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ALEX LLOYD
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*Alex Lloyd interview
*Alex Lloyd Discography (available on Whammo)
*Alex Lloyd Australian Tour dates


ALEX LLOYD - THE WHAMMO INTERVIEW - APRIL 6, 2004

If there was any doubt about Alex Lloyd's impact on Australian music lovers, it disappeared when the anthemic Amazing claimed the coveted #1 position on Triple J radio's 'Hottest 100', the only popular choice award that is taken seriously in Australia. Critics were already celebrating the arrival of a solo performer with substance and the media's love for Alex's debut Black The Sun was soon followed by the commercial success of Watching Angels Mend. But Lloyd's life had changed by the time he began writing songs for his third album. Personally, the solo artist was no longer 'solo' and as he packed his acoustic and headed overseas, the award-winning songwriter was leaving behind a special someone. The emotions wrought by that estrangement and the experiences of his wandering travels began to fuel some of his strongest songwriting and by the time he returned, Lloyd had a collection of powerfully emotive tunes and succinct lyrical descriptions of his life on the road. Aptly, he named the album Distant Light. On the eve of his most comprehensive national tour and the release of the euphoric single, Beautiful, I decided to lunch with the solo star and blatantly pry into his life. Well, what can I say? It's my job...

Whammo: After your last album there would have been a lot of expectations. Did you personally feel any pressure in the lead up to making Distant Light?
Alex: Well, you do feel a bit of pressure, but you try not to take that into the creative environment or it would 'do your head in'. I've always been aware of it with the records I've made. Not the first one - obviously - because there wasn't any expectation, but the last two records, yeah. That's always been looming but I try to avoid taking that into the studio. I don't really want to make records for that reason. I try to make music for people, not myself. I mean, I get my kicks out of making a good record or a good song but I do try to create something that other people might get a use out of.
Whammo: Apparently art becomes art when the artist is happy with what they've produced but obviously you're going for something more; you'd like it to be approachable.
Alex: I like entertaining and I've always been big on that and even if it's cooking a meal for friends, I like to do a good job. I want them to walk away after having an experience and to feel something. I guess that's what I like for the listeners of my records; to walk away with an experience or have something that they can hold close. You can't force that upon people or expect to know what they'll like, so at the end of the day you still have to do it for yourself but I get a kick out of people enjoying something that I've done whether it makes them feel sad or happy.
Whammo: In the lead-up to the new album you did a lot of travelling. At the time, did you think that was ideal for the songwriting process?
Alex: It's awesome because of the emotions that you feel. When you're comfortable in the one spot I think it's easy to zone-out but when you're travelling, your senses are alive all the time. You still have your good days and your shit days but I think - definitely - your senses are heightened and you're taking more in. When you go to a city like New York, it can't help but inspire you to work or to write. Then, on the other side, you've go to Middle America or even a weird city like Dallas and have not-so-great experiences, but get a lot out of it. But as a writer it's good to broaden your horizons.
Whammo: You left someone behind here in Australia and there would have been a sense of estrangement. Is it fair to say that when you're yearning for someone, the stronger writing comes out.
Alex: I definitely think so. I wouldn't say "I feel sad today, so I'm going to sit down and write a song about being sad". I don't really do that, but I would sit down with a guitar for comfort. Music's always been a comforting thing for me. Something might just fall out and it might not necessarily have something to do with the sadness or joy that I'm feeling on that particular day, but that emotion is used for whatever the song's about. Like, my little baby boy was born six weeks ago. I didn't sit down and write a song about that. I don't work like that, but the emotion I felt was intense from watching this little thing I helped create come into this world. It was...well, f**king mind-blowing! I definitely harnessed that emotion and wrote a lot after that week, but none of those songs were about that particular moment. I find that subconsciously or subliminally, it doesn't come out for a year or more and then it might take me another year to work out what the song's about.
Whammo: So, you're not sitting down and purposely trying to write...
Alex: ...about a particular subject. I do sit down and try to write. Sometimes good stuff pops out, sometimes bad, but I just try to get the content of the song - what it's about - because it is important for me to have songs that someone can find meaning in. Whether it's a cryptic poem or whatever, there are still some words in there that will have meaning or attachment to certain situations or feelings.
Whammo: You've got a great fan base. You must feel blessed by a relatively quick leap to fame.
