The couple, Warwick and Tina, often have this reflected back to them by fans. “Because there’s just the two of us,” Tina explains, “and we’re partners as well as playing together, people seem to find and describe our music as being sensuous and intimate. And that promotes the kind of atmosphere where you get to know your fans, which is one of the biggest joys in making music.
“We always seem to find people who go out of their way to welcome us, it’s lovely. So rather than just being tourists, we get drawn into the local world of music wherever we go and that allows us to share so much more.”
Through this openness, the couple have met (among others) an Icelandic opera singer who went to school with Bjork and an Australian composer who worked with New Zealand band, Trinity Roots. Having recently performed at the Brisbane International Jazz Festival and toured regional Australia, Out Of Abingdon are playing one final show in Brisbane before returning to Europe.
2015 will be the third time they've performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and, with some new destinations lined up for the tour (like Madame Claude in Berlin – where the entire club is literally upside down), Warwick is definitely excited. “We both love travelling, so it’s amazing to be able to combine our love of music with our love of travel. It’s really exciting to see and hear so many different styles of music and to realise that, right here in Brisbane, we have so many musicians who are of a world standard.”
Whether travelling or at home, the couple always have their collective ears out for new and exciting sounds. “I find I’m drawn to really different kinds of sounds and I so often fall in love with things I don’t even understand,” Tina says.
It was this meandering yet finely tuned instinct that first drew Tina to the double bass. When she speaks about her instrument, a warmth and passion enters her voice, reminiscent of someone recalling their first crush. “I always adored the instrument and its sound. As a kid I really wanted to play it but it just wasn’t the most practical or affordable thing. I played fretless bass for years and then finally I thought, ‘okay, I have to buy myself a double bass’. So it’s only been the last seven years that I’ve been playing. And I love it, I do, I’m really glad I made that decision.”
Would she consider an affair with another instrument? “I would love to learn accordion. I have one I pull out and torture Warwick with occasionally.”
While Warwick would love to learn the oud (a Middle Eastern instrument he was given as a gift), he is as devoted to his guitar as Tina is to her double bass. “There’s so much more I want to do with the guitar. I’ll never finish learning,” he says.
Out Of Abingdon play Brisbane Jazz Club, 19 July.
