Perth velvet voiced minstrel, Madoc Plane has come sauntering across the country on desert winds with his debut release 'Lilac in June.' A soothing soul tune for the heart, 'Lilac in June' combines hints of juniper, Jeff Buckley spritz & a drop of honey to drizzle the smoothest track into your tender ear holes. 'Lilac in June' was brewed with love at the Tone City Production studio with the help of maestro Sam Ford.
We were lucky enough to have Madoc on the old string and two cans to get a slice of the Lilac pie:
Tell us about yourself! Where does the name come from? What led you to your current position? How long have you been playing? I want to know everything there is to know about the absolute legend named Madoc Plane!
"Firstly, thanks for having me on for the Q&A, I’m just super stoked to have finally released some of my own music! I’m a 22 year old singer-songwriter from Perth and I’ve been singing and performing for as long as I can remember. I’ve only just finished my studies at WAAPA and was lucky enough to graduate with First Class Honours in the Bachelor of Music.
There are some incredible artists that have come out of WAAPA including the likes of Meg Mac, Noah Dillon, Blake Rose, Kyle Charles Hall, Dulcie and Supathick… who I’m all big fans of! I’d love to add to this list of talented artists through the contribution of my own music!"
Your voice is absolutely incredible. I was wondering what influences you draw from? And also, who have you been listening to recently? Give us some of your favourite tunes or artists to wrap our ears around! I want to view life through the lens of your ear holes…
"I’ve always been inspired by the vocals of Jeff Buckley, Matt Corby, Jordan Rakei and Allen Stone. What I also love about those artists is their song-writing style and their ability to combine an intricate melody with complex harmony. As part of my Honours degree, I wrote a dissertation on Jeff Buckley’s vocal characteristics in his song, 'Grace.' Being able to research Buckley’s vocal ability definitely amplified my love for music and singing.
Recently, I’ve been listening to a lot of Jordan Rakei’s latest album, What We Call Life, and also Yebba’s album, Dawn. Some of my favourite tunes that I would recommend listening to would have to be:
o 'You and Me' - Jordan Rakei
o 'Grace' - Jeff Buckley
o 'Brown Eyed Lover' - Allen Stone
o 'Over' – Robert Glasper and Yebba"
Your debut single ‘Lilac in June’ has just come out. What can you tell us about the track? What is it about? What inspired you to write it? What do you really like about it, lyrically or production-wise?
"I wrote 'Lilac in June' early last year as part of a song-writing component in my degree. During that time, I was doing a lot of writing/producing at home, and this was the one tune that seemed to fall into place perfectly. I just remember finishing the chorus and knowing that this was going to be something special.
From a song-writing perspective, the melody and harmony in the song is really what comes first for me, while the lyrical theme ends up being the last thing I look at. I tend to try and draw emotion out of the music and then attach a lyrical meaning to it after.
Lyrically, the song discusses the idea of holding onto a feeling of hope when you have lost something special but knowing that it will come back. I liked using the metaphor of the seasonal blooming of a Lilac flower to help represent this feeling. Luckily enough, Lilac’s bloom in June which helped when trying to make the hook more catchy!
The tune really developed when I brought it to the band (Joel Dalton – Drums, Blake Weller – Bass, Ben Lazzaro – Guitar, Trevor Stockton – Keys) as they were able to expand on the musical ideas, while adding their own influences to the song. As a group, we all have very similar musical influences, which helped us to collaborate really well. Furthermore, Tone City producer, Sam Ford was able to draw out all the emotion and musical colour to bring the song to life.
For me to feel confident enough to finish a song, there needs to be a moment in the process where that particular song has been my favourite thing to listen to. That was absolutely the case with 'Lilac in June.'"
You’re no doubt working on some new music! What is in the works, and what will it sound like? What can we expect from Madoc Plane this year?
"Since finishing up at WAAPA, I’ve had plenty of time to develop my song-writing and producing craft in order to give myself every chance at creating the sound that want to create. I’ve got plenty of music in the works and through working closely with my band and Sam Ford there will hopefully be a couple more singles or even an EP in the coming months."
Do you have any upcoming live gigs, shows or tour plans we could hype up?
"I'm playing a 'Lilac in June' single launch at El grotto on the 22nd of April, supported by local talent Ken Paolo and the Space Cadets, and Sago. Hopefully the first of many gigs!"
The last two years were so weird for the whole music industry. Some people used the free time really creatively to write new songs, and others were destroyed by the live scene evaporating. What was your experience like over the last two years with the old ‘Rona? How do you think it affected the music industry & live scene?
"When covid first kicked off I tried to use the time at home as efficiently as possible and guess this is when I first really started to develop my song-writing and production ability. Prior to investing my time into my own music, I was singing in a band called Ferncroft, and we lost a lot of momentum during covid due to the fact that we weren’t about to play gigs and build our fan base.
I think that the last few years demonstrates how much emphasis needs to be placed on the importance of the music industry (especially local music) in times like these. We’ve seen that the music industry hasn’t been prioritised by the government in terms of helping out local music and supporting local artists. I think that this has made the music community closer than ever and shows just how resilient the music industry is."
You heard it loud and clear from the Voice of a Thousand Tears, April 22nd is the date to get your shiny shoes on and your dancing tie primmed and proper. 'Lilac in June' is out now on all your dog's favourite sound services. Madoc Plane is landing near you. See the hair behind the man.