Keen followers of the Australian indie-folk scene have probably caught Patrick James live at some point in the last two years. Over a busy 18-month period, the Sydney-based singer-songwriter toured with the likes of Boy & Bear, The Paper Kites, Josh Pyke and Tim Hart. However, it was only a few years ago that James was unknown outside of the low-key music scene in his hometown of Port Macquarie.
“It was pretty cool to grow up in a small community where you’ve got a lot of mates that are surfing and playing music,” James says. “[But] it was pretty limited in the amount of places you can play. There was, like, three pubs and then you’ve got to move on.”
So that’s precisely what he did. After finishing high school, James relocated to Sydney’s Inner West with just one thing in mind: music. Still, it’s not as though fame and opportunity rushed forth upon his arrival in the big city.
“I think my first gig in Sydney was a bookshop, [so at first] it was really, really small, unplugged acoustic things. It took me maybe a year or two to where I could get the gigs that I wanted to be playing. I was lucky enough to meet some cool people who were putting on gigs with bigger-profile bands in Sydney. I was able to support them and it sort of had a bit of a ripple effect after that.”
Last month James released his second EP, Broken Lines.The six-track set follows on from last year’s relatively sparse debut, All About To Change. The majority of James’ recent touring has been conducted with a trio of backing musicians and the new EP shows he’s comfortably transitioned into playing with a full band.
“Touring with those guys so much definitely had an influence on the next batch of songs,” he says. “[Onstage] there’s more harmonies going on and a little bit more in-depth instrumentation to what my first EP portrays. That opened up the writing for my second EP.”
Broken Lines was recorded with esteemed Australian producer Wayne Connolly. Teaming up with the studio master further enabled James to expand the breadth of his compositions.
“I consciously wanted to make it a lot bigger,” he says. “So [Connolly] just gave me really good sonic ideas about how to put that all together. His way of working was to almost fiddle for a while; you get the beds of the tracks down and then you just fiddle with random instruments or synths or glockenspiels or something like that. He’s definitely a very talented producer and had some great ideas.”
The resulting EP is replete with choral vocal harmonies, string arrangements and electric instrumentation. Thanks to Connolly’s crafty touch, the added layers don’t obscure James’ intimate songwriting voice. While input was welcome from both Connolly and the band, James remains the commander-in-chief.
“It’s a really personal thing for me, writing my music and writing songs. It’s still pretty much a solo project. I’ll take [the songs] to those guys and I’ll have a basic idea of what I want them to do and they’ll go from there. Wayne was really good with fleshing that out as well.”
In recent years, Connolly’s expert production has enhanced records for James’ past tour mates Pyke, Boy & Bear and The Paper Kites. Broken Lines comfortably slots in alongside the work of his peers, but James isn’t trying to reproduce a winning formula.
“As a singer-songwriter I’m really enthused when I hear other people push the boundaries of what a singer-songwriter can do. I guess Bon Iver’s a good example, with his latest album. There’s just so much going on and if you listen to it from the start, you wouldn’t really think it’s a solo artist.”
As for specific songwriting instruction, he refers to some infallible sources of wisdom.
“Over the last six months I’ve had an imprint of James Taylor’s face in my mind, just being like, ‘What would he do in this situation?’ I think the main artist that I was listening to on the road, which influenced a few of the more acoustic-based songs, is Ryan Adams. There’s a song called ‘Fight With Me’, which is the only track on the EP that was consciously alternative-country-sounding. I was just so in that headspace of listening to Ryan Adams, so that came out.”
James’ upward trajectory over the last 18 months means he can support the EP with a relatively large-scale headline tour (which encompasses Sydney, Newcastle, Canberra and Port Macquarie). While he’s amassed a significant fan base in a reasonably short period of time, he says it hasn’t quite been a swift glide.
“The whole thing’s been very gradual from the start of my touring cycle. When you’re touring consistently over a two-year period it’s hard work and it’s like a slow grind, rather than a quick rise.”
Either way, Broken Lines is evidence that James’ artistry is developing. So what comes next?
“After this cycle I’ll think about an album,” he says. “I don’t know if [the sound of the EP] will be the exact sound I go with for the album to come, but for this EP that collection of songs just really stuck together.”
Broken Lines out now through Create/Control.Catch him live withWinterbourne atLizotte’s Newcastle on Friday September 12 (tickets here) and atOxford Art Factory onSaturday September 13 (tickets online).
