What can we expect to see from you over the next year?
The next year for me is touring. I'm off to Europe in July and will be back before Christmas, going round as much of Europe as we can, trying to squeeze in as many shows, and then we'll swing back through America.
Who are your favourite NZ musicians/bands, and why?
I really like Anika Moa's new album a lot. I think it's bold. The Ruby Suns' album is worldly, and I like their tour schedule! I just heard simon Comber's new record too, its heart is in Dunedin but its head in Auckland. It's pretty classic.
What will your next release be?
My next release is my 3rd album 'Big World', it's just come out.
How do you come up with your lyrics?
For the lyrics to this record, I went to Spain, and I wrote about 20 postcards to friends and family and didn't end up sending them, and then when I sat down to write lyrics, I realised I had a heap of stuff already down and it all fit perfectly.
What is your favourite place in NZ to be?
My favourite NZ place is Queen Street, Auckland, I know there's so many beautiful spots around the country, Milford Sound, Te Anau, the Glaciers, Northland, all that is truly stuff of beauty, but I love Queen Street from top to bottom.
What inspired you to become a musician?
My father inspired me to become a musician, in a weird round about way and he would be suprised to hear that, cause he isnt a musician. He has passion for a certain style of music to hear, but mainly I would say him, because of the joy he showed by bringing home a new record for us to listen to, and he'd say, 'now sit in front of the speakers, listen to the words and don't talk!', later on, mum has had a major influence on me cause she is obsessive about music, about its history.
What is the best gig you have ever performed at, and why?
The best show by far was at Womad in 2008, being on stage with Neil Finn, Don McGlashan, and about 40 others singing 'throw your arms around me' for the final set of the festival. Also Womad that year marked the last show of my band with Anika Moa and Anna Coddington, which was special, a good way to go out!
By the time Tim Guy formed his first high school band in Papua New Guinea, he’d been to ten schools in wildly different parts of Australia. Yet even then he showed rare artistic focus: “We played only Chuck Berry songs”. Tim has since lived and played throughout Australia, Europe and an extended stint in New Zealand, before settling in his current home of Melbourne. This could account for the two big things that strike you about his music: its worldly, colourful eclecticism and the ease with which he moves through it. It’s big, ambitious music with a real person at its core, marked by an easy confidence that draws you in.
Tim’s richly varied albums chart the growth of a unique songwriting voice: the assured, largely acoustic debut Blazey (Melbourne and Christchurch, 2004); the shimmering bedroom jangle of Hummabyes (Auckland, 2007); the pocket symphonies of Big World (conceived in Spain and recorded in Auckland, 2010) and the dusty, wide open contemplation of Dreaming of a Night Mango (conceived in Northern New South Wales and recorded in Melbourne, 2013). This broad palette only proves the steady hand and vision of the artist. At a time when a “sound” can be thought of as enough, Tim Guy stands out as a servant of the song. After all, as a great mind once asked, why can’t we have both?
It was by serving the songs that Tim built his latest album Chords, released in October 2015. Each time he had a new song and sufficient savings he entered the studio, allowing uncommon patience and care. In contrast to the solo intimacy of his previous album, Tim was accompanied this time by a talented team including drummer Gus Franklin (Architecture in Helsinki, The Smallgoods) and bassist/synth-player Shags Chamberlain (Ariel Pink, Lost Animal). “Gus and Shags happen to be old high school pals of each other and have been playing together for years, so it was great to be cutting tracks as a three-piece in the studio with those guys,” Tim explains. “There’s a lot of love between them, and a lot of vibe.”