Ash Grunwald is on the road again, with a new album, Bluesfest Studio Sessions, due for release celebrating his 10th appearance at Bluesfest earlier this year.
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He's playing at Lizotte's in Lambton on Saturday, October 21.
Grunwald released the second single from the new album on Friday, a reimagination of the Bill Withers soul classic Ain't No Sunshine.
His soulful six-minute version is a dub-blues collaboration with rhythm 'n' groove maestro Bobby Alu and Ian Peres on Moog.
The song starts as a mellow, contemplative, almost Dub style blues ballad, then ends in a full-blown blues rock jam, with Alu's silky-smooth vocals illuminate the sense of sunset.
"I'm stoked with how this collab with Bobby Alu (vocals/drums) came together, while jamming with our mate and musical genius, Ian Peres (keyboards), on Ain't No Sunshine," Grunwald says.
"Bill Withers was a special human who combined soulful grooves with thoughtful singer-songwriter lyrics, which were often rooted in deep insights on how we can treat each other better, to live happier lives.
"This has always been a strong theme in my own songwriting, meanwhile I've heard these sentiments echoing through Bobby's work as well. It also goes without saying that we both love a good groove, so this song made perfect sense.
"We also used it as a platform to launch into a good time free form jam, which also gave Ian's genius the time and space to shine."
NEW ALBUM
Grunwald recorded the new album at Brooklet Studios (previous known as LaCuerva) in Byron Bay with Ian Peres (Wolfmother, Bernhard Fanning), Bobby Alu (Xavier Rudd), and producer Nick DiDia (Springsteen, Pearl Jam, Rage Against The Machine) to record the set the trio played at Bluesfest 2023.
The album is released on November 17 through Delta Groove/MGM. It features favourites curated from a career and catalogue spanning 20 years.
With six Australian Top-50 albums to his credit, alongside five ARIA and four AIR Award nominations, two APRA Awards, and gong for Best International Act at the LA Music Critic Awards in 2014, Grunwald is cast in bronze among Australia's most successful blues musicians.
Jim Kellar
Jim Kellar writes about culture, art, food, drinks and music. He's been a journalist at the Newcastle Herald since 1997. jkellar@newcastleherald.com.au
Jim Kellar writes about culture, art, food, drinks and music. He's been a journalist at the Newcastle Herald since 1997. jkellar@newcastleherald.com.au
