“I was living in Glasgow when I made the record, even though I made it back in Melbourne,” he recalls, a little cryptically. “When I went back to Glasgow, it took a while for me to get my shit together and put a band around the album over there. The decision to move back to Melbourne made it more…” he hesitates. “It took out the momentum a little bit from under my feet. So I decided to put it all on hold while I did that move, which was quite a big one.
“And then, coming back here, it took a while to get a band together,” he continues. “I wanted a lot of the original musicians who played on the record to be a part of it, if possible. So I needed to wait for them. A lot of that has worked out, and it’s turned into a really lovely band, and I love playing with those guys. It’s coming all at the right time – it’s quite serendipitous that I didn’t put it out a few years ago; this seems to be the right time.”
The album is a heady and idiosyncratic mix of folk, pop and a touch of rock, and TD is proud of the approaching release, as he describes the sound to the uninitiated.
“I’d say there are folk elements,” he says, “but not to focus too much on that. It’s pretty poppy, without being too cheesy. And that’s kind of my main focus: I’m aware that I do write pretty pop-based sounds, but I’m very focused on not making it too cheesy and sickly sweet.”
His personal journey – which actually began in Fremantle, before moving to Scotland and then back to Melbourne – has fuelled his creative fires and helped him to produce such an eclectic album in Canyon.
“I have injected a lot of that experience into the actual songs, as well as just the experience of writing music and hopefully having a bit more taste.” he laughs.
Open Swimmer are launching the album at the Northcote Social Club this Friday October 17. This is the only live date that they have officially announced at this point, but there should definitely be more to come over the next six months or so.
“That’s kind of the big crux of the release,” he says. “But next year we plan to do some touring. We want to go to WA, and hopefully up the east coast as well.”
He also plans to take the band back to his formerly adopted home of Scotland, as well as the rest of the UK. “Scotland especially, I’m sure we’d have some good reception in. I’d actually love to take some of the other local bands from here over there and show them what it’s like.
“The rest of Open Swimmer are all in other bands,” he reveals. “I feel like their other bands would be brilliant to take over. Like Chris from Seagull plays drums; I think Seagull would go down a treat over there. And The Harpoons would be very well received over there, and Bec from The Harpoons sings with me in Open Swimmer. There’s an opportunity there to do a bit of a Melbourne showcase, as a tour in the UK and maybe Europe as well.”
BY ROD WHITFIELD
