Music man

UAE-born singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Adam Baluch releases his debut EP this month

Why’s it taken so long to release your debut songs?

I’ve been refining my sound. It’s been a long journey to get where I am now. I left the songwriting alone for a couple of years, and concentrated on playing gigs. During that time I discovered a sound. I was in a band with about eight people years ago in Australia. All my friends told me I had to go solo. When you’re solo you have nothing to hide behind so I had to prepare myself.

You’ve played support slots for Lily Allen and Lionel Richie, now you have an EP out, so what’s next? An album?

I think that will come a lot later. I think the less you give people to digest, the better. My plan is to keep on releasing singles every couple of months. I think that’s a better way of doing it, rather than having something huge to get through. A lot of people don’t have time for albums these days.

Is it a shame people don’t have the patience to listen to an album now?

It shows you the way things have gone, so as an artist you have to work with that.

Do you listen to albums?

Yes, if there is someone making interesting music that I want to hear I will listen to every track on the album. If it catches my ear I will listen to everything they’ve done. Maybe I have more time than other people.

Who are you listening to right now?

I’ve been so absorbed in this EP that I’ve not listened to much other stuff. But I really like Matt Corby. He hasn’t released an album yet but I think he’s brilliant. I saw him on Australian Idol first and I knew he had so much potential. I was hoping he didn’t win because the winners always go nowhere. Luckily he came second so had time to develop his craft. Vocally he’s unbelievably gifted.

You play many instruments including piano, guitar and trumpet – is there a danger that could sometimes muddle your musical direction?

You have to be really cautious with what you pick. I have all these options and it’s tempting to layer, layer, layer all the time, which can saturate the music with too many things. I need to know when to stop and strip it back. I think it’s important to keep it minimal and that’s what I learned from this EP – it’s all about finding the right sound for the song.

You’re 34 years old – is your sound still maturing?

I’m really happy with the music I’m developing now. In the past year I’ve added the keyboard to my sound and I think I’ll add a few more things in the future. Now it’s about fine-tuning the rest of my sound. Comparing myself to two years ago – it’s a different ballgame.

What else might you add to your musical arsenal?

Maybe a bit more beat box and more microphones. But it’s already a hassle going through airports with all the gear that I have, so maybe not!

soundcloud.com/adam-baluch