Melbourne singer songwriter Tim Guy recently unveiled his stunning new LP Chords, a follow on from a string of singles ‘Footsteps’ and ‘St Petersburg’.
Produced by TG, Andy Stewart, J Walker, Lukas Glickman and recorded by Lukas Glickman at Email Ltd, Collingwood the record sees Tim explore the rich and varied elements of his songwriting prowess. From the sparkling pop of ‘St. Petersburg’ to the smooth dreamy psych injected acoustic gem ‘Goldmine’ the 11 tracks on this each record display a different talent in Guy’s arsenal.
To celebrate the release of the record, Tim has kindly penned a track by track of the album which you can check out below. If you like what you’re hearing pop by Tim’s Facebook page for more info.
Tarzan
Sean Penn has been my favourite male actor for ages, and De Niro has been in second place followed by Dan Wyllie.
But, De Niro just hit top spot again after I watched The Godfather part 2. Dan is always lurking close by though.
St Petersburg
Futuristic city ideals and Saturday nights driving through the streets of a foreign place. Let’s drive.
The Rambler
My Grandfather went overseas in the early 1940’s with the army when he was 16 and came back after two years.
At his funeral last year, my Dad delivered a really strong eulogy which included the vibe of ‘I’m not sure if anyone really knew my father’. It was really powerful, that is where the seed for this song was sown.
Footsteps
One of the first songs we recorded for the album, but completely re-recorded it when we moved from Audrey Studios in Coburg to Lukas Glickman’s joint in Collingwood.
Gus Franklin gave it the swing beat, and Shags Chamberlain gave it the soundtrack style tip toe Clav.
People Can Get Strange
Done at the same sessions in Audrey but added some guitars and backing vocals in Collingwood with Lukas and properly finished off by J Walker down in Gippsland. Full of obvious lines ‘Time is changing’.
“The world moves in circles’.. umm.. yes, we know.. But I’ve always enjoyed those type of songs. Actually right now I’m thinking of the FR David song ‘Words’..
The Needles & The Pins
It’s a bar song, it really is. It feels good to play.
On the weekend at our show in Sydney during this song I looked up to the booth up the back of the room and everyone had glasses of beer, and the sun was fading, then I looked back around at Gus making the best damp thumping sound on the drums, Marky Monnone was in down deep with the bass (anyone who has seen or played with Mark will know what I mean), and Nat Riley’s guitar was taking care of the business.. that all just really describes what this song is..
Mixed Up Mind
When I turned 30 my Mum organised for Ross Wilson to meet us for coffee before one of his shows in Brisbane.
He was like ‘Happy Birthday’ That was really cool. Anyhow, I’ve always loved Eagle Rock and to this day think it’s the best sounding song on the radio. But this song isn’t Eagle Rock that is for certain, but it is my version of Australian blues.
Goldmine
The strings really can take you away to a place. Thankyou J Walker for crafting the string bed to wrap around this song. J’s contribution to this album is massive.
Electric Heart
A few different incarnations this song has had so far. Started off on an EP I made for a NZ tour in 2009, then another version was released on 7” in 2011, and a couple of others along the way that dropped off.. and now we have this version!
To be honest I couldn’t say if this is the definitive one. Time will tell. It doesn’t bother me, I like recording it.
It’s The Weekend!
The crowd noise in the middle is from a footy match at the MCG when Travis Cloke kicks a goal.
Actually, thousands of people cheering joyfully is quite an uplifting sound to hear. I would recommend standing in a stadium and recording it. Sometimes when I have the blues, I like to listen to that sound.
Love Is Alive
This one took a really long time. Not in any way laborious though. Shags Chamberlain invested eight hours into crafting his bassline.
They are the special times while making a song for people to hopefully eventually listen to. Andy Stewart did a wonderful job mixing it, it was on his board for weeks.
