Australia, the mysterious continent perched at the bottom of the globe, might best be known for Koala bears and Crocodile Dundee. But perceptions are about to change.
The sound of Savage Garden is about to turn all those myths you might believe about Down Under inside out.
Here is a band with a sound that is refreshingly different.
Savage Garden is at the forefront of a musical movement
currently surging away from guitar and angst-driven
alternarock into a world that is unashamedly pop. Yet,
unlike a lot of the music associated with this genre, Savage
Garden, by virtue of the duo's hooky and provocative
songwriting, offer substance within the group's irresistible
pop-sheen. Amidst the turbulence of sub-electronic grooves
and funk guitars, there's an undeniable authenticity in
Savage Garden's biting irony, linguistic gymnastics and
canny juxtaposition of musical styles. For singer Darren
Hayes and instrumentalist Daniel Jones, the rehearsal is over.
The pair met 4 years ago doing time on the local bar scene
in Brisbane. The story goes like this: Daniel advertises for a singer. Darren answers the call. They click. They leave the
band and, deciding to collaborate on their mutual musical
vision, go into hibernation, writing songs and sending out
demo tapes at a feverish pace. "We connected right from
the start," recalls Darren, "We were both so determined, so
ambitious that meeting seemed almost like coming home."
Response from publishers and record companies came fast. Soon they were sitting in a recording studio, sleeves rolled up and heads to the control board in the process of recording an album that would take almost 8 months to complete. "It was the biggest learning experience," explains Daniel. "We were still desperately trying to come to terms with the fact that we had begun the journey. We were in the process of actually doing what we had dreamed about all our lives."
The passion and enthusiasm for the music that Daniel
describes is evident in the sweeping diversity of style and
emotion on their eponymous Columbia debut. Incisive
wordplay, sweet love songs, and an avant-garde sonic
palette all merge together in a smooth bed of lush
electronics and moody rhythms, a refreshing and intelligent mix of tradition and technology. This fusion of sounds
perhaps explains the chemistry between Daniel and Darren,
who have often been described as chalk and cheese.
"I Want You," the pulsing 80's Europop-influenced first
single became a huge hit in their own country as the
highest-selling Australian single for 1996. The follow-up
second single, "To the Moon & Back," quickly went to
Number 1, surpassing the sales of the previous debut single. Suddenly an international deal with Columbia Records materialized. As Darren explains, "it seems like only yesterday I was sitting there praying for this. It has literally come from nowhere. If I sat and really thought about this I'd probably go crazy. We are just holding on for the ride, and so far the ride has been amazing."
The genuine thrill and unaffected enthusiasm this pair
exhibit (they are after all, only in their early 20's) comes
through in the music. One listen to the album and you know
Savage Garden is going for broke. Brimming with urgency of
love itself, many of the album's tracks explore the
intricacies of relationships. "To the Moon & Back"
addresses the insecurities of a teenage girl while musically
it suggests a theme much older and wiser. In Darren's
plaintive vocals and in Daniel's surging melodies, one can
feel the confusion, the hurt and longing. The mood swings
in the opposite direction with the aptly-titled "Truly Madly
Deeply," a love song distilled from the purity of the heart.
Acting as contrast and compliment, there's the biting snap
of the bass guitar alongside wailing guitars and nasty
sentiment in "Break Me Shake Me" and the overwhelming
feeling of betrayal in the brooding "A Thousand Words."
The diversity of the songs has as much to do with the
differences in the pair's personalities as it does to the
recording process. As Daniel explains, "'Universe' was
originally just an instrumental track. It was written for guitar
and sounded like Clapton meets Steve Vai. Then Darren got
his hands on it and now it sounds like Motown." Indeed, the
sexy groove and sweet crooning give the song a distinct
Smokey Robinson feel.
"We understand that we have had a couple of hits in our
home town and it's only now that we're venturing out into
the world. I think we realized from an early stage that this
career is not predictable. You never know where you'll be
tomorrow and there are no guarantees that we will achieve
all the goals we have set out. We have had some amazing
breaks and good fortune. All we can do now is continue to
write songs and do what we do best."
-Sony Music Online
