OK, let’s get this out in the open: Dean Ray came second in the 2014 season of TV talent show X Factor. Participating in such a contest inevitably divides an audience. Simply put, it attracts a considerable mainstream following while simultaneously scaring off potential indie/alternative listeners. Ray’s not oblivious to these ramifications, but five months on from the show he believes the divide is dissipating.
“Word’s starting to spread that I’m not a talent show junkie,” he says. “I’m not a kid that was playing in the lounge room then got on TV and now I’m famous. I was a broke musician who played the game and now it’s working. You’ve just got to go to a live show to see that. I’m one of those artists who’s got to be seen to be understood. A lot of people that come to these shows are like ‘OK, I get it now. He’s not generic.’”
Ray’s spent the first three months of 2015 on the road and next week he’ll arrive for a series of NSW dates. Just weeks after X Factor wrapped up, Ray released his self-titled debut album, which rocketed to number five on the ARIA Charts. The record includes all the songs Ray performed on the show plus the single ‘Coming Back’, which was written for him upon making it to the final. Despite the album’s commercial success, his setlists aren’t focused around that stash of material.
“I play probably four songs from the album,” he says. “The others are all originals and old classics. It’s a massive variety. It’s like a rockabilly showdown, and very blues-y/folky. It’s fun.
“I’ve been playing covers for years,” he adds. “[Even before X Factor], if it was one of my own shows, there’d be probably still two or three covers in there in an hour set. It’s fun to play other people’s songs and put your spin on it.”
In the context of X Factor, Ray’s song choices – which included Nine Inch Nails’ ‘Hurt’ and Nick Cave’s ‘Into My Arms’ – were deemed boldly left-of-centre. However the songs weren’t a great summary of his artistic ambitions. “That selection of songs doesn’t show my taste whatsoever,” he says. “But what I did with the songs shows me. Every song I was given, I had to put my brand on it so it would sink into people’s mind what my sound might be or what my groove is.”
Ray’s been writing his own material for several years now. The immediate plan is to just keep gigging, but he says his next release will aptly depict his aesthetic outlook. “A lot of the stuff will be written by me or co-written with somebody else. I don’t mind; if it’s a great song I’ll sing it. As long as it’s a great song, I think people should hear it and I’m a vehicle for that. I’m not sure if I’ll do an album. I think albums are dying and people don’t have time these days to get through the 12 tracks. I’ll probably just release single after single.”
Having already charted highly and sold out shows, Ray’s set a hell of a precedent. Nevertheless, he’s not stressed about maintaining his commercial good fortune. “I like the songs, so at the end of the day that’s the main thing,” he says. “If people don’t like it, that’s OK. If people do like it, that’s a bonus. When I play a live show, I’m playing for me. Then if I’m enjoying it, the people who come to watch enjoy it as well.”
Dean Ray’s self-titled album is out now through Sony. Dean’s Sydney gigs areSouth Sydney Junior Rugby League Club onThursday April 16,Oxford Art Factory onSaturday April 18 and Rooty Hill RSL on SundayApril 19.
