“I may have picked an inopportune time.” Brisbane-bred and Melbourne-based singer-songwriter Darren Middleton has just released his third studio album, entitled Tides.
In a few weeks, however, a certain beloved Australian band are reissuing their game-changing third album, Internationalist, on the eve of its 20th anniversary – something Middleton is very much across, considering he was in said band. “I mean, it could be a good thing,” Middleton says with a laugh. “People might see that the record is being re-released and wonder what we’re all up to now – and in this case, I can show them all exactly what it is I’ve been up to.”
We’ve avoided dropping the P-word directly here – if only to see if an article can be written about Middleton where it doesn’t come up at all. Besides everything else, the 46-year-old has spent the near-decade since that band’s end putting his focus primarily towards music being made under his own name.
Although reticent at first, being a solo artist is second nature to Middleton now. “I fucking love it,” he says succinctly. “I’m totally comfortable with it now, but my first two solo records were a bit more hesitant in nature.
“Even though I’m the lead vocalist on Translations [Middleton’s 2013 solo debut], I got in a bunch of guest singers to more or less hide behind. I didn’t feel confident enough to handle it all on my own. I absolutely love having friends involved, don’t get me wrong, but it felt more like asking for help than having proper collaborations. With Tides, I feel like I’m a lot happier with what I’m doing.”
Tides was recorded through a string of sessions in 2017 with You Am I guitarist Davey Lane serving as Middleton’s co-producer. This marked the first time the two had worked together in an official capacity after knowing each other for well over a decade. “We’d played festivals and the like around the traps for years,” Middleton says. “When I moved to Melbourne, I moved a street away from Davey – we ended up seeing one another a lot, and we started helping one another out with recordings and shows. I’ve got a lot of respect for him – he’s someone who really knows his shit when it comes to playing music and writing songs.”
Together, Middleton and Lane assembled the core group of musicians that would lay down the foundations of the album itself. Interestingly, the lion’s share were people that Middleton had never worked with before – musicians like Jet’s touring keyboardist Louis Macklin and The Bamboos’ drummer Graeme Pogson. Also of note were contributions from the veteran Bull sisters, Vika and Linda. “That was Davey’s suggestion,” Middleton says.
It was such a thrill to hear them sing on the record – it really shines through just how long they’ve been doing this. They’re incredibly professional, but also so much fun – they had the exact right vibe for what Davey and I were going for.”
As the title suggests, Tides is an ever-changing record – sometimes gentle, sometimes brisk and abrasive. After years in rock bands, both as a side player and a frontman, Middleton wasn’t about to settle into your everyday troubadour role all that easily. “I started out wanting to make a pretty basic record – just vocals, guitar and a bit of piano,” he says.
“Obviously, that didn’t last long. I wanted it to be distinctly different to the other two albums I’d made – a bit more guitar-oriented, a bit more of a vibe to it. Definitely something a bit more rough around the edges. Every song dictated its own vibe, which is where Davey came in very handy in particular. If I wanted a Beck vibe, a bit like Sea Change, he knew how to do it. If I wanted a Britpop sound, he was all over it. Everything fell into place really organically.” Middleton beams, concluding: “I can’t believe how well it’s turned out.”
