STACK NZ Apr #61

EXTRAS

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Marlon Williams

Although the album doesn’t stray too far from your folk/roots, there are a few surprises. After All is actually almost pop, while Dark Child has a touch of Nick Cave about it…. I wrote After All with Delaney and, yeah, I think it’s got a little bit of a Crazy Horse feel about it. That might have been influenced a little bit by being in Melbourne; it’s definitely the oddball one on the album. I am a Nick Cave fan, although I prefer his softer stuff; his ballads are beautiful. Dark Child was actually written by a friend of mine, a Christchurch guy, who lives in Melbourne now. He doesn’t play anymore, but he was always one of my favourite songwriters and I really wanted his music to get out there. To many people, you’re best known for the Sad But True albums you recorded with Delaney Davidson. How did they come about? It was a very organic thing: basically, we turned up at the same gig, not knowing the other one was meant to be playing that night. So we played it together. It was great and the best way to start a band. It was very easy and we rubbed off on each in other good ways. We will revisit it at some stage, I am pretty sure. We had a catch-up recently and it was just like old times. We will probably look to do something next year. What are the plans for the rest of the year? I will be touring to promote the album and I am going to Canada to do some folk festivals. There is also talk about recording a single with Justin Townes Earle in Nashville; I have

the sound of it. When I started putting the album together, I realised it was going to be a ‘band’ album, so I decide to put one together. The band is now Gus on drums, Dan Parsons – who is a solo performer in his own right – on pedal steel and guitar, and a revolving cast of bass players. The new record was recorded back in Lyttleton in New Zealand. Did you ever consider recording it in Melbourne? I thought about it. But Ben [Edwards, of Lyttelton Records] is the only producer I have worked with and for my first solo album I wanted to have a sense of comfort. And I knew all the musicians, too. There is a certain style to [the records produced at the] studio and the way he records things. Not really, they’re pretty abstract in terms of place. I talk about touring a little bit on the album, that was a recurrent theme. But it’s not really geographically-centred. Most of the album was written in the studio. I only tend to write under pressure – I have to have a deadline! One of the album’s standout tracks is a cover of the long-lost Bob Carpenter classic Silent Passage . Where did you come across that and tell us about some of the other covers on the album? I first heard that song on Midlake’s Late Night Tales . It’s a great album, but that song… I always knew at some point I would have to record it. Lost Without You is a Billy Fury song - I have a soft spot for those big ‘60s R’n’B ballads. When I Was A Young Girl is a traditional song and has been done by everyone – Nina Simone, even Feist. Sometimes, in singing a song from a female perspective, it is interesting to change the gender, but on this one I didn’t think it was that important. Tell us a bit about the songs on the album – were they inspired by your recent move to Australia?

MarlonWilliams began singing in school choirs in Christchurch and first came to attention fronting the alt country band The UnfaithfulWays when he was just 17. From there he went on to record a series of duet albums with Delaney Davidson entitled Sad But True – The Secret History Of Country Music Songwriting , the third volume of which was named NZ country album of the year in 2013.Williams is now based in Melbourne and is about to release his debut solo album. You moved from New Zealand to Melbourne in 2013. How are you finding things in Australia? On my second day in Melbourne, I got my first gig and ended up doing around 250 in the first year, so it was pretty intense, but amazing. Australian audiences seem to be a bit more receptive. You get the classic “fush and chups” jokes, but they are used to New Zealand music – and there are a fair few New Zealanders in Melbourne, too. You’ve also now got your own band the Yarra Benders. How did that come about? I did a two month residency at the Yarra Hotel, which is owned by Mick Thomas [ex Weddings Parties and Anything}. He would play bass, Gus Agars [ex-Tex Perkins] would play drums, and Mark McCartney would play guitar, and I liked

Marlon Williams’ self-titled album is due out April 24.

toured with him a few times now and he’s coming to play at the Yarra Hotel – I actually live there now! – so I am going to catch up with him then.

APRIL 2015 JB Hi-Fi www.jbhifi.co.nz

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