Our Editor-in-Chief Larry Heath chats to Sydney’s Sarah Belkner at Australian Music Week. Here, they discuss her latest tour in New Zealand, working with Sarah Blasko and her plans for the future…
Welcome to Australian music week. You’ve had a busy month, you’ve been playing on the other side of the pond. How has the last month gone? How did the NZ tour go?
The NZ tour went really well it was my first time actually doing a proper run. I’ve played in Auckland a couple of times before but I haven’t done the other centres. I just thought it was about time we did that. It was good, people came out and enjoyed what I was doing. I grew up in NZ so it was a bit of a homecoming… taking everything I was doing here and showing everyone what I’ve been doing. It was kinda cute.
They must of been like, ‘yeah it took you long enough! About time you come home!’
They were quite proud which was quite funny. NZ is very sweet.
And you had a new EP to peddle while you were there, tell us a little bit about that.
Yes I did. That came out in May and that was the first release that I’ve done as my own name.
How have you found the response in the months since then?
Really good. Especially to the videos and the different things I’ve done off the back of the EP. Because it is a little bit different, a little left off centre kind of thing. It doesn’t sort of sit in one genre, so it’s been finding its own legs which is really nice.
Other than NZ where has the new album taken you?
I suppose not directly there, but I’ve been playing with other artists a bit more, in the last kind of six months as well. So I’ve joined Sarah Blasko’s band which is really cool — so doing her tour for her new album which is amazing. I just got off the back of playing with Chet Faker. So we just did a massive Australia tour… it was huge.
Sydney Opera House…forecourt, that’s pretty incredible.
That’s Crowded House standard.
Crowded House, Bjork.
Yeah, that’s how you earn your stripes that way. So yeah that’s been wonderful and just to be on shows with excellent musicians it’s great. It felt really normal, which is quite weird.
That’s a good sign! You’re comfortable.
Well yeah, I’m comfortable to be in those situations because that’s what I’ve always wanted to do.
Are you doing backing vocals with Sarah Blasko?
Yeah backing vocals and I play a lot of synthesisers. I do a lot of two handed stuff, I play mellotron, which is a beautiful instrument of hers [Sarah Blasko]. It’s an amazing white keyboard that has all these samples on it. You know when you hear choirs? It’s all those kind of samples. There’s some flutes and french horns.
So you’re replacing a lot of potential music jobs.
I play a lot of instruments in that band! Exactly. Getting everyone out of a job. But it’s really thrilling because I’ve loved her music for a long time.
Is that what you’re going to be spending the summer doing?
Blasko’s tour doesn’t start until March, so the next couple of months, after this week actually, I’m just buckling down to finish my album. I’ve got three more tracks to mix and then it will be done — that will be out next year.
How do the productions of this new album compared to your previous records. Do some of the songs go back to those sessions?
They do actually. The EPs and the album come from the same recording session, it’s just that we’ve finished them off closer to releasing. But they did all come from the same pool. It’s been a whittling down process. Started it with a pool of around 40 songs and then pulling it down so that the album has now nine songs.
When you do it in that way, how do you find the process to make something cohesive? Is it more about trying to get the songs out there or is it a process where you’re really trying to make it that album?
Trying to make a thing. I know it’s the most simple way of saying it, but it is, it’s trying to make something really, really clear, and really distilled down into the absolute best version of those songs. I do write a lot in stories so it’s trying to make sure it all makes sense.
Can’t wait to hear that music. I imagine you’ll be teasing it during Australia Music Week?
Yes!
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You can stay up to date with Sarah Belkner on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/sarahbelkner/
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