Melbourne folk band Husky are back in Australia, getting ready to play WOMAdelaide next month.
Their last album, ‘Ruckers Hill’, was released in 2014: two years after their celebrated first effort ‘Forever So’. Going by that timeline you might say Husky are due for something new this year, and frontman Husky Gawenda says fresh material is definitely on the way. “We're back in Melbourne right now working towards a new album: just getting stuck into the writing.”
Husky have recently returned from a tour of Europe and the US, spending most of their time living in Berlin. Known for being a city full of art and music, Gawenda says it was the perfect place to explore between shows. “There's a lot going on there,” Gawenda says.
“The audiences are particularly good. They're all music lovers in Europe, so the people really come to the shows to participate.”
Gawenda says American audiences also embraced the band’s style and lyrics. “Our music makes a lot of sense over there: we're definitely very Melbourne, very Australian, but our music isn't foreign to them at all.”
Gawenda and Gideon Preiss (Gawenda’s cousin and fellow band member) grew up listening to all sorts of music, but they were mostly in love with the California sound of sweet harmonies from the '60s and '70s. Gawenda says his tastes were influenced a lot by his parent's record collection: a collection full of American and Australian folk music, as well as a little rock from classic bands like Led Zeppelin.
Husky never had any grand plans about taking their music overseas when they first started, but they’ve ended up touring the world supporting the likes of Gotye, City and Colour and Neil Young. “It’s obviously one of the big things that you hope for, for your music to be heard,” Gawenda says.
“The Gotye shows were really fun, that was so big for us. It’s always nice to work with someone whose music you really respect.”
Gawenda says supporting a great like Neil Young was a career highlight for the group: playing huge stadiums with such a legendary artist was something they never expected. “It was surreal, touring with him. Stadiums? I didn’t think that was the sort of band that we were, so that was surprising.”
A big part of Husky’s music being heard in the beginning was Triple J. Husky won one of the radio station's Unearthed competitions. “You can’t buy that kind of exposure, it was incredible. Our music went from being heard by 32 people to actually being played on national radio.”
Since then, the accolades have been rolling in for Husky including winning a $50,000 Vanda & Young songwriting competition for ‘Saint Joan’, a track from their album ‘Ruckers Hill’.
For Gawenda, being back home in Melbourne means checking out all the local Melbourne bands whenever possible. “I often get to see international bands on the road, but when I'm home I want to support the local music. There's so much great local music here.”
Written by Stephanie O'Neill
Husky play WOMADelaide, which runs from 11-14 March.
