The Solo Bag

To Australian audiences Ben Ottewell is the baritone crooner in much-loved English band Gomez, who over the course of their 17-year history has found a strong affinity with audiences Down Under. Coming back again in solo guise with second album Rattlebag in tow, Ottewell admits that the connection his music has made here has always made touring Australia a priority. “There is a real affinity there, people are receptive and I always have a great time,” Ottewell asserts. “There is never that internal wince when travelling to Australia; it’s been one of the audiences that have always enjoyed being part of the show. With Gomez in particular there is always this essence of fun, and unless you are a genius like (Tom) Waits where it’s all about them, they are the spotlight, they are the act – the audience should be involved. That is what a gig should be.”

With Gomez on an indefinite hiatus, Ottewell has launched himself into his own material. Rattlebag was created in a more linear fashion than his debut Shapes And Shadows, and this immediacy coupled with his writing collaboration with Sam Genders (Tuung) has revitalised the songwriting process. “It’s definitely different [from Gomez], but the essential writing process is the same. I still sit around with an acoustic guitar and write a riff where everything then grows from. There isn’t the eclecticism of Gomez where there are four voices and ideas informing the songs though. With Rattlebag there’s a lot more focus and it’s more chronological; on Shapes And Shadows there were songs that were six, seven years old. Patience & Rosaries is the kind of song I’ve always been writing, it was the prototype. Get Miles was like that, Blackbird was like that – it defined the songs for that album. Once I nailed that song I knew where I was going. Working with Sam, the great thing about it is he is so open to it. I always work best through collaboration, and Sam is like a mirror; it’s a collaboration in the sense that at its basest level he will ask me, ‘What’s this about?’ and I will have to stop and think, ‘Shit, was is this all about?’”

With Rattlebag, Ottewell has crafted a suite of songs that flourish and evolve depending on the atmosphere of the night, which again puts the onus on him as a solo performer. “There was a bluesier focus on Rattlebag that can be brought out. I did a tour of the States as a trio with the guys I recorded with, and we were pretty fucking rocking! The idea for the record was somewhere between JJ Cale and Led Zeppelin III, so that tells you where it can go.”

The intimate nature of this run of shows – Ottewell will be on his own – gives audiences a rare chance to get up close and personal, which Ottewell relishes. “I get to see people a lot more,” he laughs. “I get to look them in the eye. Or maybe I’ll close my eyes. It’s an odd thing to get used to.”