Bag Of Tricks

“Those people who got involved in the campaign, I think they were pretty happy…” starts Bridie quietly. “There was a kind of looseness in thinking in putting together a record like this because it was for that project, and that was refreshing… You’re always trying to get a balance between making sure the material wasn’t too disparate, ‘cause it traverses a bit of terrain. And it was just stuff that I liked at the time. There was about four there that I would have loved to have put on Wake, but for mood, texture or subject matter reasons they didn’t make it. The Satellite Boy soundtrack I’d been working on so there’s a few things from there that I really liked, and the 15 Nuns Lie Floating In The South Pacific Sea is a track that is a cool collaboration that hasn’t really seen the light of day, so that was good to put on there. And a guy I play cricket with, he really liked this track Another Girl Another Planet, which was done about 15 years ago; that went on the CD and Robbo was pretty happy with that!” he laughs.

Bridie’s songwriting is a tough one to define because of his diversity in style and theme; he can go from political and mournful to tender or kooky in an instant, and with ease. This is where the charm of Take The Next Illusionary Exit lies, and an unlikely transition between the expansive string movements of Crisco into the dirgey, almost abrasive tones of Get Myself A Gun from The Straits soundtrack is a case in point. Bridie’s run of live shows in support of the release promises to be similarly brimming with dynamic.

“I’ll be on piano and have some films as well; I might rope a guest or two in. I’ve been doing a lot [of live performances] over in Canada and been doing a lot of it ‘round here in New South Wales and Victoria. Playing solo, it frees you up so the show can go through a whole lot of moods and draw from wherever you want – between all the Not Drowning, Waving, and the Chocolate Cake and the solo records, and some of the other things that Take The Next Illusionary Exit CD throws up, it can go where it needs to… I’ve got some gear with me that triggers some soundscapey work at times but yeah, it just goes all over the place! In a good way!”