Whether it’s Mullum or Madrid, it’s always an adventure
Singer-songwriter, guitarist, music critic and author – if you turned on a radio in the ‘80s you’d know who Robert Forster is – or at the very least you would have heard his music. With nine studio albums as co-founder of the indie rock legends The Go-Betweens, and with eight solo albums, up to and including 2023’s The Candle and the Flame, Forster has been forging forward for 47 years. Seven spoke to Forster last week at his home in Brisbane, ahead of his next show featuring at the Mullum Roots Festival Launch Concert on Sunday at the Mullum Ex-Services Club.
It sounds like you’ve been doing a lot of stuff.
I HAVE been doing a lot of stuff. Opportunities come along and if you’re a musician these days, you’ve got to do a lot of stuff to survive, to make it all work – that’s just the nature of things these days.
You were in Europe for May and June?
I was in the UK for two days and the rest of the time I was touring in Europe which was fantastic. I very much enjoy touring, it’s like a holiday to me as well. I enjoy travelling and going to different places so there’s another aspect to it – there’s always playing the show, but you know, whether it’s Mullumbimby or Madrid, there’s also an adventure side, a tourist side.
Awesome – what was the most fun thing about Madrid?
Well, the most fun thing about Madrid was that I’d been in London where it was raining and 18 degrees and then I flew to Madrid and it was 33 degrees – there’s people in cafes at 10pm, 11pm, midnight, families eating on the sidewalk. That’s the thing about Spain – it does remind me weather-wise of Australia
What was the most fun thing about Mullum?
I’ve been there many times as a visitor and always liked it. I played there at the Mullum Music Festival. I played in this fantastic community hall and it’s one of the favourite shows of my life – it was just a really beautiful atmosphere with people sitting around, and they were serving tea and biscuits and cake. I was on stage and it just felt really good to me.
Clearly you’re a multitasker. When you’re travelling and touring, where is your brain? Are you able to swap in and out of your book-writing brain?
When I’m touring I really use it as a way to get away from book writing. I’ve got plenty of time to do that at home here in Brisbane, so when I travel I just really want to do the show at night as best as I can and just enjoy the day. When I’m in Europe I travel by train so I sort of go on the road to leave that behind.
‘Travelling on Trains’ sounds like a new album…
It does! I mean, it’s inspirational – looking out the window. You get time to think which is great.
What else inspires you?
Everyday life inspires me. My songs are pretty much linked to what’s around me. There is so much that is wonderful in everyday life. It can be so strange, it can be so weird. It can be so funny. It can be moving. It’s all that, that I plug into. Just living and observing what’s around me.
What’s your current earworm?
I was listening to Neil Young the other day. He’s got an album called On The Beach, which he put out in 1975, and I just find that a great travelling down the highway album, especially if you are going to the beach! So I listened to that when I was driving last week. I love that album. Love it. Love it (me too – Ed).
Are you having enough fun?
I am! And I think a big thing about having enough fun is having enough sleep. And I’m a big believer in sleep and getting enough of it so you’re primed to have fun. If you’re tired, you’re not fun.
You’re coming down to play at the launch of the Mullum Roots Festival – how does it feel to be part of the beginnings of a new festival?
It’s a great honour, it think it’s fantastic. I’ve seen that the people that put on the Nimbin Roots Festival want to bring it to Mullumbimby, and I think that’s a really smart idea, and I’m thrilled to be doing a show that is part of the beginnings of this festival.
Will the punters be hearing any new music?
Maybe… maybe one song that I played in London, I’d like to play that. Yeah, I will be definitely playing something new. I’m really looking forward to heading down the highway.
The Mullum Roots Festival Launch Concert is on Sunday from 7pm, at the Mullum Ex-Services Club. Tickets: www.trybooking.com/events/landing/1240478? Or at the door.
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