Independent singer-songwriter and 2022 APRA Award winner, Ziggy Alberts recently collaborated with Canadian folk-country singer-songwriter Donovan Woods on the track 'The Sun & The Sea'.
A cut from Ziggy's forthcoming album 'Dancing In The Dark' (that's due in November), Ziggy is prepping for a run of regional headline shows (including Wanderer Festival and Here Comes The Sun) before he supports Jack Johnson on his national tour from late November."When I started writing this song," begins Ziggy, detailing the creation of The Sun & The Sea', "it had tinges of Donovan's delivery – I made a mental note and didn't think much of it.
"A little while later I put one of his songs on my personal playlist, and as a result we got chatting. Next thing you know I sent him the track to potentially work on together.
"From the first time I heard him sing 'we want to be famous' I was blown away. The song had reached a whole new level. It felt that this was how the song was meant to be all along."
Donovan interviews Ziggy
What's it feel like when an idea for a song hits you, and do you know it'll work right away or is it a process of finding out?It's incredible, isn't it? To me, songwriting is more like catching messages from the universe before they disappear and sending them back out into the world in the form of music.
It's absolutely a process of discovery – some songs I write in hours, whereas songs like 'The Great Divide' took six years; I wrote the bridge and didn't find the rest of the song until last year.
What's the connection between the natural world and songwriting for you, and how does one affect the other?
My adventures in nature inspire a huge part of who I am, and as a result, many of my songs. If I don't have my time adventuring, and interacting with the natural world, I lose a lot of inspiration. The natural world and songwriting are two sides to one coin.
Being your own label is brave choice, do you like it?
I absolutely do. It is a lot of responsibility, but that responsibility equals autonomy and complete artistic freedom. I've only ever been independent, and we just celebrated four years of Commonfolk Records!
Do you like performing? Does it feel like the completion of the journey of songwriting. Or does it kind of feel like a different job?
It is only recently that I have written songs, and whole albums, that haven't been performed live first. It is very strange. Touring is one of my favourite ways to experience the world.
I love most of all connecting with people and helping create unity in a room. It's like a religious experience in my opinion and being together singing in unison is one of the best feelings in the world.
I haven't been touring these last years very much, and it can make me feel a little disconnected from what the listeners are enjoying the most.
Is there someone whose career you admire and would like to emulate (and why)?
Two people: Jack Johnson and Bob Marley. Jack's songs are listened to by several generations and have this amazing success but when you meet him, he's like the guy you talk to down at the beach. I love that.
I don't listen to a lot of reggae, but Bob Marley made loving upbeat music during a civil war. He was literally shot and still went out on stage to play his concert the following days. He addressed things and stood up for his people and what was right. I find that so deeply inspiring in these times and that's what 'The Sun & The Sea' is all about for me.
Ziggy interviews Donovan
The first time I heard your music was your song 'Portland, Maine'. I sense this may have been a breakthrough story. How did you know of Portland, Maine, but paradoxically, not know where it is? Is the hidden meaning of the song in this paradox?I had a US cell phone number and I kept getting these phone calls from Portland, Maine, looking for the person who used to have my number.
People would wake me up at all hours of the night, all calling from Portland, Maine. And I, in anger, in a hotel, thought to myself, 'Portland, Maine, I don't even know where that is', because there are two Portlands. For some reason I liked that phrase and I started singing it in that melody.
And then it was a matter of discovering a story that would get us to that lyric. I've always felt that long-distance relationships are sh.t, so it was nice to get that idea out there. Relationships are about touching for God's sake. The phone is terrible.
I endeavour, even with my saddest songs, to maintain a sense of hope. Do you consider keeping hope in even the sad songs? Or are you just out to make us cry?
This question really made me think. I really only feel a responsibility to tell an accurate story. I guess I hope there's some hope in it, but my urge is always just to tell the plain truth. To make the story real and echo my experiences accurately.
And, in a way, I think I am out to make people cry. I think men, in particular, could use a good cry now and then. Even if they're alone in a car listening to folk music.
You have an excellent sense of humour. How do you sing these sad songs all the time but continue to be so funny?
Oh, I think it's all one thing. Most songwriters I know who are worth their salt are funny. I think it has to do with language.
I'm in love with language and how it works and why it does what it does to us (inspires us, makes us laugh). That leads me to humour and to storytelling in equal measure.
What are you passionate about outside of music? Is there any key underlying personal values that lay the foundation for your writing?
I'm a political person. I have my causes that I advocate for, and politicians who I support with my time and resources. I'm most passionate about parents. If a government doesn't make it easier to raise children, what's the point of anything?
I think there is part of me that feels like I'm writing songs for men, in some way. To help men understand their interior life better. To make space for men to actually feel and define their emotions. I think masculinity did a real number on a lot of us and that rears its head in ugly ways.
Co-writes can be without emotion at times. Yet I truly think you brought epic emotion to this song. When you told the story of 'The Sun & The Sea', what made it personal for you?
Co-writes can be tough, I try to be open to everything and just pay attention as hard as I can.
'The sun and the sea always work it out,' was so clear and plainly good to me. They have no choice but to live with each other, and we have no choice but to reckon with the pain and heartache in this world. Your writing, I've told you this, feels deeply reassuring to me. And this song was no different. I always just wanna sing a song in a way that makes it feel important. Because it is. It's important to sing.
Ziggy's newest single is 'Campfire', which also appears on 'Dancing In The Dark'. "['Campfire'] is one of the crowning achievements of my upcoming album because of the minimalist approach to the production," Alberts says.
"It has a beautiful blend of old and new; a foot to the floor, with coastal folk banjo and Latin-inspired nylon guitar counter melodies. . . It's got this warm sentiment that I think all listeners from the past and now will be able to relate to and enjoy."
Ziggy Alberts 2022 Tour Dates
Fri 16 Sep - Hindley Street Music Hall (Adelaide)Sat 17 Sep - Civic Hall (Ballarat)
Sat 24 Sep - Wanderer Festival (Sapphire Coast)
Fri 30 Sep - UOW Uni Hall (Wollongong)
Sat 19 Nov - Here Comes The Sun (Margaret River)
Jack Johnson 2022 Tour Dates
Tue 29 Nov - Kings Park And Botanic Garden (Perth)* sold outWed 30 Nov - Kings Park & Botanic Garden (Perth)
Fri 2 Dec - HOTA Amphitheatre (Gold Coast)* sold out
Sat 3 Dec - The Riverstage (Brisbane)* sold out
Mon 5 Dec - Sydney Opera House Forecourt* sold out
Tue 6 Dec - Sydney Opera House Forecourt* limited tixs
Wed 7 Dec - Sydney Opera House Forecourt
Thu 8 Dec - Sidney Myer Music Bowl (Melbourne)
•Ziggy Alberts supports at all shows
