WORDS BY
Jacqui James
LISTENING to Darren Middleton’s music puts your soul in a blissfully peaceful state. His lyrics and music come from somewhere within. This makes the stuff of a gifted songwriter.
If the name Darren Middleton sounds familiar, it’s because he was the lead guitarist of one of Australia’s most successful groups in the nineties and naughies… POWDERFINGER! After the band split, Darren found his own songwriting voice and what a poetic lyricist Darren is.
Darren’s currently celebrating the release of his new sweet country flavoured single “Favours” featuring his mate Missy Higgins, who lends her angelic voice the track. “Favours” is the third single from his 2015 album “Splinters”.
In fact, Darren likes to feature female vocalists on most of his tracks adding beauty and lightness to his meaningful lyrics. I strongly urge you to have a listen to Darren’s music on his Soundcloud page.
At the moment, Darren is touring Oz, doing Day On The Green gigs with his mate Pete Murrary and new mate the lovely Rob Thomas! I do believe you can still score tickets by clicking HERE. I’m looking forward to seeing Darren on Saturday!
Thankyou very much for your precious time Darren and I’m looking forward to hearing your music live on Saturday.
Hi Darren! How are you? How are you going on your Day On The Green gigs with Pete Murrary and ROB THOMAS?
It’s safe to say I love every minute I have on stage…getting to the stage and generally being involved with music. Pete is a good friend of mine and it’s always easy to hang out with him.
Can you describe your life after Powderfinger? Was it a sad split or a sigh of relief?
It was mixed emotions really…both what I expected and a lot of the unexpected. I certainly went through a big period of time feeling a little lost and directionless but from that, I found my way back to my love of creating and expressing through music. I love it more than ever basically and consider myself very fortunate to be doing it.
You’re obviously still great mates with your ex-bandmembers from Powderfinger as you invited them to share the stage with you during your “Splinters”
album tour last year. What was this feeling like?
It was really exciting for all of us I think. There’s just a natural chemistry that exists and a looseness that only time spend grants. I’m thinking of making it an annual event!
“Favours” is your latest single. I must say the lyrics are truly beautiful and poetic. You have the angelic Missy Higgins singing on the track and her voice has the perfect tone for the track. How did you organise Missy to be involved?
Well I’ve known her for quite a while, she lives round the corner from me and we had crossed paths during the Powderfinger years on and off the stage. I had her clearly in my head when writing it, I just felt she would be the perfect compliment to the song and I’m really glad she liked the song enough to be involved…she makes the chorus beautiful.
You like to involve beautiful female vocalists in your songs which give your tracks a sublime beauty. Why do you like a feminine touch to your music?
I didn’t set out that way, however with this record, a lot of the stories/lyrics involve a female character as counter so naturally I sought them out. I had come across a few younger singer/songwriters that I wanted to shine a light on over the last couple of years also and it was a good chance to do that. I will continue to feature other singers that I feel have something special to offer…
What is your one thing which influences your writing? Observing others or drawing from personal experiences?
Mostly personal to tell you the truth….at times a little too close to home for anyones comfort! I just feel that if you can excavate your own heart and life…you will find a connection with others, because we are all not so different…we all go through a lot of similar experiences in life.
It seems like you like keeping yourself busy as touring again in mid 2016! Can fans expect new music from you before then?
Yes, I hope so…I have a few new tunes kicking around so I’ll try and let them find a way out.
Thank you very much Darren for chatting with me, especially during touring! I really appreciate it.
English
Great interview Jac!