“I wanted to track the songs in a place that would give atmosphere to the music, but also because it was a really cost effective way to lay down the tracks. We had the luxury of plenty of time to play around with things,” he says.
In addition to contributing his longing croon and wieldy acoustic guitar work, West had a fairly hands on role with the technical aspects of album production. However, he indicates that he wasn’t overly exacting of his associates and comfortably delegated responsibility where necessary.
“I have an ok understanding of the technical side of things, enough to know what’s going on, but I don’t usually feel the need to have a complete control over the process.”
West acknowledges that encouraging creative multiplicity isn’t always a smooth endeavour, but he also realises that input from other sources can provide a key element of variety to his work.
“I like to be surprised by what can happen when other musos and engineers have some creative licence. This has occasionally backfired – not so with this album fortunately – which can make things tricky.”
Tom West has been displaying his sentimental song-craft around Adelaide for a few years now, appearing in both solo mode and as a focal member of some short-lived bands. His continual presence in the Adelaide music scene has led him to be surrounded by a collective of like-minded musicians, which made it no issue to find additional personnel to perform on A Spark in the Dark.
“Most of the players are just friends of mine. I’ve been kicking around playing music for a while so most of my friends are musos too, so it makes finding people to perform and work with pretty easy,” he says.
West reveals that the music scene in Adelaide comprises a variety of musical cliques.
“I think there are a bunch of really close knit communities that often work and exist quite separately from one another. I’ve certainly got a good group of people within arm’s reach.”
Additionally, he believes that both his artistic focus and ambitions have been shaped by certain restrictions imposed by the relatively secluded city.
“I think for the most part we’re left to our own devices over there, and there’s not a lot of opportunity to be taken under the wing of anyone or any agencies very easily. I think a consequence of that might be that we have to have a strong vision for the music we make and mostly develop the vision ourselves.”
A Spark in the Dark is easily West’s most substantial artistic statement and he suggests that it was a perceived songwriting progression that prompted him to commit to a full length album.
“I didn’t set out writing the songs specifically for an album, but as the collection of songs grew and grew I became more attached to the idea of doing a full album as opposed to a shorter EP.”
The album is characterised by heartfelt vocal performances that send out an emotive invitation to the listener. The material sits together in a complementary manner, but West reveals that he didn’t conceive of an over aching theme prior to recording the album.
“I think there are a few common threads that go through the songs. I didn’t come up with the whole album at once, so I think the songs stand-alone foremost, and then fit together.”
When sequencing the album a dominant stylistic quality became evident, which meant some songs that were recorded couldn’t comfortably be included in the final track listing.
“There were some tracks that I cut from the album totally because I just couldn’t see where they could possibly fit coherently in the scheme of the record,” says West.
The album’s lyrics certainly share a similar attitude, largely prying beneath the surface of human interaction and associated uncertainties. Unsurprisingly, West admits that he’s usually urged to write by difficult or unpredictable experiences.
“A fair chunk of the songs came about during some stints of travelling that I did, or came about upon reflecting about people and places. I think that it’s very fair to say that I write better when I am plonked in situations out of my comfort zone; that are challenging and emotional.”
West will now take the songs themselves travelling, launching the album in all major cities this month. Two of the album’s key contributors will join him onstage for the album launch show, thus enabling an accurate representation of what’s on the record.
“The two most significant performers on the album, Todd and Alister, are coming with me on the album launch tour to hopefully play the songs true to the album.”
BY AUGUSTUS WELBY
