The Brag

Pluto Jonze
In It For The Song
By Jake Stone

“I’m a jack of all trades, which allows me to see the forest for the trees. The number one thing in music is the song.”

Sometimes it takes a single song or performance for my understanding of an artist to tumble into focus. For producer/songwriter Pluto Jonze, it took the morbid creep of ‘Hand Of Man’ live at the Oxford Arts Factory to set my skin crawling at the right rhythm. Suddenly I could appreciate the spare down-tempo melodies on ‘Meet You Under Neon’ and the pop rock jangle on his current single, ‘Plastic Bag In A Hurricane’.  

A one-man-band in studio, the 24-year-old Sydney singer splits his time between upbeat pop, ‘90s indie rock guitar and moody electro. And it turns out it’s a family tradition. “My dad was a producer in the 80s, a one-and-a-half hit wonder. He co-wrote the Melissa Tkautz single ‘Read My Lips’ in 1991, and there was always an ARIA sitting on the mantelpiece and a Yamaha keyboard never that far from reach.” Although trained and enthusiastic, Jonze was initially reticent to work as a professional musician. “I went to Sydney Grammer, and the emphasis wasn’t on popular music,” he explains. “A few years ago, I cringed at following my dad’s lead, but his advice has made me the artist that I am today.”

In the last 12 months, Jonze has played tour support for a wide variety of artists, from The Jezabels to Dappled Cities and Andy Bull – and some of those varied styles are reflected in the wide range of instrumentation and production techniques employed in his own music. “The supports have been a varied roster, and my music is pretty eclectic,” he agrees. “The DIY music revolution is all about choices. You are only bound by your imagination, and sometimes that’s harder.”

Self-produced artists like Gotye resonate with Jonze, who only recently began adding live elements to his previously production-intensive show. “I definitely look up to him. He started as a one-man-band, and people liked it. I started out the same way, and built onto it with a drummer, then a guitarist, and the visuals as well… Other than Gotye, there’s not much in Australia that I’d list as an influence.” As a studio musician earning his stripes live, Jonze is enthusiastically discovering what does and doesn’t work for audiences. “We’ve certainly played shows that didn’t work,” he laughs. “It’s a very visual show, and sometimes I’ve worried that we’re interrupting people’s dinner… Early on it was too weak for a late night crowd, who’re more drunk than during your early support slots, but now it’s a banging live show.”

With single ‘Plastic Bag In A Hurricane’ picked as Channel V’s ‘Ripe Clip Of The Week’, Jonze anticipates a national audience and a foothold in international touring. “This is the biggest nationwide exposure I’ve had, and I want it to work so I can tour profitably. Even more so, I want to get overseas… There’s nothing particularly Australian about my music, and I can’t find many contemporaries in Sydney. I’ve always felt like a lone wolf,” he admits. “but I’ve decided to ignore the voice that worries about whether anyone will be into it… I’ve been in it from day one for the song.”

What: ‘Plastic Band In A Hurricane’ is out now
Where: Oxford Art Factory
When: Thursday October 27