"Well,
I have to say they've really been amazing & especially with the
people who listen to Triple J, I've become much better known in
Australia, songs like Lucky Star doing so well have certainly given
me an edge I didn't have before."Alex Lloyd story / interview
Alex Lloyd is one of those artists whose music has taken a little while to be fully appreciated in his own country, fans in the US discovering his sound a little while before those in Australia, when his song Snow was featured on a movie soundtrack a few years back.
Last time I spoke with Alex was just prior to the release of his album Black The Sun, which has since gone onto something of stellar popularity, Triple J listeners voting it into the number 1 position of the top 10 albums during 1999. I caught up with Alex just as the latest single My Way Home was due for release.
As usual, the first question when catching up with an artist was how well he perceived the fans had reacted to the album.
"Well,
I have to say they've really been amazing & especially with the
people who listen to Triple J, I've become much better known in
Australia, songs like Lucky Star doing so well have certainly given
me an edge I didn't have before."
After a little while, we got onto the subject of his new single My Way Home, which features a very cool cover of the Midnight Oil track Armistice Day.
"I really can;t explain that one. I've never been a huge fan of the Oils, but that track seemed like the one to do & whether people get into it or not, I can't say, but I tried doing some different things than a lot of people would otherwise have done. I think it worked out pretty well, but it's only the fans who are going to say yes or no. I guess Midnight Oil purists will probably want to kill me, but I like the way it went."
As you read this, Alex will be in the middle of his latest Australian tour, taking in regional areas such as Bathurst in New South Wales, Geelong in Victoria, Adelaide, Sydney & Melbourne among others.
"I'm looking forward to getting out there again & doing the music live. The people who come to see me perform are obviously into the music & that makes it all worthwhile. It's one thing to be sitting in the studio recording, but it's really great to play it live, a totally different experience."
Alex has also gotten his website running even better than before, so fans can find out more information about tours & the like.
"I'd have to say that the Internet is an amazing thing. People can follow what you're doing so much better than any other medium, except perhaps for radio, though mostly on radio it's an interview here or there & maybe you play a live song, whereas you can put all sorts of things including those radio type things, onto a website."
We finally got onto the subject of his album Black The Sun & what might be ahead for fans who are eagerly awaiting the next release from Alex.
"I';m certainly always thinking about new songs & what sort of things I can do on an album, but there's nothing really definite yet. I'd like to be able to get into the studio again in the near future, but we'll see what happens after the tour. I've been really pleased that the fans have gotten behind the album like they have as well as the radio stations like Triple J & the community stations, though I never really expected any of the commercial stations to get into the spirit. Maybe next time around."
Check out Alex on tour near you soon or take a listen to his album Black The Sun, available through EMI.
