Raw, emotive, intense, beautiful, cathartic, wondrous, goosebump-inducing, strong – just a few words that sum up Christopher Coleman's incredible album 'The Great Tasmanian Escape'.
Recorded with his band The Great Escape, the new record offers indie folk and art rock stylings, cross examined by post-punk aesthetics with flashes of psych and jazz influences that's led by truly mesmerising storytelling plus vocals that heart the feels of the afterglow of a fireside cabin in the deep of winter.An album that came to life with the generous contributions of Kirsha Kaechele (MONA), it was tracked at Sing Sing Studios Melbourne August 2018 with Glenn Richards, the late-great Mike Noga, Stu Hollingsworth and Kelly Ottaway, before Coleman expanded the line-up by inviting Frances White, Georgie Smith and Louisa Hogue to make up the eight-piece live act he says "grew into a Springsteen-esque Australiana rock thing nodding at The Go-Betweens, Midnight Oil and Paul Kelly".
Firstly, congrats on an amazing new album (it's a burner and will no doubt find its way to many, many ears for years to come); it's been quite the journey you've had from writing to the recording of it. With so much time having elapsed since first conception to the album being released, how have you grown as an artist throughout that time?
My first instinct is to say maybe a little growth in the traditional sense of a gum climbing ever higher to the sky.
Perhaps that definition for growth might best be disregarded; and adopt one more akin to one of that of the Christmas tree in the front yard where we're living. It looks pretty unhealthy, but blooms a little each year.
Not to mention the seed which fell in a nook in an old pine by the front gate. It's setting up shop and growing strong. Hard to imagine it's roots digging on through the trunk of the pine, but regardless it's a great surprise.
The four-year gap between recording at Sing Sing Studios to the actual release; what was behind the delay/s and did the path that you trekked result in an album that you had perhaps envisaged differently when you first began piecing it together?
It's an amazing commitment really. For better and worse in all senses.
Often naive, I had hoped that if I could have it mastered before the time my son was born, it wouldn't be too much of a distraction to our lives. I never envisaged touring it and how hard could it be to finish off the backend of the project, and do a gig in nipaluna (Hobart) to tip my hat to Kirsha and David at MONA who helped make the thing happen.
Turns out, it was really, really hard. My health was chronic enough to take me to hospital, bipolar disorder the affliction. And if I were the heart of this thing then Mike was the lungs.
Mike Noga remains an enormous part of my days and I've a deep reverence and gratitude for the songs he wrote and contributed to. He's a hero for me. So bipolar aside I found it extremely hard to imagine how we could do it after he passed.
Then you've got your stock standard albeit diluted for the most part Tasmanian version of COVID. But here we are, the album is out, it looks and sounds great, and I feel I will be able to stand behind it for the years to come.
If this were my last offering, I'm absolutely fine with that. The reason being that I just don't know if I can bring myself to be so consumed by a project again. It's not good for me or my family.
You had the legend Glenn Richards involved as well; having such a talented, skilled craftsman to assist you bringing the music to life that must have been an incredible asset to have in your arsenal?
Like you'd believe. Another hero for me, this record is filled with people I've poured over for years. It'd be like Bob Dylan producing a Paul Kelly record.
It's arguably a very silly idea but I find it hard to distinguish between one and another, so the way it rolls out is if unless somebody inhibits me early, or I go to bed and forget, good and wonderful and bad and foolish grow in equal measure.
That's everybody but the excitement and ego of the performer is clearly subject to it in droves. But yes, I mean, his horn arrangements are of course outstanding and inspired and to have the luxury of the studio for two weeks straight meant we could really just nosedive in and sort of forget about the rest, to a degree, and at our peril.
He's got a mind I beyond admire. He's got a mind I couldn't handle having and I love the man deeply.
As the record progresses, it has the feel of a love letter of sorts to Tasmania; lyrics, subject matter – did you have a concrete feel of the type of songs you wanted to present on this release?
It was a process of me taking notebooks to Kirsha's place and getting her take on how to best express the narrative which I was getting closer to being able to tell.
I wanted maybe ten or eleven tunes. . . And I had sketches of double that or more, a lot of dog bodies in there but at the same time, they had guts so I was confident I was onto a winner. It was just about putting the puzzle together. And trimming some edges up to frame.
I knew that 'Jesse' came to Tasmania after serving in Afghanistan. I knew it ended badly. But there were frayed edges in some of the songs; that took us away from the heart, it's violent, bloody pulsing heart, so KK and I got to it and tidied it ready for the morgue before we took it across Bass Strait.
