Ever since the breakout release of ‘Feeler’, the lead single from his 2003 album of the same name, Byron-based singer-songwriter Pete Murray has continued writing simple, catchy hits, and his next album (slated for release in the first half of 2016) is sure to be a cracker. In the meantime, his 33-date Yours Acoustically tour is beginning its lap of the nation this month.
When Murray answers the phone, it’s still school holidays and he’s spending time with his kids. Murray has spent most of the year recovering from a knee reconstruction, so he can’t wait to get back out on the road to play fan favourites from his five-album back catalogue.
“At this moment in time, I am feeling really great,” he says. “The knee is healing up well, and although I probably won’t be jumping around as much as I usually do, it’s going to be great to get out once again and play some shows. Part of the reason I am doing this tour now is because the new album is coming out next year. I want to really be pushing and focusing on the new songs for that. This tour is all about playing the older tracks like ‘Ten Ft Tall’ and ‘Bail Me Out’ so that the fans that have followed me since the beginning can hear the songs they want to hear. When we release the new album, I want to be focusing on the new direction and try to put some of the older songs to bed for a while.”
Back in the early 2000s, Murray left a career in sports medicine to have a crack at music. In 2002, he independently recorded and released an album called The Game, which caught the attention of Sony Music. After signing with the label, Murray relocated to Melbourne and got to work on Feeler. Boasting a string of successful singles such as ‘So Beautiful’, ‘Bail Me Out’ and the title track, the album reached platinum sales. However, when Murray was writing the songs, he couldn’t have imagined they would lead to such widespread acclaim.
“I didn’t really think ‘So Beautiful’ was going to be the track to initially take me places,” he says. “On the record it goes for four minutes and 50 seconds and it’s really quite a long song. It was never written for radio, and I remember having the argument with the record label saying that they were wasting their time trying to make it the single – and I remember they wanted to chop off the third verse of the song, which I was dead against. I wouldn’t budge, and then they released it and things took off. It was very different to what was around at the time. It’s still surprising, though; that was the song to break me into the scene.”
In recent times, several Australian performers have allowed fans to request what they want to hear at shows. Although Murray is yet to follow suit, the Yours Acoustically dates will certainly be a lot of fun. The tour even features a surprise guest: none other than Jeremy Marou from Brisbane folk rockers Busby Marou.
“Jeremy is coming out on the road with me and is going to be playing guitar and singing, and so that is going to be another great aspect to the show,” Murray says. “One of his favourite albums of mine is Summer At Eureka and it will be pretty good to play a lot of tracks off that album too. Everyone has their own favourite Pete Murray tracks. [Often] they relate to a place in their lives, and they definitely don’t have to be singles. By the end of the tour, I think I should probably know most of the songs that I have written,” he laughs.
Over the years, Murray has toured to amazing places all around the world, and he’s very thankful for all the opportunities that have come his way.
“I’m lucky to even have a career. A lot of artists in Australia struggle to earn a living from it, and so I hope that with the new album coming out, I can continue to be able to do what I have been so fortunate to do for the best part of a decade.”
As for what we can expect from Murray’s forthcoming LP, he’s been engaging with some unexpected influences.
“I’ve been working a lot with different beats and loops since I’ve started this new album, and rather than having a bass player and a drummer, you work out the grooves yourself. It simplifies it a lot, and I can’t wait for people to hear it. I’ve been streaming a lot of The Rootsand Frank Oceanon Spotify, and although I’m not giving too much away just yet, I’m excited to share a new single and the full release in early 2016. So keep an eye on the social media pages for the first news.”
Garrett Kato supports Pete Murray’s gigs atThe Basement,Saturday November 21 and Sunday November 22, before Pete plays his sold-outMona Vale Hotel show on Thursday November 26.