Alex: Well, I had the first record, which got a lot of critical acclaim and then the second record was probably the big commercial album where I kind of moved myself away from the cool side of things. It's been a funny journey. It's always been consistent overseas; I've always been put in the same category in Q magazine, Mojo and things like that, into that zone that's in between; it's not NME mega-cool kind of shit but it's not commercial throw-away music either. It's got substance.
Whammo: You do walk that line.
Alex: I like creating pop songs that have meaning and purpose; songs that you'd be able to listen to in five years time. I'm not saying that I achieve that every time I write a song but I f**king give it a go.
Whammo: Would you say that you're prolific?
Alex: You'd know, as a writer, that some weeks you're hot and other weeks you're not. When you're hot it's great - it just falls out of the end of your pen and it's an amazing feeling - but when it's low it's bloody low (laughs). I'm finding now, that I only tend to write when I've got something worth writing.
Whammo: Congratulations, by the way, on the recent addition to the family. Problem is, now you've got another mouth to feed (laughs). You'll have to get out on the road.
Alex: (laughs) Well, I am getting out on the road in June, then over to England in July. The album comes out over there in July, then across Europe, then to America after that. I've just been thinking lately about doing a stint overseas for a while; taking the fam (family). Just checking it out.
Whammo: You're leaving us?
Alex: I'll definitely come back. I've kind of been doing it for the last few years anyway: six months on, six months off. I just took a year off in the process of (laughs) changing my life!
Whammo: That might explain why your live appearances have been a bit limited.
Alex: Yeah, definitely with the last tour I did, I wasn't that happy with it.
Whammo: Why?
Alex: Just my headspace. I was a bit distracted and I wasn't quite ready. I'm ready for this tour now. My head is back in the zone. It's actually a really long tour; six weeks around Australia.
Whammo: Will you have any of the personnel on the album touring with you?
Alex: Yeah, some of the guys. I'm quite excited about it because it's the same band I had for the first album Black The Sun. I've come full circle. I've always tried to use different people and it's been a good experience and keeps it fresh, but it's nice, coming back from that and it's almost like the transition of three albums: coming back and starting again.
Whammo: You had some cool guests on the album like Shane Nicholson. It's A Movie is quite a beautiful album.
Alex: Yeah, it is a good record. I did some string arrangements for that album and we always dibble dabbled together in the studio, so he came in to do some singing on mine.
Whammo: You had Luke Steele (Sleepy Jackson) distracting you.
Alex: (laughs) It's funny. Luke is a different bloke to how he reads. I never quite get his articles (interviews). He's a pretty normal bloke to have a beer with. Maybe he's changed since I've seen him, but I've always enjoyed his company. He came in and he must have just seen (the movie) The Royal Tenembaums because he had the tweed jacket with the wristbands. It's nice to have people who are young in approach and fresh. It was nice for him to come in and use that fresh approach to certain things. He does stuff that I wouldn't think of. That's the beauty of being a solo artist: you can collaborate with all these people. I would imagine that it would be tougher if I was in a band with people playing specific roles. I'm not fussed whether I play the guitar or someone else plays the guitar; it's whoever does the best job.
Whammo: I really liked those b-sides on Bus Ride.
Alex: The BBC stuff? Yeah, I'm really happy with the b-sides on the new single (Beautiful). I had a few months off toward the end of last year. I just needed it. I was going a bit psycho. I had the chance to write and jot down a few b-sides. As much as I like to do those radio performances, there's only so much you can do. I did a lot of that during Watching Angels Mend, because I didn't have time to sit in a studio. I'm happy with the songs I did for the single. It's much more like going back to when I did Black The Sun. I was much more hands on when I did that stuff.
Whammo: Do you think with guitar music coming back again, it's raised the awareness of how important b-sides are?
Alex: I think they're very important. You pay seven bucks for a single and it's pretty expensive for one song. You have to get something out of it. The same song done differently on a single is really boring to me. There are songs that I don't think would be an album track. Not that they wouldn't be worthy, just that they don't quite fit. But they're songs that, otherwise, no one would get to hear or that I would never finish. Some of them are unfinished ditties but I guess that's the charm of it.
Whammo: Are you the decision maker when it comes to whittling down a group of songs to get the ones that will be on the album?
Alex: Yeah, I can't put songs on an album that I don't believe in. I actually don't show the record company any songs that I don't think I could sell and when I say 'sell' I mean songs that are from my heart that I think are the best that I've got. If I didn't feel that, I couldn't do it. That's why, even though I think I should be more wary of what a single is, I've always let other people make those decisions. I like to think that I believe in every track that I put on a record.

