One of this country’s finest singer-songwriters, Josh Pyke writes from the heart, sings with passion. Fortunately for him, troubadours are making a comeback on radio and in the charts.

Having only just finished up on his last tour at the end of February, including sold-out shows at both Melbourne Zoo and Sydney’s Taronga Zoo, Josh is back with yet another tour announcement.

Here he chats with Cream about his new album ‘But For All These Shrinking Hearts’, all that recent and forthcoming touring, and how his kids would rather watch David Attenborough than get into music…

Your most recent album ‘But For All These Shrinking Hearts’ is rather brilliant; rich in instrumentation and with some impressive song-writing. Still, were you surprised to see it debut so high on the charts at number two?

I’m always surprised and excited when a record gets a great debut. More than anything else a high debut means you have a really solid core fan base, and so to have that after 10 years is very gratifying and meaningful for me. I don’t care that much about chart success, but what it represents is important.

How did you celebrate when you heard the news?
We actually just had some low key drinks with the label and my management. It’s funny, I’ve never liked to make that big a deal about that stuff, so maybe I should have celebrated more!

What’s your story behind the title of the album?
I was in London and feeling a bit isolated. I wrote a short verse in my note book describing that which said “ you are a shadow held aloft, in a world less vast, but for all these shrinking hearts.” When it came time to name the album, that just sprung to mind and seemed to fit.

How long was the process to write and record ‘But For All These Shrinking Hearts’?

It took about 18 months from beginning to end. I was writing all throughout the touring around the previous album, and then pretty much went straight into the studio after the touring had finished, so there wasn’t much of a break.

Do you have a favourite phase in the writing/recording/promoting process?

I really love the mystery around writing, the way something can just appear from nothing, but I do adore the studio environment too. It’s like being a kid again, exploring and playing with the things around you. Promotion is definitely not my favourite though [laughs].

Your two children play a huge part in your life. Are they musical; at least take up any music lessons?
They seem to have a great appreciation for music, but it’s so much a part of their lives I don’t think they realise it’s something that some people don’t engage in the way my family does. I think as they get older they’ll get more into playing music, but they like dinosaurs and David Attenborough more than instruments at this point.

Do you have a Josh Pyke song that best represents you personally?
I think ‘New Year’s Song’ is one that always resonates with me, no matter what phase of my life I’m in.

You treated your key fans with fans-first shows on album release. How might the new album’s tour shows differ to the fans-first gigs?
The album tour will be full band, which is the major difference. Playing these kind of venues with the weight of the band behind me will be really special, and we haven’t actually done too many band shows for a couple of years, so I’m really looking forward to it.

Your Melbourne and Sydney legs of the tour involve ‘Zoo Twilight’ shows. Will the listener experience change vastly by comparison to your other shows?
I think the outdoor environment and the fact that they’re more family friendly venues will probably make for a more mellow concert experience. Although having said that I did the Melbourne Zoo show before and the punters got pretty loose, so you never know!

What’s next for Josh Pyke?
I’ll take this tour out to regional venues after the capital cities, and that will take up a lot of the year. After that I have a project I’m really excited about, but I can’t talk about that one yet!

Thanks Josh.
Thanks for chatting with me!

‘But For All These Shrinking Hearts’ is out now through Sony Music and available on iTunes.

For tour information visit www.joshpyke.com or click on the album art below.

SHOWS