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|| The Upfront Club I think that Northern NSW troubadour Loren has taken quite a liking to Maleny. He has become quite a frequent visitor to our little community and his reputation as an amazing entertainer for young and old alike is spreading fast. On Friday night he played to a full house at the Upfront Club enthralling everyone from the little kids running around and dancing to "Postman Pat", to 86 year old Upfront regular Evan who always seems to have a bevy of buxom females to accompany him in a slow waltz. After enchanting the littlies, Loren went on to play a song he says he is a bit obsessed with right now; Paul Kelly's beautiful road trip song They Thought I was Asleep. Loren also mention his fascination with another one of the world's great singer/songwriters; Neil Finn. I must say I share his obsession, I think I was probably Split Enz's number one fan in the early eighties. Loren tells the story of how his next song Journey came to be, "Neil Finn, I wrote this song for you". He tells the audience how he snuck in back stage to a gig and met Neil in person to tell him about the song he had written for him. "I kinda hoped that he would love me as much as I Ioved him", Loren tells us, "but when I looked into his eyes I realized he didn't know me at all". Well, I don't know what the likelihood is of Neil Finn ever reading one of my reviews either. It's probably a lot less than the likelihood of him listening to Loren on YouTube. But if he does, I'd like to say this: Neil, if you don't know who Loren is by now, you should. Not since I first cried to Iris have I been as moved as I find myself when I listen to Loren's music. Sit up and listen, there aren't many songwriters who can capture the essence and meaning of life and all its' emotions the way Loren does. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll dance, clap and sing along, but most of all you'll relate, and you'll never want to miss another Loren show ever again. He finishes up the first set with a song he describes as the worst song he ever wrote; Old and Retired with an accompanying hilarious tale about grey nomads Bill and Suzy's outrageous adventures on the road. Almost right on cue a shiny new Landcruiser comes coasting down Maple Street, right past the windows of the Upfront Club. I happen to look up from my hot sticky date pudding and out the window from my cozy table inside near the fire. The sight of the huge caravan attached to the back of the Landcruiser had caught my eye and I just had to laugh. The timing was perfect. I have no idea if anyone else noticed it. By the end of Bill and Suzy's introduction to the joys of Reggae, the crowd is singing along and the littlies are bopping away up the front and playing chasies in and outside the Café. A short break later and the second set begins. Bring it on. The Café is bustling with the sounds of chattering diners and busy kitchen sounds and I find it hard to concentrate on listening to the music. I think to myself that this is too good to talk over and I am annoyed if someone tries to engage me in conversation. The lyrics in the music Loren writes are always poignant and insightful and contain messages of well-being and delicious descriptions of those intimately human moments. It's golden stuff. Loren's talent is in being as good a story teller as he is a singer and songwriter. He engages the audience in both conversation and in song while welcoming the little kids and grandparents alike to express themselves in dance. When Loren sings a series of five songs he has written about his brother, including one of my personal favourites; Island Man, he provides insights into how his detachment from the family has affected Loren. It gets me thinking about how this creative family of musical talent also has a member who has taken a different path with his insights. I guess it's always a choice of what you do with what you know. I like what Loren is doing. I love music, and I am in awe of those who make it, especially the really good stuff. But there are not many artists who have really impressed me from the very first minute I heard them. Tracks, I may love, lyrics that I adore or a voice that just ignites my soul; there are a variety of ways music can touch you. But Loren in the whole package; possessing a great voice, amazing songwriting skills and strumming a nice guitar, it's sit-around-the-campfire-with-a-bunch-of-meaningful-friends kind of music. It just makes you feel good. By the end of the second set tables were being moved to make more room for dancing and Loren commented on the fact that the Upfront had been converted to a disco. The only disco song he professed to know was Gloria Gaynor's I Will Survive which erupted into a raucous sing along. The covers were continued with Imagine before bursting back onto the originals with Om Ba Day and the song he wrote to play between talks on biodynamic farming at Woodford one year; Good Seed. I love that song! Playing well past ten, Loren admitted at one point to have run out of songs. But he still managed to come up with yet more well past his allotted time slot, much to the appreciation of the crowd who quite happily lingered. Lisa Mora - In the Mix
