Featured Artist: Scott Spark
Scott Spark
Scott Spark is one very talented musician and performer. Having been compared to Ben Folds and Rufus Wainwright among others, he has taken the Australian music scene by storm over the last two years. His 2007 Ep Wet Behind The Ears saw him gain the honour of sharing the stage with Fergus Brown, An Horse and Last Dinosaurs. Between touring and completing a residency at The Empress in Melbourne, Scott has been busy working on his second Ep The Kathleen EP and his first full length album Fail Like You Mean It due out in June 2010. Scott protrays his versatile talent on both of these works, as he moves from the trombone to the bass to the toy piano to the wurlitzer as well as many other instruments while singing his heart out about everything from shift work to love and wanderlust at Christmas time. Other performers on the EP include: Megan Washington: backing vocals, Adele Pickvance: bass, Yeo Choong: beats, Roger González: cajón, shakers, Emerson Bavinton: guitar, claps, Sophie Weston: Flute. Recently Scott had a chat with Michelle from Musicadium and this is what he had to say.
1. You have an incredibly unique sound, what inspired you when you were creating your music?
Songs are like your mother - you love them more than life itself, but they have the uncanny habit of seeking you out, right when you’re in the middle of something (eg. getting crushed by rush-hour crowds at the train station, making out, throwing up, having a nap, remembering how to spell “accommodate”, flossing - all that). So, first it might be a lyric or a line of melody, but it really all starts coming together once I’m at the piano. As for genre and style, I’ll take a song wherever it wants to go - and that may also come down to whoever you’re mucking around with in the studio. In any case, how ever a song ends up in the studio, they’re pretty much all written at the piano. The instrument has an incredible way of carrying almost any song.
2. What was it like to work with such a versatile producer as Tucker Martine?
Tucker is a certified legend, and I’m entirely humbled and grateful for him stepping in at the very moment we’d given everything we had, and taking it that extra mile. He mixed 18 songs in total - Californian rock, late-night crestfallen strolls, 80s angst ballads, Glee-like showtunes, city folk, baroque pop - he took it all and not only made sense of it, but made it sing. Plus, he’s a super nice, genuinely awesome dude.
3. How did you come to be working with him?
He’d worked with a lot of artists I love - Laura Veirs, The Decemberists, Sufjan Stevens, among others - and we got talking online. I sent him some earlish rough demos, and we took it from there.
4. You are doing a residency at The Empress Hotel in Melbourne at the moment, can you tell us a little about it and how you got into it?
I’ve been meaning to play Melbourne for quite some time now, so I really ought to get a kick up the arse. The Empress is an institution, and I didn’t want to simply come and go in the space of 24 hours, so I decided on a residency. The band won’t be with me for this stint; just keeping it intimate and minimalist, with supports from talented souls - Courtney Barnett (7th), James O’Brien (14th), Yeo (21st), D. Rogers (28th).
5. Amongst touring and releasing your debut album in June, which you are no doubt excited about, what else is happening in 2010 for you?
You always feel pretty alive playing solo - there’s nowhere to hide and no way of faking it - and that’s the way it’ll be for the Empress residency, but I’m also really enjoying transforming songs with Tim (bass) and Hik (drums). We’re playing a residency at the Brisbane Powerhouse Friday evenings throughout April. We’re shooting a couple of music videos soon. Sydney’s also on the cards. And, it looks as though songs from the album will end up being adapted into a theatre production, that’ll be staged next year. Apart from that, I’m pining for a mellotron. They’re making them again, right?
Visit Scott at his Myspace, Triple J Unearthed and Facebook for all the latest news and happenings and upcoming tours.
