Connors Kindred Connection

When I call Graeme Conners he has just welcomed the dog washer into the house. This modest man who works from 5 in the morning to midday each day is known as the country and coastal singer who had enormous success with his album ‘North’ which coincicentally celebrates it’s 25th annivesary this year.

Graeme is a frequent visitor toTasmania and with the list of names he runs off he may know Tasmania better than a local! Dover, Southport, Cradle mountain, Freycinet are all places he loves to visit and he tells me when he does visit he and his touring party often take an extra week apart from performances to enjoy the experience.

Graeme’s latest project grew out of discussions with musical historian Glen A Baker about creating an album of songs made famous by other Australian musicians and Graeme giving his individual spin tot hem. The songs collected aren’t all necessarily hits but are defined as great songs, some are not known to the wider public but hidden gems,each is a perfect example of Australia although not overtly so. In a more subtle way each of the songs of ‘Kindred Spirit’ are a crystallisation of the Australian persona.

The most recognisable songs on the album are John J Francis’s ‘Play Mumma Play’, Shane Howard’s ‘Flesh and Blood’ and Richard Clapton’s ‘Capricorn Dancer’.

Graeme once again teams up with producer Matt Fell who he calls his ‘ secret weapon’. As an added treat you will also hear star of The Voice, Darren Percevil on backing vocals.

Graeme sees ‘Kindred Spirit’ as a sabattical for him being allowed to enjoy singing material that is not his own.

Graeme, who rarely performs other material believes that there is a sense in todays music industry that the only music that is considered credible is that written by the performer themselves and is autobiographical in nature but he says it was not always that way, in past periods singers performed songs they didn’t write themselves but often proved to have the definitive version. Human nature being what it is, a song has a life of its own that touches everyone differently, whatMorris Gleitzman called the “magic spaces” where the song and listener meet in a unique relationship. Some of the worlds greatest singers have managed to infiltrate those spaces to make a song their own.

Be the judge of Graeme’s ability in ‘Kindred Spirit’ and with the 25th anniversary of ‘North’ it’s very probable we will see him in Tasmania sometime soon.

‘Kindred Spirit’ is out now.
Paula Xiberras