Saber is gearing up to independently release his debut EP Clearer next month. Clearer consists of five carefully crafted songs, a process that Saber admits was more tedious than he expected. “I’d been working with the intention of pushing it out late last year, but my timeline blew out towards the end of the year,” he says. “I was mostly working on the tracks last year, perfecting each song and reaching a standard that I was satisfied with.
“I was careful with each track, because it’s my first studio release. I feel like you only really get one chance with getting taken serious with this kind of thing, and if there are a couple of tracks on there that you’re not entirely happy with, it may discredit you somewhat. The end product is five songs that I’m really excited to show and play live.”
Saber’s spent several years mastering his percussive fingerpicking technique, which lets him produce quite an astonishing amount of sound for a one-man-band. Adding foot percussion and harmonica to his arsenal, there’s no denying Saber is a man of many talents. His style prompts comparisons to artists such as John Butler, and more recently, Kim Churchill.
“Definitely a lot of Australian musicians really speak to me in terms of style and in particular guitar technique,” Saber says. “Kim Churchill and John Butler are really big influences of mine, but also international artists like Ben Howard and his acoustic guitar style. It’s very percussive, but his finger style is also quite intricate. Newton Faulkner is another one. He has a very percussive style that works really well unaccompanied.”
When questioned on whether a backing band would be on the cards in the future, Saber remains circumspect. “With a percussive guitar style, the sound is quite full as it is,” he says. “I haven’t felt compelled to introduce more elements to my music. Not yet anyway.”
Finding a path into the industry can be tough for many up-and-coming artists, and with social media being such a prominent promotional force in 2016, it’s a breath of fresh air to see musicians who’re prepared to get their hands dirty. Busking is a big priority within the folk and roots community, and it’s served as an alternative (yet more traditional) platform of self-promotion for Saber.
“If you manage to catch a person’s ear on the street and they end up liking your music, you’ve made fan out of it. To me, that interaction seems like a more legitimate form of promotion. Not to trivialise anything online – some people have incredible social media and video channels, and can obviously perform, but I think busking also hones [your] stagecraft. You could have a brilliant studio album, but if you can’t get onstage and perform, you aren’t getting anywhere with it. Busking is just a lot of fun too. It’s a very different experience from being on a stage.”
While he’s making steady progress, Saber isn’t one to rest on his early triumphs. Following the release of Clearer, he’ll hit the road in an attempt to broaden his success. “I have the intention of going up the east coast, and eventually around Australia, busking, with hopefully a fair few gigs to follow. Besides that, if time permits, I would like to get back into the studio and record another EP, or possibly an album depending on how the touring pans out.”
BY MICHAEL EDNEY
