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 Guy Blackman’s debut album is a musical exploration of his long-term gay relationship, writes Richard Watts.
“My sexuality is something I deliberately address in my music,” says Guy Blackman, the softly-spoken, bespectacled Melburnian behind local indie label, Chapter Music.
“Having spent a lot of time wondering what you can do or say in music now that hasn’t been done a million times before; and thinking about what I can offer as a songwriter that will add something to the canon, rather than just repeating what’s gone before; for me it’s like realising that there aren’t too many people who have written songs about their long-term committed relationship with another man, you know? It’s not something that comes up in song-writing very often.”
Blackman’s sexuality, and his relationship with his partner, is referenced often throughout the songs that make up Adult Baby, his debut solo album.
“My songs explore the dynamic of being with a same-sex partner for a long time. Like, my boyfriend and I have been together for 13 years now, so I guess it’s that, more so than the whole sexuality question that’s [important]. It’s exploring my own relationship with one person,” he explains.
Adult Baby is not Blackman’s first ever album, however. He’s been involved with a number of other bands previously, including Sulk and Sleepy Township; while his love for music has seen him writing regularly for The Age, on top of releasing other bands’ music through his independent record label. As a consequence, Blackman is well established among Melbourne’s live music scene – a fact that is reflected in the wide range of guest artists appearing on the album.
Members of bands such as Art of Fighting, The Dirty Three and The Crayon Fields – as well as honorary Melburnian Jens Lekman, a regular visitor from Sweden – play alongside Blackman, on songs which are noticeably more subdued than the pop-oriented tunes he wrote while playing in Sleepy Township.
“In some ways it’s kind of like going back to what I used to do; Sulk, for example, was me and a cellist and a violin player, and I was playing acoustic guitar. There were a couple of pop songs but a lot of what we did was very quiet and very quiet. So I’ve kind of gone full circle.”
Which isn’t to say that the album lacks a pop sensibility.
“I wanted there to still be a few up-tempo moments on the record, but I don’t know, I guess it’s a chance, after the end of some of the bands I’ve been in, to explore other atmospheres,” Blackman thoughtfully concludes.
Adult Baby is out now through Inertia Music.
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