If he wasn’t superstitious at the start of his career, Mark Zito probably is now. Shortly after Fractures scoredThe Guardian’s Single of the Week in mid-2013, and a few days before a sold-out gig in Melbourne, Zito fractured his neck. It took him three months to recover, during which time his desire to keep writing and composing found itself put on the back-burner. It makes you glad he didn’t decide to name his musical project Aneurysm or Torn Apart By Wild Dogs.
“Yeah, luckily,” he laughs. “Well, I don’t know if it’s luck exactly, but the name came first and the injury second. If I’d been smart I would have come up with a more positive name, but here we are. From the get-go it was clear that the recovery was going to be pretty straightforward, and in my mind I thought it might be a good time to throw some tunes against the wall and see what sticks. But it didn’t really eventuate that way, which was frustrating. I just had to be patient and recognise that it was going to take some time off the radar before I could get back to it.”
You have to give the man points for dedication. Less than a year later and his self-titled EP has dropped, he has gigs booked across the country and is featuring at this year’s industry powwow, Bigsound – not to mention Splendour In The Grass. Clearly the key to success is a brush with mortality. (Not that we’re recommending anyone should start jumping out of windows to get famous.) At any rate, it has led Zito to create some hugely popular, haunting tracks, most of which start their life in decidedly not-mysterious style.
“It’s no dark room full of candles,” he says. “My approach is pretty vanilla, really. I give myself a lot of time, and tend to focus on whatever is in front of me. I’ll sit down with maybe a synth plugin and tweak it until I’ve found something I liked. More often than not I’d come up with something on keys and just go from there. I guess a lot of people would say that their music is organic, but for me it really kind of is. And it all just starts with me sitting at a computer alone, hitting keys.”
Aside from the music itself, Fractures has developed a reputation for strong, narrative lyrics. It is hard not to hear recent single ‘Won’t Win’ as being somewhat autobiographical. Only, it isn’t.
“The thing with ‘Won’t Win’ is – and here I guess you’ve fallen into my trap – is that it’s not really a personal story at all. A lot of the songs are things I’ll see other people go through. I mean, I’ve had such a breezy life, I don’t really have this catalogue of tragedy to draw upon. But I seem to always write about it anyway. I take a chunk out of a story that’s happened to a friend and extrapolate, fill in the blanks, and try to emphasise my own point of view. Even then, they’re vague enough, or the stories are unremarkable enough, that no-one is ever going to clue on to the fact it’s about them. I’m covering my tracks.”
Considering Fractures’ live band comprises Zito’s brother and old friends, it probably pays not to be too specific. You might run the risk of onstage fistfights and trashed instruments.
“The beauty of [Fractures] is that ultimately I get the final say, it’s not like it’s an equal partnership,” he laughs. “I’ll always take advice on board, but if I don’t agree, well… Luckily we’re not a passionate enough family to come to blows or anything. [My brother would] probably be able to take me anyway, so I’m glad we don’t have to go there. I haven’t had to call Mum and complain yet.”
Fractures are playing atSplendour In The Grass2014 withOutkast, Two Door Cinema Club, Lily Allen, Foster The People, London Grammar, Darkside and heaps more atNorth Byron Parklands fromFriday July 25 to Sunday July 27. They’ll also be playing a sideshow at The Vanguard on Friday August 8, tickets online.Fractures out now through Create/Control.
