Scott Spark

“Oh God, that didn’t sound good. What I mean is, I’m a Queensland boy, grew up on the Sunshine Coast and escaped as quickly as humanly possible. But there are some things you never escape. Mostly, that I am just atrocious at nearly sub-zero temperatures. So, given that I’ll be down there performing soon, freezing my balls off, I’m just looking forward to the next couple of days left of sun.”

As he speaks, Spark’s replies are comprehensive, but always pleasantly and thoughtfully so. It is immediately clear that his musical success thus far has not come unexpectedly; he is a man entirely driven by his passion for songwriting, and has worked intently on developing a sound that truly reflects who he is. Having now lived in Brisbane, Sydney, Hong Kong, New York and Los Angeles, Spark has drawn influence for his piano-based musings from a wide, cosmopolitan base.

“I think I’ve always been a little bit restless when it comes to cities,” he says rather brightly. “I used to do a lot of camping as a kid, and much as the bush is fine by me, where I truly belong is in the city. As a songwriter I think you need to expose yourself to different things, throw yourself into situations and see how you respond, see how that influences the writing. And it’s not purely a social science experiment, it also comes from a genuine place of, well, why does anyone travel, really? Working over there [in the US], I think it makes it much easier. I think if you go anywhere with a purpose it immediately gives it a certain sense of mission. I went over to New York completely lucky – I still pinch myself that I had the chance to head over there based on the Grant McLennan Fellowship. I was very fortunate, and because essentially I was there to focus on music it gave me a very definite sense of purpose. That makes you more on track, which probably makes your life that bit more healthy.”

Healthy, and certainly more colourful. The notion of understanding and appreciating home only after gaining some perspective is one thing, but finding somewhere that truly fosters your development – creative, personal, social – isn’t as simple as it sounds. Each city has its own personality, its own eccentricities that you might build from. For Spark, this has been LA.

“The great thing about LA is that you can achieve anything you want there. If you decide that a harpsichord is the instrument you’re missing, you can make a few calls and within half an hour you can find the world’s premier restorer of harpsichords, and there you are, on Skid Row in a basement. That’s what happens when you’re in truly genuine, world cities. We have this romantic idea that songwriters, or writers of any kind, escape to the bush or the outback, and somehow they experience this process of self-reflection out there. I think the same thing can happen if you throw yourself into an unfamiliar city.”

Difficult as it to resist romanticising these thoughts, as Spark talks a certain tone creeps into his voice. He sounds whimsical, almost as if he is talking to himself. “You find yourself in rooms with an instrument at the end of a hectic day, or even at the beginning of a day that will become hectic, and you can still get that reflection or insight, you know? You’re cut off from all of that and have to make new relationships, and you can become, to a certain extent, a new person. You get the chance to play a different role, and I think that can translate into your music as well. You won’t necessarily feel as tied down to an idea of who you are, or what you do. You can be more liberal with your definition of yourself and what you should be doing. I think it’s an essential thing for anybody – everybody – to be doing, but especially people who are creators.”