Australian Atmospheric-Folk Songwriter Alexander William Shares Tender New Song “A Trip To The Art Gallery”
June 9, 2023 BY Jason Currell
Today, Melbourne-based atmospheric folk singer-songwriter Alexander William unveils his tender new song “A Trip To The Art Gallery”, out now via Nettwerk. Taking cues from the likes of Leonard Cohen and Ben Howard, William crafts lush melodies woven with poetic lyricism between ethereal instrumentals that create a netherworld of textured 21st -century folk music.
On the track Alexander William explains, ““A Trip to the Art Gallery” is about going to the art gallery to see a Monet with your partner. It’s also about spending so much time in the gallery browsing each and every artwork that by the time you finally arrive at the pinnacle of the experience, the Gallery is closing, and so you have to catch a fleeting glimpse at a priceless masterwork as you walk out the door. This song is also about wanting to be everything for someone.”
We are all searching for connection, some through words or touch, Alexander is looking for it through sound, looking for a way to feel purpose and meaning single by single, track by track. There is no desire to become successful that underpins each of his releases, instead he is driven to express the parts of himself that he doesn’t understand – the sides of himself that are even a stranger to him.
As long as the songs continue to come, Alexander William will continue to strive for this understanding, and to share it with the world.
Alexander William’s childhood wasn’t filled with music – he doesn’t boast of influences borrowed from his parent’s record collection – they gave him other things in life, but music was something he discovered for himself.
A trip through his songbook is like taking a journey through the singer-songwriter’s life. His music takes inspiration from every corner – from the blend of city and nature in his childhood home on the Gold Coast, the lyrical side from the old Irish and Scottish realms, his songwriting style from his childhood discovering the music of John Butler and Ben Howard, Damien Rice, and Leonard Cohen.
At 18 years old he chased love all the way to Africa. It was the distinct beauty of the place – a rich magic that you can’t find anywhere else – that truly affected his worldview. In that same year (2017), Alexander William released his debut EP, a collection of songs recorded in platinum-certified artist and producer Garrett Kato’s basement called the Truth EP.
Two years later, in 2019, his debut album Goodbye My Darling, My Darling Goodbye arrived. When Alexander first met Mr. Thomas Higley, it was the way his soft and delicate playing style complemented Alexander’s more dominant fingerpicking patterns that he immediately noticed. A few months after the meeting, across just three days, the pair had tracked the 16-song album.
Following the record’s release, the pair toured Japan, taking in small rooms throughout Tokyo, Osaka, and Kyoto.
Since then a pair of EP’s have followed, A Collection of Songs in 2021 and The time between then and now in mid-2022. Just four months later, Alexander released his second album, Thoughts from Another Time, a collection of 12 tracks that encompass Alexander’s experiences in the first half of his twenties.
Alexander William has shared the stage with artists including Harrison Storm, Tully John & Liza Jane, Sons of the East, Riley Pearce, Kodaline, and more.
