Fifteen years and nine albums on since we first heard from Ash Grunwald with his Introducing album, he has released his new song Hammer to the world, and is touring off the back of it across Australia. It’s a tune that’s been lying dormant for over a year, in a recording sense, but if you’ve seen him perform live in that time it’s likely you’ve heard it already. “Really more so than any other song I’ve done, it’s a real one that gets the audience singing really loud”, he says.
He put it straight into his live repertoire as soon as he wrote it, but the recording hasn’t seen the light of day until now for reasons beyond his control. It was written for an album that he “punched out pretty quickly in America with all American players, and that album is sort of in limbo at the moment.” He can’t explain why, other than the fact that “the guy who produced it and bankrolled it and did everything with it has just gone a little quiet for a while.” Grunwald still holds out hope that the mystery album will be released at some point, as he is extremely proud of it and the “legends” who played on it, sporting a cast of American “who’s who” of the music industry. Grunwald was tight-lipped about names, but did mention that they had played with the likes of Bob Dylan and Stevie Wonder in their time, and his album featured backing vocals from the legendary Terry Evans.
The silver lining from the experience was that Grunwald prioritised his life – “when that didn’t happen last year… it really helped me to just go ‘right! I’m going to Bali, and then surf. I’m going to do a couple of events every now and then and just relax. Because i’ve been pushing for so long.” So, Grunwald now lives in Bali, making this Australian tour a rare opportunity to catch him in action.
As well as instigating a move to Bali to focus on his family, Grunwald has decided on a new, or rather, old direction for his music. “When I first started, and did a really bluesy album, it was always with a view to messing around with the more futuristic bluesy kind of sound. But I wanted to start out acoustic and move towards that. And I did that for a series of three to four albums, to a place that that by the time I did Fish Out Of Water it was really down that path. I really loved that process.” And now, having explored future blues, rock, psychedlic sounds and more, he says it’s time to return to his roots. “It was like, ok, I’ve done all those other things – there’s nothing else I’m really dying to do when it comes to blending my sound with any other sound. I’m just feeling like it’s time to do more of a traditional album with less stuff in it.”
He likens it to The Boss: “For example, in a completely different genre, you know, you put on Bruce Springsteen’s Nebraska and you just listen to a voice. And then there’s a little bit of guitar in there, and it’s kind of relaxing. And now, fifteen years on since I did Introducing, that feels fresh to me.”
So we have that new music to look forward to, but in the meantime Ash Grunwald is in Australia for a run of shows, and he’s bringing someone special with him on bass. “I’ve got Uncle Tio, who i have known for a long time and know him through Xavier Rudd. We toured around the US together a few years ago and just had a great time! As you know, my heritage is South African and he is this african dude from South Africa and he just really brings that sound to the music.” Grunwald is definitely pumped about this tour, and it seems you should be too. Let’s see if his theory of Hammer being his best live song ever is correct!
Ash Grunwald ‘Hammer’ Launch Tour
Wednesday 1 March: Garden of Unearthly Delights, Adelaide SA
Friday 3 March: SS&A, Albury NSW
Friday 31 March: Northcote Social Club, Melbourne VIC
Saturday 1 April: Bleach Festival, Coolangatta QLD
Friday 7 April: Woolly Mammoth, Brisbane QLD
Saturday 8 April: “Revamp the Amp” Kuranda Amphitheater, Smithfield QLD
Saturday 15 April: Newtown Social Club, Sydney NSW
Sunday 16 April: Crafted Live, Wollongong NSW
Thursday 27 April: Prince of Wales, Bunbury WA
Friday 28 April: Boston Brewery, Denmark WA