Soulful, engaging and enigmatic are words used to describe Sunshine Coast artist Toby Robinson aka TOBiAS. Two decades performing on the international stage has cemented his reputation as one of Australia’s leading indie/ folk pop artists, playing alongside Missy Higgins, Jen Cloher, Archie Roach, Fanny Lumsden and Neko Case.
LISTEN TO THE SONG HERE: ONLY WANT TO BE SERENE
Often described as ‘Beck meets Paul Kelly meets War On Drugs,’ TOBiAS returns with ‘Only Want To Be Serene’, a deep reflection on his life journey to date.
TOBiAS explains, “for years I battled with an alcohol addiction running from responsibilities, being in all the wrong places, never stopping to really look at myself and how this problem is forever on your shoulder at every turn. Gratefully I managed to get sober when living in Melbourne some years ago, it’s a horrible thing to have to live through and has taken time and work to heal from”.
TOBiAS has made the decision to release the single at such a relevant time, recognising the number of people that may be struggling with inner demons locked up in their homes during a global pandemic. “Addictions and depression always want us alone and in misery that’s its job, but there is a way to overcome it and that is by staying connected and working on positive action to keep moving towards some level of peace free some the fear and your self criticisms – towards love and peace now”.
The song lends inspiration from scholars such as Joseph Campbell exploring the mythology of coming in to adulthood through a series of painful experiences or Robert Bly’s book Iron John where he talks of mans ‘fall from grace’ before finding true direction in life. TOBiAS also wanted to encapsulate the feeling of running through the continuous beat like a positive statement, “I know you want to get to me, you want me in misery, but I only want to be serene”.
‘Only Want To Be Serene’ was recorded at Heliport Studios on the Sunshine Coast. Elliot Heinrich produced and mixed the track (Ayla/Fragile Animals/Future Jnr) while it was mastered by Grammy winner William Bowden (Gotye/Grant McLennan/The Church).
Of the recording Robinson praises Heinrich’s approach, “Elliot really helped me to find the groove in this song and I was actually really happy with the original demo and had a touch of demoitis so I really needed a pro- ducer I could trust. Thats the beauty of working with a producer you trust – they have the ability to take the emotion out of an artists vision, lay it out on the table and help it become a reality”.