Gary Sutcliffe
... is a songwriter and producer from the coast of Brisbane, Australia. Growing up on a mushroom farm in regional Queensland, Gary is well travelled spending an extended period in both Europe and Tonga in the South Pacific giving influences to his writing. His songs have been described as having deep meaning & emotion, most originally written with just his vocals and acoustic guitar, he has chosen to take some further. Gary's styles span from folk rock to neo soul.
Who is Gary Sutcliffe and how did you get into music?
I grew up on a mushroom farm in regional Australia with farmland and nature all around me, later moving to the vibrant live music scene of Brisbane. Like many artists I grew up surrounded with a wide range of music, my mother played piano and had music playing in the house a lot of the time, with my brother and I enrolled in the local choral society at a young age.
A bit later I started writing down the words to songs that came into my head. But it wasn’t until I learned guitar a few years later that I could bring the words to life, I kept these songs mostly to myself for a number of years.
Your latest release "Journey to the moon" creates an amazing Neo-Soul meets Jazz atmosphere, what was your inspiration?
I was living in a share house in Brisbane at the time I wrote this song, with everyone around me seeming to be searching for their path in life, as was one of my close friends, I woke up one morning with this song in my head, quickly grabbing some paper I start writing down the words, then my guitar to work out the melody and chords.
I was listening to a lot of an alternative rock band called “george” around that time which definitely influenced the song, band member Katie Noonan is classically trained, bringing a Jazz influence to their songs (example: spotify). The original acoustic recording I made then sat on the shelf for a few of years.
The vocal part gives the song definitely that something, how was it to work with SHOOSHI?
I was so lucky to get such an amazing singer, also classically trained, who could see my original vision for the song and work with me on the vocals. SHOOSHI is so professional and such a great person to work with.
Also the Sax sounds amazing, was the Saxophone line always planned as part of the song or was it born during the creative process?
Originally I was asking for clarinet and sax players to work with me on this (I’m also a Glenn Miller fan), but after a young guy heard the track and sent me a message saying I think you should keep it to Alto Sax, I took a listen to some of his amazing work and I agreed.
What do you prefer: a studio session or the stage?
I find producing a track a bit of indulgence, as I have been so lucky to work with such amazing musicians, so studio sessions and production are where I feel most creative. The stage is where I currently do my raw acoustic performances, which is more out of my comfort zone, but keeps me connected to people and reminds me why I like writing songs so much, if I can make people feel anything I have done my job.
Who would you most like to collaborate with?
Katie Noonan, unfortunately she wasn’t available for this project.
What's your favorite song at the moment?
I found a little gem that went under the radar, “Silver and Gold” by Loren Ryan (spotify)
What can we expect from you in the near future?
I plan to release a couple more singles before an album release next year. Former principal violinist Adrian Keating (now director http://www.sydneylyricorchestra.com.au/) has already finished the strings arrangement for one of my songs which I plan to re-release on the studio album (preview available at garysutcliffe.com).
