[ t e x t . o n l y . v e r s i o n ] [ b y . s t e p h e n . m u n c h e n b e r g ]
Alex Lloyd is a very talented man. Not many people in the Australian music
scene can claim to have achieved as much as he has at such a young age. The
Sydney-sider first gained notice as the singer for early-90s rock band
Mother Hubbard, but it is his recent solo album that has really seen him
lavished with praise, even from some who matter, including the likes of
Neil Finn and Powderfinger. Lloyd's new album "Black The Sun", is quite a
remarkable achievement, featuring an outstanding array of music that he
wrote, produced, recorded and played almost entirely on his own. When the
title track was released as an EP last year, it turned quite a few heads
with its subtle beauty.
One of those people just happened to be film maker Gregor Jordan who
approached the singer to write a song for his latest film, the must-see
Aussie flick, "Two Hands". The result is the sublime single "Lucky Star".
'I had actually started writing it already and finished the chorus
basically after I'd seen the film, which kind of helped me,' he said. 'It
probably never would have been finished otherwise.'
The shy 24-year-old singer has been overwhelmed by the album's reception so
far. His initial nervousness seems to have now dissipated and tour jitters
have been waylaid thanks to a run of successful promotional gigs, including
at the recent launch of "Two Hands". After a lifetime's association with
music, things are finally beginning to pay off big time.
Born Alex Wasiliev in the mid-70s, he began as a soprano singer in a choir
at age 12. From there he moved to blues and groove music and then to rock
with the band Mother Hubbard. They were in the process of negotiating with
various record companies interested in signing them up for a second album
when the singer announced his departure. Alex Lloyd had a very different
solo project in mind and EMI, a label without a lot of local artists on its
roster, was impressed enough to sign him up.
It was apparently his discovery of computers and sampling that inspired the
decision, allowing the multi-instrumentalist to lay down tracks on the
Apple Macintosh in the comfort of his own home. He dropped his surname of
Wasiliev in favour of his dead mother's maiden name, Lloyd and soon found
one of his new songs, "Snow", added to the soundtrack of the film "Scream
2".
So how does one lay down all the different segments to a song without
knowing where other parts are heading or how other parts will be involved?
'Sometimes I got a pretty clear picture,' he said. 'Other times it's just
trial and error and you've got to be prepared to just sit there for a day
on one instrument sometimes and find the right thing or move on if you
can't. There's a lot of things I recorded on this album that aren't there
-- I recorded horns on some tracks and I recorded strings that I didn't
use. It's not always what you do, but what you don't do.'
While playing all the instruments yourself might seem difficult enough to
achieve, having to translate the sounds to the stage with other musicians
-- without losing credibility -- must have been even more difficult.
'It was hard at first,' he said. 'I spent about two months reorganising
loops and sounds and what-not at home -- basically remaking the songs so
they'd work with a live band. It took me about three different attempts,
because I'd do a certain amount of work and then go into the rehearsal
studio with the band and test it. I ended up going through about three
different formats before I found the right one. I guess that's been the
mainstay of the whole project -- I've always done something until it was
right -- or at least my interpretation of what "right" is. I guess that's
why it took a year to make the record.'
So far, the live appearances have also been very well received.
'I'm not getting carried away with it, but to be honest with you, when I
get up on stage I feel quite confident with the music. I think it's good
music,' he said. 'I'm nervous before I go on stage, but once I'm up there
I'm okay because it's good and I've got a good band behind me. I've worked
on it to the point I was happy, so I never felt unprepared.'
Lloyd's pre-Christmas single "Peep Show" didn't make it onto the debut
album, simply because it didn't fit in (but should be included in the
forthcoming movie "Strange Planet"). Three of the songs from the "Black The
Sun" EP were carried across but in slightly re-worked form to suit the
overall flow.
'I still think the EP's great in its own right, it's a bit dirtier,' he
said. 'The album was where it ended up and that's how I ended up moulding
it. It just happened that way, and I'm not disappointed, I'm pretty happy
with it.'
Alex Lloyd's "Black The Sun" is out now through EMI.
http://www.alexlloyd.com |