Armidale is set for a treat in June when Lead Singer and Songwriter from multi-ARIA award winning band, The Whitlams, Tim Freedman comes to town. However, he’s not bringing the Indie-Rock sound Aussie’s have come to know and love over the past 30 plus years.
Instead, Freedman is putting the Indie-Rock scene on ice and swapping it for a hat and boots to deliver a new country sound.
“The whole idea of playing country music came while I was doing shows in between lockdowns during the pandemic, because we couldn’t really travel interstate at the time, and I would listen to some of the regional stations in between driving to shows and had the idea to put a country band together,” he said.
“After a show I did in Mudgee , I rang my friend the renowned producer Matt Fell and asked if he could put some sessions together with his dream lineup.”
“My first choice of band name – “Tim Freedman’s a Country Member” – was quickly discarded. It had seemed like a very good idea, three schooners in.”
After a few sessions recorded in the basement of the Sony Music Studios in East Sydney, ‘The Whitlams Black Stump’ was born.
“I used the phrase “Black Stump” a lot in the context of being unpolished, a bit agricultural, I consider myself a Black Stump musician as I don’t really know a lot of theory.”
“And that describes who we are – we’re a little bit rough and raw but we get the job done,” he said.
With Freedman’s new sound now honed in and polished, the time came to release his new American style country album, “Kookaburra”, released March 8th of this year, which contains a blend of new songs as well as incorporating the new country sound into some of The Whitlam’s cult classics.
“While I was travelling around Western NSW, I received the surprising news that some country radio stations were playing The Whitlams’ song “Man About a Dog”, a recording from The Whitlams comeback album “Sancho”, which had a rural setting, but had not been recorded with any country music aesthetic in mind, so I figured why not?” Freedman recalled.
One of the new songs included in the Kookaburra album, is his latest single “Fallen Leaves”, which was actually a project intended on being country before the concept of getting into Country Music was conceived.
“At a solo show at The Great Club in Sydney in 2021 I happened to mention to my guest Perry Keyes that I was doing some country sessions soon.”
“When I got off stage he said he’d already written two new songs in his head. The next day he sent them over, and Matt Fell and I thought they would make one great song.”
“We threw in some Elvis Costello and a 9 piece string section, and here you have it – 17 chords and the truth,” he said.
The Whitlams new album “Kookaburra” and its latest single “Fallen Leaves” is available now to purchase and stream, with an upcoming performance at the Welder’s Dog Brewery and Entertainment Centre, Armidale Sunday 30th June from 5pm. Tickets are available via the Trybooking website.
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