Interview By KATIE ROLSTON

After the release of his first solo album ‘Strange Tourist’ in October last year, THE DRONES legendary frontman GARETH LIDDIARD has produced some of the finest Australian acoustic sounds to date.  The final result is stripped back, exposing a naked purity in the ideas and stories circulated through an untainted sound that can only be produced by a man and his guitar.

Liddiard is well known for his intimate way of sharing stories through song and exploring the flip-side of politics, Australian folklore and interesting moments in history. This release is no different and he describes the content as being “Everything, from a million trillion things that happen.”

Songs are almost six minutes long and consume your every waking thought. Listening is hypnotic. Recorded at his home in the mountains in Victoria, Liddiard described his reason for doing the album as, “It was something I hadn’t done. It’s fun to do things that are new and it was new so you get started and follow it along.”

The transition into making a solo album highlights Liddiard’s true musical ability as he channels his energy away from performance and towards producing a pure acoustic sound and spectacular ideas. He admits he never has song material lying around and there is no specific way of determining whether melody or content comes first. “I wrote the songs eight weeks before the album. Each song is different, it’s a different process.”

Although it is his first solo album, Liddiard is not afraid to take to the stage alone and is very open-minded about recording and performing alone. “Well, what is solo? Is it a bunch of songs you write or getting people to do them for you? The latter I’ve been doing for ten years with The Drones so I had some time off and now I’m back with just me.

“I’ve been doing solo gigs for The Drones on and off for yonks so it’s not a hard time.”

The debut release from the album ‘Blondin Makes An Omlette’ is a colourful story about tightrope walker in the late 1800s doing crazy stunts.

“His manager made him cross Niagara Falls”, says Liddiard.

“Then he made him do it again with baskets on his feet, then again with a wheel barrow and then wearing a gorilla suit. Then his manager let him piggyback him across. At the end of it all he sat down and made an omelette.”

Touring the country without a band for the first time alongside DAN KELLY in late March is different for Liddiard. “It’s a lot easier than The Drones which is more physical,” he says. ”It’s a lot more low-key.”

This album is a timeless classic that everyone should have on their shelf and an absolutely exquisite compilation of story meets sound. Gareth Liddiard will play The Bakery alongside Dan Kelly in early April.

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