Larry Heath caught up with Geoffrey O'Connor (of Crayon Fields / Sly Hats fame) to discuss his self-titled solo project, what we can expect on the Laneway Festival tour and more...

How’s it going? Are you in Melbourne at the moment?

Yeah, I’m just in Melbourne doing some video editing. It’s kind of doing my head in. Are you in Melbourne as well?

No, I’m up in Sydney and just been writing all day.

Cool (laughs)

You’re doing some video editing? Is this for your own work or do you edit for other people?

For my own (work). Making a music video and I get to use all the Uni facilities.

That’s always handy (laughs). Is this for a track of vanity or something else?

For a track off vanity.

Well lets get rolling and talk a little bit about this; the album’s been out for about six weeks now?

Yeah something like that, yeah.

It’s not your first solo album but it’s your first album under your own name. How have you found that to translate with people who are familiar with your earlier work?

It seems to be going pretty well. Like, people seem to be accepting it (laughs). Yeah, it’s gone rather smoothly. I think some people are a little shocked at how different it is so I don’t really know what they expected.

Is that ultimately the reason for changing the name? It’s now perhaps the project closest to what represents you as an artist? As opposed to what you might have done under Sly Hats or Crayon Fields?

Yeah, for sure. That’s a big part of changing the name. The other part is I wanted to have a bit more longevity. I couldn’t see myself releasing music under an alias when I’m like, fifty, sixty years old. Whereas I can under my birth name (laughs). Something I will never have to worry about. It’s only recently that I’ve started to think my name’s kind of phonetically pleasing. I used to think it was a bit of a hideous anglo name.
(Laughs) It’s grown on you yourself.

It has, yep (laughs). I should thank my mother.

Well it took you two years to produce the record and ultimately what do you feel took the most time in that process? Because I don’t imagine the writing of the record itself is what took that time?

Actually, to be honest, the writing probably took about two years in itself. Just, you know, writing lyrics and getting all the arrangements together and that sort of thing. It’s combined with production because I kind of produce things as I write them in a way. I usually have the song ready but then as I produce it that’s when I start to figure out which arrangements are going to work and which sound awful.

Over that process, how many songs do you think you end up playing with as opposed to what actually ends up on the record? Are there quite a few tracks that end up on the ‘cutting room floor’, as it were?

Yeah. I’d say, well, not that many. Maybe, one in two tracks will end up on the album but it’s more just re-recording songs that takes up the most time. I am a chronically recorder and re-arranger of songs; especially when I’m doing solo stuff. I guess you have the freedom to that, you’re not really gonna piss anyone off except yourself if you throw away a few weeks’ work.

Well, congratulations on releasing the record. You must have done something right because we’ve got you on the Laneway tour.

Yeah, I’m excited about that!

How does something like that come about? Do they offer it to you? Do you put your hand up and say I’m interested in doing this?

Ah they just offer it. It just kinda came out of the blue which was great - even before the record was released. It was a really nice thing to have.

Had they heard the record by that point?

We’d put out a single and they put it up on their site or one of those Twitter things and then suddenly they asked us to play. It was good!

When it comes to your live shows now, what sort of material are you performing? Is it just the new solo material or are you dabbling in some of your earlier stuff as well?

Just the solo material. There’s plenty of it to fill a set and I like to keep things nice and cohesive; I feel like it all gels together really nicely. I can kind of present it as I like, whereas if I incorporate older stuff it’ll get a bit jumbled and convoluted.

(Laughs) Yes, all over the place.

Yep (laughs).

Now, moving forward for the rest of the year - what’s it holding for you? Have you got shows happening?

Yeah I’ve got my Sydney album launch next week. I’ve got a couple more sporadic shows here and there and then it’s all about the Laneway Festival I guess. I like to make it a little bit special and not overload with too many shows. I guess that’s one of the great things about being on a festival, it just means I get this concentrated run of shows [which] I can put a lot of effort into - I don’t have too much else on my plate at the time.

Now I understand that you toured recently in the United States with Jens Lekman. Can you talk a little bit about that? I imagine you got to know Jens while he was living in Melbourne?

Yeah I sort of first met him when I did some shows with him in Sweden a few years ago. That’s where I met him and he asked to do this tour in the US and it was really fun. We played a lot of interesting venues; we played at a synagogue, an ethical society and doing a Masonic Hall in Hollywood Forever Cemetary which was kinda spooky. Playing really close to Frances Farmer’s grave; it was nerve-racking! In the back of the van, it was really silly, we were watching a lot of Australian ‘coming of age’ movies like ‘Puberty Blues’, ‘Year My Voice Broke’ - you know, young seventeen year-old Ben Mendelsohn while you’re travelling across the great US roads & highways.

That’s one way to do it!

Yeah it was great. Everyone was crying; it was awesome!

Was that your first major US tour? I have a feeling that you weren’t there prior to that?

Yeah, I’ve been on a couple of tours with Crayon Fields doing our own shows and a few supports. They were quite thorough and they went quite well and we were doing CMJ and SXSW but this was my first fully-fledged support tour where there was a van and hotels and stuff. A lot of new experiences for me.

When it comes to playing shows like SXSW, I remember seeing you actually last year at the Ausse BBQ I think - what are those tours like for you as a musician because those particular showcases can be quite full-on?

I quite like them. I like them in that it’s a strange thing that you never get to do anywhere else. Playing three shows in the day, for some people I’m sure it’s their worst nightmare but I actually really enjoy it because as soon as I get off stage I just wanna play again and this is probably the only occasion where it actually happens. You play at three in the afternoon and then you go play somewhere at five and then you go and play somewhere at midnight; it’s the thrill. It’s like going to an amusement park when you were a little kid, you just wanna go on all the rides and do things over and over again.

Yeah, I personally love the experience but I know for some it’s not much fun. I’m glad you enjoyed it - will you be popping over next year?

Yeah I’ll be popping over with my solo band next year. Looking forward to it. I think they’ll get a kick out of the three shows in one day type of thing as well; they’re little road warriors.

(Laughs) That’s for sure. And you’re the ‘veteran pro’, so you’ll know how to talk them through it.

Well, yeah, veteran in that it’s one and half year’s gap (laughs).

With Crayon Fields is there a future with that band or is that finished? What’s the story there?

Oh no definitely a future. We’re recording our next album at the moment, we’re just not going to play any shows until it’s out. Don’t really see the point in playing what’s now older material. We’ve demoed the whole album so still we’re still active in that regard.

Well that’s great to hear. I’m sure we’ll be seeing you in all your shapes and forms over the next couple of years. Best of luck with the Laneway tour! When it comes to the band that you’ve got with you, how has that band been put together that we’ll be seeing at the Laneway shows?

Jessica, my keyboardist, synthesizer, back-up vocalist, she’s been on a few songs on the record. I’ve got another synth player, Ben, who played bass on the record. It’s an interesting vibe. We’ve got Julian’s synthesizers to either side of me and I just sing and play a little bit of guitar then we’ve got projections and this special laser show that we have behind us, keeping time. It’s a really fun thing to put together.

Is it something quite complex to put together?

It looks a lot more complex than it is but yeah, it’s one of those things you’re always going to forget one key element and suddenly the whole show is ruined. We’re getting better at it!

Again, congratulations on the record and looking forward to seeing you on the tour.

Oh, thanks!