Image: Adam Newling by Charlie Hardy – supplied.
Author: Bradley Cork
On a humid Thursday afternoon, there’s a buzzing atmosphere around Sydney’s ICC for the inaugural SXSW Sydney festival that is enveloping differing haunts around the city. It’s a chance for bands and artists to gain some exposure, receive some additional support, and get a well-deserved push. One such artist who’s playing over the week-long period is Adam Newling. We have a seat on the ICC steps and talk about what it means to be playing here, where he muses about enjoying these sorts of events in a cautious way. ‘They’re great fun but they’re also exhausting. I love playing shows, so for the most part I put a lid on it, keep my head down, focus on what I’ve got to do. Not wear myself out too much…I used to try and immerse in it and it’s sick and so fun but as time goes on, you’ve got to pick your battles about where you place your energy.’
This opportunity to go out there and perform for punters and promoters alike seems like the logical step for someone who has been playing music for quite some time. While Adam’s solo undertakings have been more recent, he is a songwriter who has put in the work through years and years of learning, observing and playing, whether it was via earlier indie rock incarnations with mates he grew up with or by playing in fellow label mate Ruby Fields’ band. ‘I was doing session work and writing with people and then Ruby pushed me and got her label to get in contact and her saying to them ‘you should really listen to Adam’s music!’ I kind of fought it for a while, saying ‘I’m happy to just play in bands and be a band guy, those songs I write just for myself.’ But then I came around to showing them to Ruby, her team and people. Then they asked me to lunch one day and said we want to sign you to the label [Space 44] as a songwriter and a solo artist. I kind of fell into it, it wasn’t something I was gagging to do.’
Adam’s songs feel unique with the left turns they take while also being embedded in the tradition of country and folk music. There’s an emotional landscape that is felt throughout his growing catalogue. His songs are anthemic but not obvious; they grab you and hold onto you. His voice is also something that inherently pushes the dynamics from a hushed whisper to a bellowing rasp that leaves you floored. When it comes to songwriting, it’s not a matter of Adam being meticulous in his approach but rather leaning on his natural instincts. ‘I’m a pretty all-on-the-table kind of person. I don’t think it’s a conscious thing… I’ve never written a song that isn’t really emotional and really dramatic, I’d love to though! Some people just have songs where it’s just a nice song and it’s cool and nice to listen to. All of mine have these emotional moments. It just happens.’
Adam’s third EP Dorothy Painted Portraits arrives in early December. Named in tribute to his grandmother Dorothy, the EP features already released singles like the rollicking and crescendo-laden tunes ‘Barmy’ and ‘Ocean’ as well as latest single ‘The Difference of Opinion’. While the songs have inference to the way his grandmother lived, they’re more centred around musings on other people’s stories. ‘My grandmother lived a very interesting life, she was a very hard woman. She left us with a lot of lessons to think about and reflect on. All the songs are largely about stories that I’ve heard and have been passed down from other people in 10 years of living in all these different places. There’s a bit about me in this record but it’s a lot of stories that I’ve taken on and how they’ve impacted me rather than my direct feelings towards things. This one is more about other people’s stories that I’ve come across and it seemed fitting to dedicate the EP to her and her life story is something that is still unravelling within our family.’
‘The Difference of Opinion’ is one such song that takes that inference of other people’s thoughts and feelings and turns it on its head. Adam admits it came from a demo that started out as a bit of a laugh. ‘I think the first demo for it was me putting on an old man’s voice with a whistle in the spoken singing voice.’ It’s a song that has invariably grown to be more meaningful with the current climate despite its humble origin story. ‘I was also working at a pub in this little country town and this pub was like the church to the community. I found that everyday there were these group of men ranging between 60-80 years old who would get there at 11am and just drink schooners for a couple of hours and then go home. These 10 men would just get together every single day and just find different things to argue about and I thought ‘these guys live for their differences of opinion’ and they’ll never get sick of arguing but they’ll still find common ground in their disagreements.’
The concept of the video for ‘The Difference of Opinion’ was gleaned from transposing Adam’s experience of serving drinks at the pub to being a very underappreciated water boy on a running track. ‘The whole conception was originally me serving drinks at a pub. I thought ‘how can I tie that in’ and I had these mates in Newy who are brilliant videographers but hadn’t made a video before but they were like ‘how can we help?’ I gave them the concept and then we went through all these things like ‘maybe a lemonade stand?!’ and then ‘maybe a water boy!’ type thing and then it kind of snowballs. I like to collaborate with the videos.’
Adam cuts across as genuine and kind while also being a hard worker. You can see it in the extensive touring he’s done over the years, both playing his own songs as well as playing guitar for Ruby Fields. While touring can be something exciting and fun, he also concedes that it’s a work in progress when it comes to getting balance on the road. ‘Touring is a very unnatural way to live. It’s a hard beast to wrangle and draining at the best of times. There’s so many highs and lows and if you find that if you don’t do all the good things during those times, you find yourself falling apart. I’ve definitely had that, break downs on tours and horrible times. It’s hard, doing something you love so much can result in putting you in such a crappy place. You just got to be on top of it. On top of yourself, your mind, thoughts and your body. I’m still trying to figure that one out…I guess it’s doing the steps, don’t drink too much, get to bed, don’t eat burgers all the time…it’s so hard when sometimes you get that ball rolling…I guess it’s called having self-control haha.’
With Adam’s latest EP due for release, he’s looking forward to touring in support of it followed by the writing, recording and release of his debut album which is still in the works. ‘Yeah, we’re gearing up for a summer hoon for the EP. It’ll be good! Then I’m going to try and get this album together and get it out. I kind of take it one thing at a time. My favourite part of being a musician is definitely the creative time, I just want to spend a whole bunch of time making something that’s special to me and hopefully others and then have a fuckin’ holiday! Have a break and a think!’
With that, Adam and I parted ways with him gearing up to play the Rolling Stone stage at the Powerhouse Museum that afternoon. It was an affecting set with his raspy drawl and harmonica-soaked folk-rock, lifted further by the support from his band that play with both precision and joy. Adam’s banter onstage reflects a musician that takes his craft seriously but not himself. As he says between songs: ‘if you liked the other songs we just played, you’ll probably like this one…if you didn’t like the others songs we just played, you probably won’t like it…here we go!’
You can pre-order Adam Newling’s EP’s Dorothy Painted Portraits and Half Cut and Dangerous here.
Catch Adam Newling this Saturday at Crowbar:
CROWBAR HALLOWEEN feat. Adam Newling & Hope D Tickets at Crowbar Sydney
(Leichhardt, NSW) on Saturday, 28 October 2023. Tickets here.
Be on the lookout for future tour dates for the launch of his forthcoming EP.
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