Rock, pop, classical, jazz and clubbing
Ahead of a national tour to support his latest album, this national treasure reflects on what’s made him so darn productive. By Meg Crawford
When Bob Geldof was asked to nominate the bands that shaped music in the ’70s, he named a triumvirate of the Sex Pistols, Ramones and the Saints. Ed Kuepper co-founded the Saints, together with Chris Bailey, in Brisbane back in ’75. Since then, he’s continued to shape the face and direction of Aussie music: from the post-punk Laughing Clowns to his recent solo outing with LP Lost Cities. Released in December 2015, Lost Cities is the first album where Kuepper is flying entirely solo and electric.
The release marks two milestones: it coincides with his 60th birthday and happens to be (roughly, if you discount bootlegs and compilations) his 50th album. That’s some prodigious output. “It’s something that I feel I have to do and it’s both a source of great pleasure and sometimes great pain when it’s not working,” he says. “So I guess [music] is some kind of compulsion. It’s possibly unhealthy, but it’s a probably a better activity than being in politics or some such. I’ve wanted to do it for as long as I can remember ever since I was nine or ten. I don’t think I’ve had any other kind of real interest.”
Kuepper shies away from describing himself as prolific though. “Sometimes I go for long periods where I can’t write anything and other times I write so much that it doesn’t see light of day for years afterwards,” he says. “It’s fairly erratic. Though, if you were to ask what a good approach was? To try and be disciplined about it. That helps. Do a bit of writing every day. I say that all the time, but I never do it. I just go through bursts where it works.”
Maybe Kuepper so consistently produces the goods because he’s always had a vision of his own artistic purity – even from when he was new to the game. “My notion of artistic purity is simple really,” Kuepper says. “What you do artistically has to be your own little area of turf. You have to carve out something for yourself. Although, nothing comes from nowhere, there’s so much music out there that everyone draws on, so the best you can do is synthesise it to some extent and make it your own little piece.
“I’m always trying to broaden what I do to an extent without diverging from that very little simple rule.”
Indeed, that’s probably a good rule by which to live full stop. “It probably is. What I do as an artist is so much of my life, they’re inseparable anyway.”
Melbourne Recital Centre 31 Sturt St, Southbank 3006. 03 9699 3333. www.melbournerecital.com.au. 8pm. $48.90-$58.90. Sat Apr 2.
“Be disciplined. Do a bit of writing every day”