Though the year is quickly drawing to a close, things are just getting started for Byron Bay singer-songwriter Bobby Alu with the recent release of his new album 'Flow'.
“There was me and Paulie B [Bromley] who worked with me on the record; we'd be in the studio for two weeks straight really intensely working on it and running a fine-tooth comb through everything.
“Then we'd take six months off and wouldn't listen to it for six months then revisit it and we'd have a whole new perspective. All these things we thought were so significant six months ago, we couldn't even remember. Having that time and that space really helped this album and these songs mature and really find their place.”
With a new album under his arm, Bobby sets his sights on the coming summer, which kicks off for him playing at the Roots Music Festival at Home Of The Arts (HOTA) on the Gold Coast, as part of their HOME series. “It's pretty much one of my final shows for the year,” Bobby says.
“It's always sentimental for me to play on the Gold Coast because that's where I was born, that's where I went to school and grew up, and my music career started on the Gold Coast.”
Now based in Byron Bay, Bobby's return to the Gold Coast isn't all that far away from where he played his very first gig as an aspiring musician. “My very first gig, I remember was around the corner from HOTA and it was playing congas at this Latin restaurant,” he recalls.
“I used to get ten dollars and a bowl of spaghetti, that was my payment, and I look back on that pretty fondly. It's amazing to return there and close the year out on the Gold Coast.”
His days of playing for pocket change and pasta long behind him, Bobby is looking ahead to next year, which will see him take up the touring cycle for 'Flow' in earnest and perhaps expand his reach in the US and European markets. “I'm going to take the band on the road and we're going to tour this record, which is really exciting,” he says of his plans for 2020.
“We're going to put together a new show and all these new songs people have been enjoying and asking me about we'll perform. It's good to leave a bit of space after the record releases just to let your fans and let people listen to the record and feel it out before you start to hit the road and play the songs.”
