With two singles out in the world, Mike O'Dowd is steadily gaining recognition for his sumptuous indie-folk efforts.
A lilting acoustic guitar and raspy vocals shape this troubadour who, through his music, shares his lived experiences.The cover art featured on Mike's first single, 2017's 'New Blue Moon', comes from his time in Montreal. His follow-up single, last year's 'One Lover Leaves', cultivates Mike's experiences in Berlin and serves as the lead single and title track of his forthcoming debut album.
Even before that one's out, Mike's already getting work done on his second album. "I've got a bit of a jump start on it," Mike says. "I've been finishing off film clips and that sort of stuff, but the landscape is a little bit different.
"It's the same experiences – I was writing a lot when I was overseas but when I got back [to Australia], I was still in the same mindset. It's more forward, musically, but it's kind of part two of the same stories."
Hold your horses there, Mike. Before he gets to releasing that second album, he's got another single from 'One Lover Leaves' out – 'They Walked Past A Work Of Art'.
Accompanied by a sparse, poignant, and sensual music video, a lot of the imagery for 'They Walked Past A Work Of Art' is made multi-faceted because of the soundscape and Mike's lyrics. "I shot the film clip and edited it myself; even without being aware of it, it ties into the lyrics and the mood," he says.
Mike continues, explaining the single's placement in the album at large, and the marriage of each track. "All the songs on the [first] album are from different perspectives, it's kind of like a breakup record. [Each song is] different stages of that process.
"'They Walked Past A Work Of Art' is the stage where you would second guess the decisions you've made, that sort of mind set.
"I wrote every song when I was overseas, mostly in Montreal, where I was living for four years, and Berlin. The whole record, it's autobiographical. They all tie in, whether I want it to or not, I don't have a choice."
Ultimately, 'One Lover Leaves' is an ode to Mike's gypsy roaming and the love for places, and people, he had along the way. Mike says there's an element of reconciliation to his style of song writing. "Especially when you're processing something like [a breakup]," he adds.
"I think that's why song writing is so amazing; you can really process it, and write it down, even when a song comes really quickly, which ['They Walked Past A Work Of Art'] did, then you can reflect and get something from it. It's an interesting art form in that way, it lets you discover something."
Mike's music has the nuts and bolts of being an indie singer-songwriter; no flashy pop licks, no Dean Lewises, no Ed Sheerans, and it's powerful. He only has guitar, his voice, and his words to rely on.
There's nothing pumped up or flashy about it, which is what makes his music so relatable, so good. With any luck, people listening to Mike's style will gauge a level of understanding.
"I always like music that's either quite raw or stripped down, I feel it's bit more honest," he says. "Or if the lyrics are the main point of focus and there's not too much around it, they stick out a lot more.
"I find if I'm listening to my music in the studio or something like that, if the vocals are the main thing and there's less around it, I don't get sick of it as quickly.
"There's something there, something a bit more timeless or something like that. When I go overboard, I know I've put too much on, and you start to lose the story."
Mike O'Dowd's debut album 'One Lover Leaves' is coming soon.
