|
 The QANTAS SPIRIT OF YOUTH AUSTRALIA awards are on again for aspiring artists seeking some guidance in the world. UK’s LEE GROVES explains his role in the music category to MITCH ALEXANDER.
As more and more of my contemporaries pack their bags and move to the indie kid Meccah that is London (or New York, or Berlin, or any number of places that are outside the confines of the Brunswick Street Mall), I fear one day I will be left all alone in Brisbane, sighing many heavy sighs as I scroll through overly detailed Facebook updates that are solely designed to arouse jealousy.
In 2007, renaissance man Lee Groves, whose name is often followed by “producer, mixer, composer, songwriter” etc, bucked the trend by grabbing his possessions and address book (with contact details of past collaborators Depeche Mode, Gwen Stefani and Goldfrapp) and moving from London to settle in Sydney. He’s dabbled and dipped and worked with many young artists in that time, but you’re probably most familiar with his presence on Bertie Blackman’s third album, Secrets And Lies. Sure, the young Miss Beatrice had two albums prior, but the curious flourishes of electronic weirdness courtesy of producers Groves and Francois Tetaz elevated it above the singer-songwriter hordes, eventually leading to an ARIA Award for Best Independent Release in 2009.
“I tried to bring in some electronic flavours and fuse them with the guitar-based stuff that she was doing,” explains Lee. “It was great to sit around and say ‘wouldn’t it be great if we could do such and such’.
“I think Bertie’s a very unique Australian artist, I think she’s got a real capacity to grow in different directions. Because to be honest her manager played me some stuff that was a lot of that guitar-based stuff that established her in Australia, but I took one of her songs and mutated it with some electronic strangeness which I think made her suddenly go ‘oh, actually, my music can also have experimentation.’ She’s brilliant.”
An experienced ear, a rapid-fire brain and a veteran of offering constructive criticism; these are the talents that Lee brought to the table for Bertie Blackman. As this year’s QANTAS Spirit Of Youth Australia awards mentor in the music category (there are several other categories running the gamut of artistic pursuits, along with $10,000 in financial support), Groves is donating his time and experience in any way he can.
“I’ve got a rough idea of what I’ve got to do … I’ve been doing quite a lot of mentoring with bands since I’ve been over here, nurturing them and helping them get through the pitfalls in their careers,” he says enthusiastically. “Get a recording, help them with a gig or just helping with the business side, I’m excited to hear the great stuff that will come through.
“I think one of the most influential people in my career is a guy who’s called Mark “Spike” Stent, who’s one of the top mixers in the world, working with Madonna, Massive Attack, U2 and all that,” he continues when asked why he’s lending his support to SOYA. “I was based with him for about three years at Olympic Studios in London. He kinda found me and mentored me. I learned some really great things technically but to be honest, one of the things I learned from Mark is that it’s 80% people management and 20% technical.”
Registrations for the QANTAS Spirit Of Youth Awards are open now until Aug 9, 2010. Check out www.soya.com.au for more information.
|
| Comments are submitted for possible publication on the condition that they may be edited. Poster's IP addresses are logged. |
|
Be first to comment on this article
