Rob Snarki How To Phone It In

One of the pledges was for Snarski to record a cover version of a requested song into his iPhone. As a result of this, Low Fidelity (Songs by Request Volume 1) took shape. 

“It started as such a humble little project and I guess after I collected all these songs, I wondered if anyone else would like them as much as I do,” reflects Snarski on the process behind Low Fidelity Volume 1. “I was really starting to enjoy these songs I recorded hastily, as they sounded different and almost like they had come from another era. I was constantly listening to them through my iPhone and it sounded like the songs had a lot of air and space and sounded other worldly, so I was really happy with it for something that I never intended to release initially. It was just a collection of tunes that people had requested, but now it has gathered a bit of momentum so I am really pleased.” 

Snarski likes the idea of people putting the songs from Low Fidelity Volume 1 into iTunes on their phones and playing it as they drift of to sleep. Because of the length of the album (18 songs) and the broad mix of songs, he is not sure it is a record that people will always listen to intently from start to finish. 

“It is more a record where you may sift through and find your favourite tracks, because it is songs that have been requested by other people. It is pretty eclectic mix when you think of the contemporary songs and the classic songs that have been recorded on here. I think it would be pretty bland if I had just concentrated on the big classics. I am not Michael Bublé and I wouldn’t be able to pull it off.” 

The notion of having his own name at the centre of a release is new to Snarski who has often been able to rely on other bandmates to share the load. It was only when Dan Luscombe suggested that Wounded Bird should be a solo album, that Snarski broke the shackles. 

“All of a sudden, I wasn’t standing in someone’s shadow any more and relying on someone else,” says Snarksi of Wounded Bird. “I realised pretty soon that it was a lot easier when you are working on your own terms and only with people who want to be involved in the project. It happens quicker, it is a lot less painful and there is a lot less waiting around. It has taken a very long, slow and painful process for me to get to the point where I can do this myself.” 

The accolades for Wounded Bird were incredible and Snarski has allowed himself to “bask in it a little.”  Earning an album of the year award on 3RRR and collecting numerous four-star reviews, Wounded Bird has become the most talked-about release he has been involved in for quite some time. There is something unspoken about the album that has connected it to many people.

“It’s hard for me to say if Wounded Bird was a special record, because I was just relieved more that anything else. I had these songs that had been waiting around to be recorded and we had so many hiccups with the making of the album. We lost hours of recording through corrupt hard drives and one of the computers was stolen, so really I just felt like curling up in a ball and getting people to kick me as they walked along. It was just a sense of relief and I’m glad it was out there and that I had the chance to be part of a pledge campaign where so many people wanted to hear me complete the record.”

Originally published by X-Press Magazine