Like her latest album, A Loud Call, Holly Throsby is somewhat of a slow burner. A lush and layered release, A Loud Call grows on you with every welcome listen. Similarly, since releasing On Night in 2004, Throsby has been quietly establishing a respected place for herself among Australia’s most talented musicians and songwriters.
On her current tour of the UK, Throsby will share the stage with both Tim Rogers and Paul Kelly. In their respective ways, each performer possesses an undeniable Australian streak that extends beyond their passport. “Particularly Paul, that is really a big part of what he does as a storyteller,” Throsby agrees. “He very much comes from a regional Australian angle. It’ll certainly be an Australian adventure, being over there with them.”
For Throsby however, any tangible Australian strain in her music is incidental rather than contrived. “I sing in my own accent. I feel that there is a certain amount of Australiana in my records in terms of native animal sounds and things like that, and I’ve recorded a lot in the country. I feel it comes through in a way but it’s not something I strive for I guess, on a conscious level.”
Throsby worked closely with South Coast-based producer Tony Dupe on her previous two albums, and both decided it was time for a fresh perspective for her third record. Throsby sought the expertise of Nashville’s Mark Nevers, renowned for his work with Lambchop, and most recently for his production on Bonnie Prince Billy’s album Lie Down in the Light.
“He was really the only person I thought would be a good option. I sent him some demos. He doesn’t work on anything he doesn’t like, he’s not a gun-for-hire producer at all, so I had to send him demos and he had to like them. Luckily he did.”
Although the album was recorded in Nashville, a city inseparable from its musical history, it was Nevers and not Nashville that Throsby feels shaped her new songs. “It sounds like a Mark Nevers record to me. He has a particular beautiful sound he gets from drums, vocals, guitar and bass particularly. All his records have a beautiful amount of bass on them, and this I think is the most bass heavy album I have made.
“With Mark it was very much performance based recording. He’s very traditional in that way. It was all done very live. I played guitar and sang at the same time, we did no overdubs for vocals, which was nice. It was sort of a lot like the way Tony and I recorded On Night. Tony is a lot more experimental as a producer, and he does a lot more collage work with sound – he creates loops from a lot of found objects and instruments around his house. He works in an accidental way.
“I was really happy to have Tony’s input on a couple of these songs. I got back from Nashville and I missed him really badly on a couple of tracks, and so it was a really beautiful connection between Nevers’ style and Tony’s style.”
It was through Nevers that Throsby scored the coup of having one of her “heroes” – the man behind Bonnie Prince Billy, Will Oldham – accompany her on the duet Would You? “He was coming back through town and Marky played him the demo from my song and asked him if he’d like to sing it, and he liked it. It was really exciting for me. He does such a beautiful job, I can’t really imagine the song sounding any better or any other way now.”
Music clearly excites Throsby (whether listening to the new Fleet Foxes or old Leonard Cohen), and she’s come to love performing alongside “two very good multi-instrumentalists” – Jens Birchall and Bree Van Reyk. Throsby and her bandmates also share a longing to travel, and upon returning from the UK later this month will embark on an extensive Australian tour. Their first show will be in Alice Springs.
“I was there last year with Darren Hanlon. I got up and did a song with him which was fun. I got to play the drums and sing at the same time. I liked it so much that we decided that it was a priority for this tour to get up there. Luckily we got offered a show at the Darwin Festival, so that made it easier for us to get there as well. I kind of very much planned for this tour to be extensive and to go to lots of places that we haven’t been to.”
Music lovers in regional centres rarely get the chance to be part of an audience for good quality live music. While Throsby acknowledges the cost of taking a show to smaller towns can be prohibitive, she remains undeterred.
“It is so beautiful, and any excuse to go there, especially if you can find these beautiful old theatres to play in,” she enthuses. “The theatre in Pomona, the Majestic, is the only silent theatre still operating in Australia. The Milton Theatre’s [also] beautiful, and there’s lots of gorgeous venues sitting there with nothing happening in them. The idea is to go, and go back, and go back and hopefully you can build up a little community of people who come and see you play.”
A Loud Call is out now on Spunk/EMI. Catch Holly Throsby on her wide-ranging national tour, beginning late August.
AUGUST
Friday 22nd – The Lane Bistro, Alice Springs
Saturday 23rd – Star Shell Botanic Gardens, Darwin Festival
SEPTEMBER
Wednesday 3rd – Weller’s of Kangaroo Ground, Eltham
Thursday 4th – The Corner Hotel, Melbourne
Friday 5th – Theatre Royal, Castlemaine
Saturday 6th – Jive Bar, Adelaide
Thursday 11th – Heritage Hotel, Bulli
Saturday 13th – The Basement, Sydney
Sunday 14th – The Basement, Sydney
Thursday 18th – Republic Bar, Hobart
Friday 19th – Altitude Bar, Dunsborough
Saturday 20th – The Bakery Artrage, Perth
Sunday 21st – Mojo’s Bar, Fremantle
Thursday 25th – Sound Lounge, Gold Coast
Friday 26th – The Troubadour, Brisbane
Saturday 27th – Majestic Theatre, Pomona
OCTOBER
Thursday 2nd – Gallipoli Legions Club, Newcastle
Friday 3rd – Lizottes, Kincumber
Saturday 4th – Brass Monkey, Cronulla
Sunday 5th – Milton Theatre, Milton
Thursday 9th – ANU Bar, Canberra
Saturday 11th – Tanks Arts Centre, Cairns
