Get ready to have your heart broken all over again when Irish troubadour Glen Hansard brings his 'Didn't He Ramble' tour to Australia in October.
Released in 2015, 'Didn't He Ramble' is Glen's second album as a solo performer, having fronted Irish folk band The Frames since 1990, and was co-produced by former bandmate Dave Odlum as well as Thomas Bartlett.
Speaking to The Daily Beast in October last year, Glen said the recording process for 'Didn't He Ramble' was one of the most difficult and consuming he has ever experienced. “For this record, I spent more time on the songwriting than ever before,” he says.
“A lot of self-editing and reworking of words [and] ideas. Asking myself, what do you mean here? What can you say more efficiently there? I did my best to get myself out of the way and let the words do the work. At the same time, I need to believe what I’m writing, or why would the listener believe it?
“No one plays like Thomas: he’s truly one of a kind. What he did for me on this record was challenge me to write better songs, which seems instinctive but on the last record he was sort of a supporting character to the songs. Whereas on this one, he was a guiding hand in pushing me to make them better.”
An accomplished songwriter and performer for 30 years, Glen's creative output encompasses a wide range, from the stage to the screen and beyond. In addition to his work in The Frames and as a solo act, he also featured in the 1991 cult-classic movie 'The Commitments' and in 2007 starred alongside now-former girlfriend, Czech musician Marketa Irglova in 'Once'. A tale of two buskers in Dublin falling in love, the film was made by Glen's bassist from The Frames John Carney and won an Oscar for Best Original Song for 'Falling Slowly' written by Glen and Marketa.
When, like 'The Commitments', the film was adapted into a musical (which won eight Tony Awards in 2012), Glen was at first sceptical. "I didn't like the idea of it becoming a musical,” he told The Independent in 2015. “I feared overexposure would kill it, but I suppose it helps me stand up and be in the world. And if I am remembered for that one song, well, there are worse fates," he says.
“Every record is a new chapter, and this record is no different. In some ways, whether it’s The Frames, 'Once', Swell Season, or a record with just my name, they’re all my songs. So I don’t find it that much different, and presentation is determined by the musicians who are in the room.”
In January, Glen made headlines in Rolling Stone when he was spotted performing a cover of 'Ashes To Ashes' outside David Bowie's New York apartment in tribute to the late singer. “I really just felt the need like everyone else who was drawn toward somewhere to grieve,” he says. “I just wanted to sing his song there. It's very personal. I didn't look anyone in the eye, I couldn't. The honesty of the second verse of that song has always moved me deeply; I've loved the song since I was a child.
“Bowie was the one we chose to raise us in our rooms, when we first closed the door on our parents and the world. He told us we didn't have to be masculine to attract girls, he told us we could be strange and even celebrate it. He was so much more than his music. The first real artist I encountered, someone who provoked thought through his message and image and the songs.”
Glen Hansard Tour Dates
Tue 18 Oct - QPAC (Brisbane)Thu 20 Oct - Adelaide Festival Centre
Sat 22 Oct - Sydney Opera House
Sun 23 Oct - Sydney Opera House
Wed 26 Oct - Palais Theatre (Melbourne)
Sat 29 Oct - Astor Theatre (Perth)
