STACK Aug #154

MUSIC NEWS

visit stack.com.au

continued

The inimitable Jen Cloher answered our questions about her gorgeous new self-titled album; be sure to read the entire article at stack.com.au. JEN CLOHER

In album opener I Forgot Myself the lyrics go “I was Feelin’ Kinda Free, now I’m Desperate” – I think you are referencing two awesome homegrown albums here!What do you love about them? Nicely spotted! This album is a love song to Australian music both past and present. I’ve tried to sneak in as much as I can for the music nerds without alienating anyone who isn’t one. I love both of these albums for their passion and bravery. I was listening to The Drones' Feelin' Kinda Free while I was writing this album. I was inspired by Gareth Liddiard's unflinching commentary on Australian life. There are a couple of tracks which reference the physical and emotional distance between yourself and your partner Courtney Barnett, whose music career took off in the last couple of years (congrats!). Did you write about these feelings to deliberately organise them? Absolutely. All of my albums have been candid portraits of whatever was happening in my life at that time. I love artists who tap the richness of their life and share it openly. Sun Kil Moon’s Benji was an album that affirmed how powerful that can be for the listener. Laura Jean is another artist who isn’t afraid to tell the truth. Courtney went on an incredible career trajectory in a four

year period which meant lots of time apart, sometimes up to three months at a time. We didn’t see much of each other! Which isn’t great if you’re trying to be in a relationship with someone. Breaks seldomly come for women songwriters in this country so I was very excited and proud for her. I think a lot of us in the Australian music community were. Her success made things brighter for Australian music overseas. You use the Maori for ‘Be strong’, ‘Kia kaha’, in StrongWoman – how did you get to know the phrase? My matriarchal line is Ngapuhi so I grew up hearing Te Reo (Maori language) in our house. The song is about the strong women role models in my life growing up. My mother Dorothy especially, who was a force. There’s a line in the song: “Proud my Mother wanted respect more than love.” Looking back I can see the sacrifices my mother had to make professionally that my father never encountered. Subtle sexism or not so subtle! People didn’t like a woman who was prepared to stand up for her beliefs or ambitions. Women aren’t encouraged to be powerful in this

world and when they do, well, just look at Gillard and Clinton.

Jen Cloher by Jen Cloher is out Aug 11 via Milk! Records.

Loose Magic is a bow toThe Dirty Three.When was the first time Sue’s Last Ride messed you up? The first time I sawThe Dirty Three

was in Sydney at The Metro around 1996 and it floored me. I’d been listening to Horse Stories (who wasn’t in 1996?) but seeing them live was next level. They are one of the world's great rock bands. Period. It was electrifying, intensely emotional music. And always just sitting out on the edge as though it could fall over at any moment. That takes a lot of bravery as a musician, to let go the way The Dirty Three do. I’ve seen them many times since but the last time was at Sugar Mountain festival early 2016 in Melbourne. I was standing side of stage with Courtney and Adalita and I saw the audience react to their music. People had snot and tears running down their faces, it was intense and beautiful to see how powerful music is. Nothing else can reach that place. And I just fell in love with them all over again, came home and wrote a song about them! ZKR that's transient and it is a lot like how music changes time and space. I think a lot of what I’m writing about on the album is the changes that happen in life, and in space and time. Like eucalyptus suddenly growing in California or the many plants that were introduced to Hawaii from outside places. Things die and grow, things travel, things mutate. I wanted the music to feel like that too: like something that comes and changes the environment, and that you can inhabit as well for a short time, and then it’s over. Did you make field recordings and compile them into a big digital tome to draw from? I do that often. Usually the recordings I make Read the full interview online at stack.com.au

AVEY TARE Experimental pop dog David Portner – AKA Avey Tare – has wowed us from his seat in Animal Collective, his collaborations with Angel Deradoorian and Kría Brekkan, and his solo outputs. We threw him some questions about new solo album Eucalyptus .

In your album letter, you mention several beautiful places in America, particularly

in the west, where you created this record.Why did you call it Eucalyptus , a tree we associate very

much with Australia? You could say eucalyptus migrated to

California from Australia. I’ve always thought parts of Australia reminded me of California. It's funny to think of a plant catching a ride from humans and moving, and also of a time when there wasn’t eucalyptus in California. I think the way an environment changes marks a time

10

AUGUST 2017

jbhifi.com.au

st154_091-090_MUSIC Room 4-5.indd 1

24/7/17 3:02 pm