Brisbane songwriter, guitarist and producer Jack Bratt has been selected as the recipient of the 2019 Grant McLennan Fellowship.
Known for his work with Golden Age Of Ballooning as well as being a in-demand session guitarist and producer, Jack says he takes great pride in the fact the award is in honour of one his songwriting heroes. “The recognition means a hell of a lot to me and especially because this award is in the name of Grant McLennan,” Jack says.“He's just such an incredibly important artist to me and to Queensland music generally. To win this award especially is an extreme honour, it's just unbelievable.”
The music of Grant McLennan and The Go-Betweens is as iconic to Brisbane as the Opera House is to Sydney or the Eiffel Tower to France, and certainly no less significant in terms of what they have contributed to arts and culture. “[Grant] wrote about things that were around him, things that were Australian, things that were about Queensland,” Jack says.
“He sang about his home, his sang about his life and his experiences, his triumphs and his struggle, and that was all very much tied to Queensland and where he was from. When it was not common or maybe not cool to put references to Australia or Queensland or Brisbane into your lyrical content, he was doing that.
“So he was taking risks as an artist when people weren't and that's really a testament to how brilliant he was as an artist because the music has stood the test of time and it's probably more important now than it ever has been; it's a shame that he's not here to experience that and to ride the wave of that triumph.”
The prestigious grant is worth $25,000 and enables the winner to immerse themselves for up to six months in the vibrant music cultures in one of three of the world's thriving creative hubs: Berlin, London or New York. “The whole concept of the grant is to go and write and absorb the culture of the city,” Jack says.
“It's really just a writing process – having experiences and creating the content that will turn into songs. The amazing thing about this grant is that it's really just about going and being a songwriter. Having that freedom is extremely exciting and I'm definitely going to take full advantage of that.”
Jack has his sights set on New York where he hopes to follow in the travels of musical greats such as The Velvet Underground, Ramones and Patti Smith. “To walk those same streets and go to the same bars and venues where these musical giants existed and wrote bodies of work that are absolutely timeless and still inspire people today.
"It's such a big part of my musical education and appreciation to exist in that city and in those places; it's extremely important and an untapped source of inspiration. Basically, to live and breathe the same air as my heroes.”