Slight deviation in the questions here: Being a native of the Apple Isle, the AFL needs to install a footy team pronto in Tassie right? It'd be a travesty otherwise.
It'd help me at a personal level because for the last few years I've been going to games every weekend but I can't settle on a league, let alone a club. The tribalism would finally swallow me up whole.
The patronage of MONA's Kirsha Kaechelle to make this record possible; aside from your gratitude no doubt, the indie music world needs more people like Kirsha right?
It does and I don't know my history well enough to be able to tell you whether or not there were more or less pre-MONA.
Obviously MONA are the heaviest hitters publicly but there are a bunch of people batting for anybody who is game enough to put their head out and do something 'real'. It's not a one patron town by any means.
The album features one vocal collaboration, Rowena Wise; how did that come about? Any plans for further singing collabs?
Rowie and I had the same booking agent some moons ago, so we'd played on the same festivals a bit. And Glenn worked with Rowie on some recordings in the West Australian desert. . . A project with Paul Dempsey and a bunch others called Vast.
Anyhow they hit it off and Ro supported Augie March on a tour and was free for a run at some of these recordings, firstly from a fiddle point of view.
All of us 'blokes' had had a turn at singing the last tune on the record, 'Launceston'. The idea being that a friend or lover is singing back at the protagonist. Ro had a couple takes and it made good sense and not just because of her performance. Music runs deep in the veins of the Wise family, her parts are treasure.
You've also pressed the album on vinyl; was that important to make the record available in that format?
Yeah it was always going to be on vinyl, it's scope was ambitious enough that it never occurred to me not to.
The Great Escape live band you have assembled; what does it mean to have these people in your life, supporting your creative pursuits especially given they all have their own musical projects as well?
I'll be able to answer that once the dust has settled on this release. For now it's hard to comprehend, it was the rarest of luxuries being given the opportunity to put together this band.
To come back to footy, it was as if the salary cap rule had been abolished and here we were, first season in, things looking good for Coleman with his squad of certified champions.
I've great love for this group and if it weren't for the fact that the material we play is so heavy, and the logistics of getting eight people plus crew into a room together, I know we'd get together in a room a whole lot more. It's a good feeling between us.
Given it's taken four years to reach this point, too early to discuss the next Christopher Coleman album?
Yeah. It'd be a fine place to leave it as far as I'm concerned. We'll have to see just how dependent I am on music in this capacity as to whether I do another.
Storytelling plays such an intrinsic part of your music; being able to shape a story through music and share that with an audience; is that one of the most enjoyable aspects for you as a musician?
Not necessarily enjoyable but necessary. I grew up with an old man who was always writing songs. Same with my brother and sister.
There's a shared commonality with our writing; always an arc. I'm not sure if it was the heavy Cohen/ Dylan/ McCartney in Dad's record collection but I think subconsciously, songs just don't get finished for me unless enough happens in it to keep me writing until I've [had] closure.
In the early part of your career you won both triple j's annual Unearthed competition as well as the Telstra Road To Discovery; how impactful were those experiences connecting you with the industry?
They got me off the island and tested out whether or not I could sustain touring in the manner in which you traditionally need to in order to make ends meet.
I wasn't happy but it was the only thing I knew so I was able, just, to give it a few years. Slowly I lost my manager, booking agent, publicist etc. You can't run a career if the person calling the shots can't answer the phone.
You posted recently that you've been two years sober; congrats on the milestone. That life decision has no doubt had many positive affects; are you surprised at the person you are now without booze in your life?
Thank you, it has probably saved my life.
It enabled me to start answering the phone more often, which means I can engage with doctors, to give the meds a chance, to start using my body. I'm a proud, proud Dad and the drink only sets everything else back. Of course it's no good for anyone, but especially if you're managing bipolar, it's only going to end badly.
What's the next chapter for you? Can we expect any touring given we seem to be entering a world living with COVID?
COVID is a welcome excuse but ultimately even without it, touring is another one of those things that just isn't a great fit for my health.
We've got a launch show in nipaluna on 27 March and that'll be the last for me as far as I can imagine. That's my crystal ball anyway. But Johnny Farnham probably really did think it was the last for him, too.
Thanks for your time; anything else you'd like to add?
No, that's great, thank you. I've enjoyed answering your questions.
Christopher Coleman & The Great Escape play Cathedral In The Hanging Garden (nipaluna/Hobart) 27 March. 'The Great Tasmanian Escape' is available now.
