Shine A Light On Me

You mightn't recognise the name, The Starry Field, but you've probably heard delightful singles All Of My Love and Baby I'm A Car Crash recently. And you probably don't think you're familiar with the name Mark Myers, either. But if you watched The Middle East live during their last few tours, or you've listened to the latest stuff from Emma Louise and Sleepy Tea, then you've experienced the man's musical genius.

Now Myers is stepping out of the studio. He's putting down the lagerphone. And he's giving us Back On The Milks, a varied debut that takes his love for folk music, injects it with pop sensibilities, and splashes it with electronic colour. It's a release that will quickly find its way into your heart. But what makes it so versatile is the fact that Myers wasn't precious about where ideas were birthed or how they were put together. He just wanted to create a memorable experience for the listener, cover to cover.

“One of the tracks was written by a friend of mine, and he played it at my house one time at a house show, and I thought, 'Wow, I really like that song, it doesn't sound like something he would have written, it actually sounded like something I would have written',” he recalls. “It was only afterwards [that he said] he was trying to write something like I'd write, and then he said, 'I'm probably not going to use it. If you want it, you can have it'. So I said, 'Yeah, I'll have it'.

“I worked a little bit on the flow because I've been recording and writing songs for a while, so it's quite varied in that sense,” he continues. “And just trying to get the tracklisting right... There's a couple of... I got my dad to tell a few stories, just because I like his stories, and there's a couple of them linking some tracks. I think it all ties together probably by my lyrics and vocals, but it was a little bit of a trick. But I feel like it comes across as a whole thing as opposed to, 'Oh, this guy doesn't know what sound he's going for'. I feel like it's a cohesive piece, but it's varied as well. It's a bit of a fine balance.”

Using his father's narratives during passages of the record has given Back On The Milks additional gravitas for Myers, with tracks such as The Fisherman paying tribute to the life of his old boy.

“My dad is not doing very well, he's probably on his last legs,” Myers concedes. “It's been a tough time lately and he's been a big inspiration on me getting it done, like, it's been in the works for a while – I could have done an album years ago. But I just wanted to do something that he'd be proud of.”

The rest of the album is rooted around Myers, his experiences locally in Cairns and also out on the open road. And if success follows the musician, it sounds like there'll be plenty more tales ready for music in the future.

“At the beginning [the goal] was just to put a record out for friends and other people that have been asking at a couple of shows,” he admits. “But since then I thought maybe I could do some more touring. I love touring, I love getting out and seeing the country, so having a record out, it's just something that you can do. If you can get out and travel with your mates it's just the best thing.”

The Starry Field will be playing the following dates:

Wednesday 3 April - The Beetle Bar, Brisbane QLD
Friday 5 April - Brighton Up Bar, Sydney NSW
Thursday 11 April - The B. East, Melbourne VIC
Saturday 13 April - The Bird, Perth WA