STACK NZ Magazine April 2015 Issue 61

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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.
34 APRIL 2015 JB Hi-Fi
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 hav
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.
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.
Tell us a bit about the songs on the
album – were they inspired by your
recent move to Australia?
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.
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
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