BEAUTIFUL (4 TRX)
ALEX LLOYDALEX LLOYD
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Lloyd's worldly travels inspired some powerful tunes for his Distant Light album and this is probably the one standout track that vividly communicates a sense of longing. Its powerful chorus is simple but heart-felt, evoking an undeniable sense of hope that will surely make it a powerful inclusion to radio play lists. Australia's favourite acoustic crooner has been adding non-album b-sides to his single releases and this time the rambling Travel Log, subtle Learning How To Run and rural-edged Once are welcome inclusions. Learning How To Run is Alex at his best, his voice supported by minimal piano and the sensitive lyrics matching an equally melancholy tune. Alex's extended road-trip may have thrown the songwriter into the gloomy depths but some of the results of the ensuing sessions of songwriting are among the best Lloyd has written. Beautiful and Learning How To Run are two good examples.
DISTANT LIGHT
ALEX LLOYDALEX LLOYD
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After receiving ARIAs, platinum sales and a reputation as Australia's finest singer/songwriter, it wouldn't have been surprising if Alex Lloyd had re-evaluated his ambitions and 'raised the bar'. Coming Home, the up-beat first single from his new album suggested a new sound with more instrumentation and a bluesy groove but Distant Light, his third LP, will prove that Lloyd's sound is well-established, consistent and - as always - merely a way of framing the true art: song writing. Constant travelling has provided the inspiration for new lyrical content and a general melancholy atmosphere binds the tracklisting together. At times the songs conjure memories of other seminal songwriters like Paul Simon (America) and Neil Finn (1,000 Miles) but comparisons are simply academic and Lloyd always manages to present every composition in his own unique style. Guest musicians of the highest calibre garnish Distant Light, adding to the personality projected through the recordings. Jim Moginie (Midnight Oil), Martin Rotsey (Midnight Oil), Luke Steele (Sleepy Jackson) and Shane Nicholson all add to the value of this release. After finding love, many songwriters are simply too happy to successfully transmit pain but Alex spent extended lengths of time outside the country and by his own admission, it pushed him to the edge. The result is a collection of heart-felt and introspective songs, inspired by the loneliness of hotel rooms and departure lounges.
COMING HOME (4 TRX)
ALEX LLOYDALEX LLOYD
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cd single

Coming Home marks the beginning of a new campaign for Australia's most recently lauded singer/songwriter; the man who released hits like Amazing (#1 Triple J's Hot 100) and the award-winning album Watching Angels Mend. In terms of modern crooners, it would be impossible to find a more popular and acclaimed artist in Australia and Coming Home doesn't disappoint, in fact, the single's production signals a change in direction. There seems to be more instrumentation, a larger sound and an extra optimism while preserving the strong points of Lloyd's previous efforts; especially that voice, which continues to gain more depth and personality each year. B-sides include the Beatles' Golden Slumbers and the rarities Bird On A Wire and America (acoustic). Australia's 'Best Male Artist' (Aria Awards, 2002) is back and Coming Home suggests that the forthcoming album Distant Light will be a lofty highlight of 2003.
WATCHING ANGELS MEND
ALEX LLOYDALEX LLOYD
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The follow-up to Alex Lloyd's debut album Black The Sun, which has sold over 100,000 copies. Watching Angels Mend features the hit singles Downtown and Amazing.
BLACK THE SUN
ALEX LLOYDALEX LLOYD
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Debut album from former Mother Hubbard frontman led to an ARIA for Best New Talent in 1999. Alex Lloyd's Black the Sun has highlights across-the-board, not least the title track and the glistening Lucky Star. Critically acclaimed and a must for fans of the heartfelt yet gutsy singer-songwriter style. Also marked out by the striking single My Way Home.
ALEX LLOYD NATIONAL TOUR DATES

*To be annouced soon!

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