Home Grown Tunes

"When I'm home, I'm tending to the garden; I really enjoy gardening, and one of the other hobbies I've taken up is brewing beer,” says William Elliott Whitmore, a chuckle not far off. “I'm no expert, but it's been a hobby I've really enjoyed, and it kinda goes with gardening, because I planted my own hops. To be able to grow my own hops to make my own beer, it bridges the gap between gardenin' and drinkin'.”

It's this DIY ethos that the 34-year-old Whitmore, a veteran of the US alt-folk scene, brings not only to his life off the road – on his farm in the middle of Iowa – but also to his music. Over the course of thirteen years and seven records, Whitmore has made an art of doing it himself, keeping it simple, free and beautiful, just like the land he loves so much.

His last release, 2011's Field Songs, was as indicative of this as anything he's done thus far – simple, sparse songs with no extras or overdubs, the only non-Whitmore sounds on the record being those of the birds and the wind through the trees, just outside the window of his homemade studio. William Elliott Whitmore is the real deal, make no mistake.

“Yeah, the style of that record lent itself really well to the live show, which is what I want because I'm mostly by myself,” he says on an album which, as its name suggests, is basic, which isn't to say it's not strong or powerful. “I've got songs on all my albums which are, you know, semi-sparse, and I add things like drums or whatever; but this one, I decided not to do any of that, and it really did lend itself to being taken on the road, and I really feel like people could enjoy it.”

Not that they haven't before, nor will in the future. As Whitmore says, he is starting to nibble around the edges of what will become his next record, and given his last was so sparse, it seems that the only way to go now is to beef it up. Or is it?

“Well, I don't know,” he muses. “I mean, how do you grow over time? It's kind of a struggle. When you're a pony like me that's only got a few tricks up his sleeve… how do you go forward? I definitely would like to bulk up the sound a little more in certain areas, [but] maybe strip it down even more. I like the idea of dynamics. I wouldn't mind trying a bit of everything.”

“It's an interesting path to go down, because singer-songwriters, before you know it, they've got horns on their records,” he laughs. “And that's cool, because you can't help but try new things.”

Going back to how you grow – Whitmore's music itself is quite uncomplicated, very much in the vein of the blues and the old folk songs from which it draws. But it's his lyrics, not to mention his gravel-raw voice, that mark his growth as an artist. He draws from the land where he lives, he can't help it, and it's through this influence that his music has grown these years gone.

“Yeah, it's very inspirational,” he says, looking out the window of his small music room, as he calls it. “This time of year the autumn colours are comin' on, there's a coldness in the air and it all kinda feeds the process… so yeah, I try to use all that.” Within the American heartland then, home to Whitmore and his DIY, his beer and homemade guitars, you can bet there'll be more, no matter how it comes out.

William Elliot Whitmore will be playing the following dates:

Saturday 23 March - Mojo's Bar, Fremantle WA
Sunday 24 March - Enigma Bar, Adelaide SA
Tuesday 26 March - Corner Hotel, Melbourne VIC
Wednesday 27 March - Annandale Hotel, Sydney NSW