With music best described as 'bush psych', William Crighton is steadily making a name for himself as one of the country’s most exciting and innovative musicians and storytellers.
As one of the headliners of Marysville Music Weekend – which is set to take over the town from November 24 to 26 – William Crighton’s brand of music is a unique sound that few have produced before, blending an Australiana soundscape with psychedelic elements to create the “bush psych” genre. We caught up with William to talk about his music, his experience and his story.
William Crighton: Redefining Australiana with bush psych
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“I wanted to create the sound that you hear in the bush, as well as the turmoil in your mind or the joy in your mind. That intersection between the inside of your mind and outside. I wanted to create that soundscape of place, where I’m from and try to get that across in the music.”
A theme often associated with William Crighton’s music is a heavy focus on country and place. “There is a depth of relationship that you can have with this country regardless of your background,” he explains.
“I remember sitting around the fire with a fella and he said to me, ‘we all bleed red’. That really stuck with me because we’re human and it’s the human story, we’re all here now. Connecting with this place is something that’s pretty important to me, staying in that mode and trying not to disconnect from the power of this country.”
While the latest album – Water and Dust – is raw and gritty, and plays obviously to the “bush psych” genre, his debut self-titled album, was more of a crisp and delicate folk album that served as a discovery project and acted successfully as an entry point to William Crighton’s sound.
“You grow and evolve as an artist as you learn more and observe differently. Empire, my second album is a pretty considered bridge from [William Crighton], then to [Water and Dust]. There are definitely some of those elements on Empire that go pretty deep on [Water and Dust].”
On the evolution from his self-titled debut to Water and Dust, William says, “I love the quieter stuff just sitting there with a guitar but I also love a full band sound and nothing quite gets me going like the full band.” For him, writing with a full band is like “the tapestry of sound working together to create an emotion that lets its story travel.
“I had more people involved on the latest album but more of a vision for what I wanted. [My wife] Jules was a big part of everything we do.” William states how he doesn’t like to stylise his music. “I like to mix everything up and see what the most interesting sound is that we can make.”
Outside of his own music career, William and Jules have been working in the prison system for over five years, teaching music to the inmates. Recently, they’ve begun to collaborate on this project with other artists. “This latest project that Jules and I started, we want to incorporate different artists who can really contribute to the fellas’ journey and help them grow as people.”
William describes how “when you’re on the inside you’re expected to get better so you can come out but there’s not a lot of room to grow in there. A lot of people get worse when they go into prison. Through music we’re trying to give people confidence to tell their story and then through that, be self-aware of their story and try to become better people.”
They’ve managed to collaborate with many talented artists like Redgum’s John Schumann, with William stating how “they had such respect for him (because they knew his music). His way with them was so matter-of-fact and they got a lot out of him coming in.” They’ve also worked with singer/songwriter Henry Wagons and have UK-based Beans On Toast lined up for a workshop later this year.
“Prisons’ not a nice place to be…if you can allow an outlet, like songwriting or recording, it gives you that room to grow where hopefully when you get out you can start to change things.”
William states how this prison project has obviously come with its challenges but that “it’s one of the most rewarding things we do,” emphasising the power that music holds in effecting change.
“When you see a fella writing his own story or song and he’s reading it back to himself, having this epiphany almost – it’s quite humbling to see…they learn a song (by RedGum or Uncle Archie Roach), they learn history and they’re singing history, and by that way they’re becoming a part of history.”
Having recently come off the Midnight Oil Farewell Tour, William Crighton is set to play Glastonbury Festival in the UK before coming back to Victoria to headline Marysville Music Weekend this November.
“I’m honoured to be a part of it. We’re bringing the full band down there which is always a fun time. It’s a good festival, a lot of people have told me that it’s got a wonderful energy and that it’s a real music lovers festival so I’m really pumped to reel into it.”
Marysville Music Weekend is held this year from November 24 to 26. Find out more by heading here.
This article was made in partnership with Marysville Music Weekend
