Despite making the jump at a tender age, with no safety net, Young explains that the decision to relocate to Melbourne from his hometown of Wellington was an easy one.
“In terms of music and all of the arts, Melbourne was the best city on this side of the world, this little corner,” Young explains. “So I worked for a few months out of high school and saved up for the plane ticket.” It doesn’t always feel like he’s left, though. “Melbourne’s full of New Zealanders! I see people from home everywhere, just all the time.” Does it ever feel like you’re being followed? “Nah, it’s great, it’s nice to be reminded of home.”
Young possesses a gently quavering voice, reminiscent of a classic troubadour, yet he touches upon all sorts of wildly divergent styles. One imagines he’s sick of answering this question at parties, but how would Young describe his eclectic sound? “I usually go with soul, that’s the general sensibility. Obviously the stuff I write goes into reggae, blues and rock as well, though. I grew up listening to Dave Dobbyn, Paul Simon, Aretha Franklin, Billie Holiday, anything my mum put on the stereo at home, really.”
It’s a pretty wide selection, and Young doesn’t especially resemble any of them. Are any of these artists direct influences? “Well, when I was little, I learned all the words to Graceland. It doesn’t mean I sound like Paul Simon, but I learned a lot from his approach – his lyrics, his poetry, his delivery.”
This notion of learning comes up a lot with Young. It extends to his approach to live performance, and to the management of his budding career. He is self-managed, and he has organised the recording of One Drop himself.
“I’m really happy with how it turned out,” he says of his debut EP. Craig Harnath recorded it and mixed it down at Hothouse Studios, down on Acland Street in St Kilda, and he did an amazing job – Hothouse really care about their artists. Jack The Bear mastered it, and he really knows his stuff as well. Xoë Hall is an amazing Wellington artist, and she’s handling the artwork, and then I’m just gluing it all together and dropping it online.”
Young is pushing the release himself as well, albeit not through the traditional channels. “It’s going to be a free download, just to get it out there. I’m not really doing much publicity for the single,” he says. “Just social media stuff. It’s easier to communicate with people that way, actually creating a conversation.”
Likewise, Young is very much his own man when it comes to live performance. Though a distinctive artist, he is nonetheless something of a shapeshifter, adapting himself to his surroundings. “I started off doing solo gigs, but as the venues got bigger, I decided to expand to a three-piece,” he explains. This change was far from traumatic, though. “It’s the same set, but with a drummer and bassist, it’s just a progression. When you start out, you’re a sponge for your environment anyway, and you learn about what works from other bands around you. The same goes for venues. Some things just work better in different spaces.”
From talking to Young, it’s obvious that live performance is what comes most naturally to him, but he is aware of the risk of over-exposure, and the importance of restraint.
“I’m learning to be more selective about the gigs I take. It’s great fun, but I don’t necessarily need to be playing twice a week at the moment. Having said that, it’s great training to be playing live, more so than any practice you could do.”
BY EDWARD SHARP-PAUL
