end, learning to handle it.”

Most artists might have ‘imperial period’ – seven to nine years of great music and creativity, then they fall off. But Morrison is still making records as comparably good as 50 or 60 years ago. He must be aware of that?

“Basically, I’m coming from jazz. Not pop, not rock, not what’s commercial. That’s where I started, and that’s still where I am. I feel the same as I did when I was listening to Louis Armstrong, Lead Belly, Jelly Roll Morton. And the blues. And then the skiffle scene — Ken Colyer, Chris Barber, Lonnie Donegan. So it’s a jazz approach — not trying to be popular for a set time. Not being manipulated by the system. If your system is empty to start with, you can avoid getting sucked in.”

Van Morrison performs at Scarborough Spa on Friday, November 14. His latest album, Remembering Now, is out now.