|| The Upfront Club The sweet melodic tones of artist Loren echoed out of the door of the Maleny Upfront Club and down the quiet Saturday night street. It was a full house as old fans and new enjoyed the mellow atmosphere at the Club for troubadour Loren's return performance. The young bearded artist kept the audience transfixed with the smooth power of his voice, melodic finger picked tunes and the moving message of his lyrics. Loren's experience in India had a clear influence on his songs, like "Community" which had a sitar-like sound. During the performance he spoke of how he expected to be sad at the poverty of that country but instead found that Indians retained their sense of humour despite their situation and experienced a true sense of community. "All the things we have and we're still miserable," he said. Loren has developed somewhat of a following in Maleny after his last performance. The former Western Australian artist who now lives just over the border in Uki has been compared to Paul Simon with his folksy sound. When he sang the Beatles "Imagine" the crowd were transported and became the dreamers the song spoke of, believing peace was really possible. Loren said that some of his original works were inspired by his travels and experiences of his youth. Many could relate to the song proclaiming the joys of a long hot bath. Clearing enjoying the performance Loren played right through the planned set break, the crowd hanging on each song. He had the audience singing along with his acoustic version of the Aussie classic "Throw your arms around me. He captured the hearts of the audience with his performance and was drawn back to the small stage for an unexpected encore. -GAIL LOADER
|| Upfront Club I arrived at the Upfront Club at around 7.30pm to see Loren sitting, distinctive knitted red beanie on his head, at a small wooden table near the entrance to the café collecting cover charges and selling CD's. I love the Upfront Club; It's a funky little café right in the heart of Maleny with great food, a cozy atmosphere and, thanks to the efforts of Danny Rose, a constant stream of truly amazing musicians. The divide between the music providers and the music appreciators just vanishes at the Upfront. It's almost as if the musos came around to your place for a cuppa and a jam session. So Loren and I chatted a bit about music, and I told Loren about how much his CD Community had meant to me when I lived in the city and wondered where my tribe had all gone. It was the CD I listened to on my journeys up the Bruce Highway on my way to my many Maleny weekend getaways. When going home to Brisbane became increasingly difficult to bear, I moved to Maleny permanently. A former resident of Brisbane himself, Loren understood completely. He said he wrote most of the tracks on that CD after he moved out of the city in 2002 and moved to Uki, near Nimbin, in Northern NSW. There he lives in a solar powered house and once again feels reconnected with the natural environment that so inspires his music. Ah, the music! At 8pm Loren took to the stage; a small wooden platform in the corner of the café. Surrounded by the works of local artists that grace the walls of the Upfront Club he sat, guitar in hand, and began to play. An immediate hush fell over the diners that had up until this point filled the café with the sounds of busy chattering and clinking cutlery as Loren tested out a new track he'd just written. It was a quirky ditty about Aliens who coming to rid us of capitalism and fear; "Yay for the little green men, and women...and kids". Loren commented on how great it was to play at a venue where kids were welcome and that he had already received a request from the youngest member of the audience; 3 year old Oscar.. "It's not this one is it?" he joked as he struck into the tune of "Postman Pat" causing chuckles in the crowd. It was (We're going to the) Playground with a modern old-skool hip hop twist as only Loren can do, breaking into Kris Kross's Jump, Jump midway through with a resounding "wickety, wickety, wickety, whack!". Loren explained that he'd normally start the set off on a mellower note but that he thought he'd play that one first before the littlies fell asleep - so sweet! Loren played a range of tracks from his three CD's; Slow Burn, Community, including a hilarious extended rendition of the title track from his latest CD - 80k's an Hour. Always happy to take any requests from the audience, Loren's style is true troubadour - Song and story, fun and philosophy all woven in with a truly sublime voice and gentle guitar chords. Without band The Grow Your Owns, this was a solo acoustic set and Loren apologized for any mistakes with the explanation that he hadn't been out touring for a few weeks in favour of staying home and hitting the vege patch. That prompted me to ask for one of my favourite tracks from the Community CD; Good Seed, whose funky reggae beat and ecologically sound messages drew appreciative nods from the organically-minded Malenyites. For every song he played, Loren had a story to tell, and he is such a gifted story teller. You get the feeling that this guy really does know what life is all about. He's taken life's lessons; the beauty, the challenges and the joys and made them into music in a way that makes your spirit soar to hear him sing them. A cover of John Lennon's Imagine towards the end of the set saw the whole café singing along. Completely captivated, nobody wanted the night to end and a humble Loren was called back to the stage with a roaring call for "encore!" to which he gratefully obliged. On the way home my son and I talked about the gig, and how wonderful it had been. I said how happy I was that he was able to appreciate the music he had, up until that point only heard on my stereo at home. "Mum, why is Loren so happy?" My little man asked. "Because he knows what it's about", was my answer. Just knowing that there are people out there that do know what it's about means so much - thank you Loren!
