Answering his London calling

The Age

Friday March 25, 2011

Craig Mathieson

A thrillingly lonely path led Sparkadia's Alex Burnett to savour his Brit odyssey, writes Craig Mathieson. AUSTRALIAN musicians have been relocating to London for more than four decades, with acts as diverse as the Easybeats, Kylie Minogue and Hunters & Collectors making the move.A few prosper and many come home defeated by indifference and expense, so when Sparkadia's frontman Alex Burnett mentions that he's at a Kentish Town bus stop waiting for a double-decker ride home with the temperature below freezing, you could assume that he is destined to be among the latter.But the singer-songwriter says he's doing what millions of Londoners do and that's why he's convinced he'll be counted among those who benefited from the change."I didn't want to go to a city and be dislocated," Burnett says. "I wanted to say yes to things. I wanted to experience what other artists had experienced in making great records. I wanted to go outside my comfort zone and not hang out in the kinds of places Australians congregate."On his way back from a television taping of his flatmate's panel show pilot, Burnett can laugh about the initial pound-a-day food budget ��� beans were common, an egg a treat ��� and the sometimes fierce disinterest in what he had to offer. Having come of age in Sydney for Sparkadia's debut album, 2008's Postcards, he's been forced to shape up by London."London is a town that hugs and hits you in the face at the same time," he says. "You have to make sure that what you do is exceptional. Australia has such a beautiful way of living that I'd probably be lazy if I was back there, whereas here you're always trying to cover your rent or make sure that you're one of the people having a writing session with someone when they come to town for five days."But the music that has resulted from this English baptism is not grim. Instead, it's cushioned pop symphonies with grand keyboards and dramatic swoons. Sparkadia's second album, the just-released The Great Impression, puts aside the modest, pleasing alternative guitar sound for which they were known in favour of falsetto choruses and gospel influences. Stylistically, London has liberated Burnett."I thought guitars weren't as much fun as I used to after 18 months of touring, so I was thinking about strings that sound like old Hollywood scores and artificial choirs and harpsichords," he says. "When you're making a record you get this deluded belief sometimes that you have to make it easy for people to like you but I just went with what excited me."Burnett was able to make that transition partly because he didn't have to convince anyone to follow. Having toured as a quartet for Postcards, Sparkadia started losing members as the gigs wound down. It was a natural depletion but as band members moved on or started a family, Burnett found himself alone."At first I was pretty shocked but ... it felt amazing to only have myself to rely upon," Burnett says."I was able to make something bold and beautiful and pop."London was not his first destination following the band's depletion. Obsessing over late-'70s Bowie and Iggy Pop, he tried Berlin, moved on to Los Angeles and sampled New York. But it was London that clicked. Sparkadia have a budding career there but the vocalist still has a few local traits to master."I don't think I can be a pop star in London," he laughs, "because I'm not insulting people left, right and centre."Sparkadia play the Hi-Fi Bar tonight and tomorrow night.

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