K's Choice returns with new music, tour following hiatus
For K's Choice, it took time apart to ignite the magic again.
The Belgian brother/sister duo embarked on what became an eight-year hiatus in 2003 to work on other projects before reuniting for a pair of albums, released this month in the U.S.
"Echo Mountain" and its acoustic companion, "Little Echoes," have hit stateside -- and Gert and Sarah Bettens of K's Choice are thrilled to get the new music officially out to American fans. "It took a little more time to put together than we wanted. But it finally happened. We're excited," Sarah told CBSNews.com about the albums, which were first released overseas in 2010 and 2011.
"We always planned on making another record together, but we were just going to let the future decide when and how," said Sarah, who now calls Nashville, Tenn., home. During that eight-year stretch, both Sarah and Gert worked on their own projects. Being apart opened their eyes to different ideas and made each of them better musicians.
"We made a record that was in my opinion so much better than anything we could have made 10 years before that," she said. "I really feel like both of us got all that out of it. I became a slightly better guitar player because all of a sudden I'm not in a band with two other guitar players. You learn so much from the people you play with it...we really needed it. No matter what you do, how much you enjoy your job after 10 years, it just feels nice to do something else. You don't want music to feel like a chore or too easy...We just grew into the music business as K's Choice. The only thing we ever done was with each other."
K's Choice released its debut, "The Great Subconscious Club" in 1994, going on to have a hit with "Not an Addict," off the 1996 release, "Paradise in Me."
When K's Choice returned, Sarah and Gert found they had a lot of material -- enough to stretch out over two albums, showcasing more uptempo songs and the softer acoustic singer-songwriter side.
"We separated those two styles and highlighted that duality in our music that we've always had," she said, noting that one album is "to play in the car on your on your way to work and one to play on your way home when it's dark outside."
K's Choice is currently on a U.S. tour with the full band performing songs of their latest releases and earlier albums.
"I think we're back back. Working with my brother -- I really love it," Sarah said. "We're kind of in the process of changing the concept a little bit of the full rock band...I don't know if it's because I'm getting older -- or the dynamic between the three of us but there's something about the piano and the three-part harmonies and sitting down and doing shows where people are really listening, but I see us going more in that direction."
K's Choice, meanwhile, has been on a writing streak lately. "We already wrote and recorded and mastered a whole other record. It's coming out in Europe in the fall. It's a soundtrack to a documentary. It's a Belgian documentary about two explorers," Sarah said. "We wrote the specifically for that movie. It's partly instrumental and partly the songs like we usually do."