Songs from the back country

HOMEGROWN favourite country music star Graeme Connors is back on the road with his new album.

From the Backcountry is his first new material since 2011’s At the Speed of Life.

With a career spanning 40 years and 17 albums, Connors is a legend of Australian country music who has penned hits for Slim Dusty, John Denver and Jon English, as well as himself.

A: Well basically recording the album. I started writing the songs in February and I was in the studio in April and that took well into May to have it recorded.

It all looks like it’s a snap your fingers and it happens but it is certainly not the case.

Q: Can you tell me a little bit about your new album?

A: The album is called From the Backcountry, and it’s the first album of new songs for some years. I have had several releases in between but one was a tribute to other Australian songwriters, called Kindred Spirit, and then my landmark album North was 25 years old in 2014, so there was a remixing and remastering of that.

This new album clearly represents what I have been doing in that time in terms of travel; there are some sort of locational songs like Kimberley Frontier, which reflects the time I spent in the Kimberleys in between. There is one called South Africa, where I performed last year, and that is reflected in some of the songs.

Q: From the Backcountry has been described as new musical ground for you. What does that mean for you and what can your fans expect from the album?

A: Musically it’s a little edgier than we have been in the past and I think that is reflected in the songs. There is a song called Black Mountain, and that’s a song about a real location in North Queensland where, if you haven’t been there, you can feel a presence.

It’s a very odd presence, it’s a bit like fear, and musically you try to capture that.

You’re working musically to ensure the lyrics get the best possible setting to bring forward the meaning of those words and that is where I think the idea of new terrain is featured in that way.

■ Graeme Connors will be performing at the Empire Theatre in Toowoomba on September 15. Log onto empiretheatre.com.au to book.