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The making of an urban legend: the music of Keith Urban
This month we get in deep with Country Deep™ Spotlight Artist: Keith Urban. In our exclusive interview, we go back to the beginning in Australia, examine his songwriting process, and talk about the thrill of playing live, his favorite new albums and artists, and his own new upcoming album Fuse.
The early years
- UGUIDE:
Having grown up in Australia, how did you first get into country music?
- Keith:
My dad was a drummer. He loved American country music, Charlie Pride, Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings. The list goes on. The first concert my dad took me to was Johnny Cash when I was five. So country was really the foundation for my music when I first picked up a guitar (at six), and that continued on all through my teenage years. When I was 15, I started playing in a band a couple of nights a week. Then I quit school and a couple of nights became six nights a week. A lot of country cover songs and a lot of whatever was on the radio at the time. That’s how it all got started. That, and I remember that I used to see “recorded in Nashville, Tennessee,” on the back of all these records when I was very young, probably seven or eight and I just remember thinking, that's where I want to go, that’s where I want to live someday.
- UGUIDE:
When did you know that music was going to be your life?
- Keith:
From the very first minute I walked on a stage. I loved playing live. I loved being in a band. I loved performing. Playing live was what music was and is all about for me. I never really thought about recording until much later. Really, up until I was probably 21 when I started writing songs.
The art of the song
- UGUIDE:
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What are your inspirations for songs, where do they come from for you? Do the music and melody come first, and the lyrics fit the rhythm, or do the lyrics come first?
- Keith:
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It really comes from everywhere. Because I play guitar, so much of it is music based, rhythm based, groove based, riff based. The themes of songs, that sort of thing, often come after. Not always, but certainly looking back, with the bulk of the songs that I’ve written, it tends to be more of an energy, a sonic thing that inspires me. I always feel like the music is telling a story and then it’s up to me to extract the story from that.
I think, because I grew up with a lot of AM radio and Australia pop music, catchy hooks and choruses were a big influence in the music I loved. Those things have always been present in the songs that I write. If I’m trying to say something, and you know this as a writer, there are many ways to say the same thing. As a singer I’m probably going to find something that sounds good. There may be a slightly more powerful, poetic way to say it, but there might be a better way to sing it, and I'll try and find the thing that work best.
The new music
- UGUIDE:
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Tell us about the new single “Little Bit Of Everything” and what we might be hearing when FUSE is released?
- Keith:
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With the single “Little Bit Of Everything” I was able to take elements of sound that I’ve used before and blend them together into a fusion of spirit and energy. Overall, for the album I really wanted to challenge myself musically and expand the boundaries of my sound, rhythm, and melody, while still remaining true to who I am. Working with various co-producers while making Fuse has been so inspiring and liberating — and we ain’t even done yet!
The playlist: current favorites
- UGUIDE:
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In terms of other music, what are you liking and listening to these days?
- Keith:
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Certainly Adele and Eric Church. Those two records from top to bottom, many, many times. I’ve listened to those a lot in the last couple of years. I would put those two records really high on the list of albums that have really appealed to me, for their songwriting and the way the records sound.
- UGUIDE:
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Are there any up-and-coming country artists that you’ve heard or that you’ve got your eye on these days?
- Keith:
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He’s not really country, but I love Jake Bugg. I was just riveted by his voice. He really taps into Hank Sr., that period, in such an extraordinary way. He really reminds everybody of rock ‘n’ roll and country and rockabilly and how it all came from the same little place — because you hear strains of Elvis in his voice just as much as you hear Hank Williams. I think that’s an extraordinary thing in this day and age to have somebody who is (what is he 19 or something?) writing these extraordinarily raw songs and singing like that. He’s really grabbed my attention.
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