When a big new band comes bursting onto the scene, and the big record labels begin slobbering at their mouths, its all just part and parcel of the industry. But a lot of bands stay independent, and these are the bands that have to put in the ground work to get noticed. Libero Vox is one such band, and with a debut album, Soul Conviction, now completed, I spoke to the man behind Libero Vox, Luke Golledge, about writing, recording, and how he managed to recruit such a talented group of musicians for his band.

Lots of bands are determined to stay independent, but Libero Vox takes it to a new level by incorporating it into the name of the band. Libero Vox is a Latin term meaning a liberated or free voice, and for Luke Golledge, it was the perfect title for his musical project. “I never considered recording under my own name. I had absolutely no desire to get a major record deal – I never got any offers, because I didn’t put my stuff out there to be bid on.”

This is the debut album for Libero Vox, but it’s been a long time coming. “The songs were written over a decade – it’s just the way I write. Lots of people write in different ways, and for me, the lyrics are really important, the meaning is important. I’ll write a poem in my head, off my own inspiration, and then leave it for a couple of weeks. Then I’ll come back to it later, do a total rewrite if that’s what’s needed, and start thinking about a tune.”

The songs on Soul Conviction cover a wide range of styles, from soul to pop to funk, and Luke says that was never planned, it was just the way it happened. “The process was really organic, it just happens that way. My mother was a good pianist, and I’ve just always loved all types of music, from classical to punk. I’ve had an exposure to such a wide range of different styles. When I’m thinking of the lyrical quality of the words, that’s what governs a song, it can go any direction.”

And Luke says he will be sticking to this organic process for future recordings. “I’ll definitely continue to do it this way. I’m quite happy to let it happen naturally. Because I write a poem first, if the poems lead me to one direction, that’s where my music will end up. I’d rather do that then just sitting there and struggling to write, trying to conform to one style.

While some bands find time spent in the studio to be torturous, Luke said he absolutely loved it. “It was brilliant. I have a lot of great friends, who are great players in their own right, and we were very organised. Simon (Gardner) and I have known each other for ten years, and we worked through all these songs for months, making sure everyone knew their parts. It was all very professional; everyone knew what was required of them. By the time we hit the studio, it only took a couple of weeks to record. It was still organic, even though right up to the day we were still making minor changes to lyrics, working through backing vocals, that sort of thing.”

Luke is also getting ready to take Libero Vox on the road. “Yeah, unfortunately we’re only going to be able to hit the major cities on this tour. As an independent, we can’t afford to play everywhere. The money you lose playing to five people out in the outback is money you can put into advertising, and making people aware of who you are.”

And what’s in the future for Libero Vox? “Well, we’ll be going on tour in a couple of months. Plus, I’ve always got a head full of lyrics and poems. Without support, you can only go so far, so it’s all going right at the moment. People are really picking up on the vibe, the album is getting lots of radio airplay on the east coast, so it’s all working. I like to think, four or five years from now, providing I’m still breaking even on every album, I’ll still be doing this.”