|| 80 k's An Hour Interview Sometimes inspiration comes disguised as frustration, and the artist can wrench something positive from a situation by seeing the lighter side of it. Such was the case for 'Old And Retired', the light-hearted new single from Brisbane-based roots singer-songwriter Loren. An inevitable byproduct of the extensive grassroots touring Loren and his band The Grow Your Owns have undertaken in the last few years has been an increasing number of run-ins with 'grey nomads' - that 'adventurous' herd of retirees living out their days drifting around the country in a caravan. "Most people would've had the experience of sitting behind a massive caravan at 80kms an hour blocking up the road," the soft-spoken Loren explains. "So I've just written this song as a piss-take on them and how much they slow things down. Because we do so much driving, going from one town to the next you tend to notice it. Sometimes we don't really have all the time in the world to get there, so you kind of notice it more and more when you're trying to get somewhere quickly and there's people taking it really slow. "It's a song that's gone down really well live, I think for that reason that people relate to it so easily. I think it's funny, in a way; it doesn't really bother me too much and just by nature I try to allow extra time for this sort of thing. That's how we deal with it, basically - make a song about it and turn it into a bit of fun." Currently in between albums following the 2007 release of his third studio effort Slow Burn, and with a pet hate for EPs, Loren decided to release 'Old And Retired' as the centerpiece of a new joint live-studio album entitled 80 K's An Hour. "Everyone's been hassling for that song at gigs," he explains, "so we thought we should put it on a CD. It's something that seemed necessary, but I wasn't really willing to put it on the next full-blown album. We'd worked on five songs in the studio [but] I didn't want the five-track CD happening, so I thought the only other thing to do was to add another five songs that I recorded on the last tour at the Corner Hotel in Melbourne. "It's a really bizarre mix of songs - initially I thought it was going be like chalk and cheese and sound a bit weird [but] it flows a lot better than I thought it would. This one's just a collection of songs - it's not really an album, even though it's got 10 songs. So in a sense it's a bit more throwaway." Loren wraps up his tour in support of 80 K's An Hour in Southeast Queensland next week, where he'll return thereafter to record his next studio album. "We're going start work very soon on the next album," he enthuses. "All the songs are ready to go, we just want take out as much time for it as we can and put that extra time into it that we haven't afforded ourselves before. We really want workshop the songs; hopefully it'll be finished by the end of the year." 80 K's An Hour out now independently. By Justin Grey
|| Lior Interview "But he is quick to compliment the local musical community, mentioning Sydney singer-songwriter George Byrne, Melanie Horsnell and Loren as particular talents." Lior
|| Album Review - Community Excellent local release makes Jack Johnson sound very, very Mediocre. Heard on Triple J's Roots'N'All, Community is a reflective, political and personal full-length album by this NZ-via-Fremantle Brisroots troubadour. The title (and best) track is a catchy neighbourhood sing-along with friendly harmonies. House N Home takes an intimate look at the smallest unit of community, sounding like a stripped-back, rootsy incarnation of Crowded House, while the elemental On The Limit reminds me of Gorgeous and Jigzag. Like a well written paperback, Loren sings his stories honestly with each chapter leading into the next. Desert In The Moonlight and Good Seed throw some reggae that lingers in your head for days. All You Need and Old Recipe look inward at the darker moments of life with intricate classical guitar work. The didge lade mystical Together & Alone rides a slow middle eastern groove before putting out the campfire and reminding us to try harder to be still, or stop trying, in Alone.
|| Album Review - Community Singer / Songwriter Loren, is now three albums into what is proving to be an encouraging musical career. On this, his first studio album 'Community' showcases his belief that strong communities are essential to building a better world. Able to switch between honest, soulful acoustic tunes, to that of more uplifting groove laden folk, Loren is as enjoyable as he is diverse. Some of the best songs include the beautiful 'House N Home', and the (at times) funky 'Desert In The Moonlight'. With national tours alongside household names Carus and Lior, Loren is well on the way to following his peers' success…we wish him well.
|| Album Release Interview Having embarked on his ‘Community’ album launch tour in the last week of November, Loren has taken a short excursion out to Queenscliff Music Festival and Folk Rhythm and Life Festival in Victoria, much to the delight of his ever-growing fan base, before hitting the road again in his bid to develop a greater Community. “..FRL was such a lovely festival!!! Loren’s set on friday.... hardcore highlight... everyone together, singing along and dancing, kind of embodied the FRL spirit..”…..Peta, Adelaide Since its release, Community has been experiencing high levels of demand, with fans across Australia eager to get hold of a CD. Everyone has their own personal favourite, but which are Loren’s personal favourites? “… ‘Desert in the moonlight’ is one of the most fun to play… ‘House n Home’ I think really captured a vibe…but poetically, I think the last song ‘Alone’ is one of the best songs I’ve written.” The songs on the album have received a good work out on the gig circuit, with Loren touring relentlessly throughout Australia and into his homeland of NZ in the last year. “NZ was very varied but overall a good experience and something I’ve wanted to do my whole life,” Loren says, “I also got up to Darwin which was awesome...it’s another universe up there…a very enjoyable one.” Add to that a couple of trips to Tasmania, a few WA treks and some East Coast runs, and it’s no wonder that album took a while to make! Regular touring means that Loren has created a live band in just about every state, with many musician friends throughout the roots scene and beyond. The album is just another chance for Loren to collaborate with other musicians, and the list is impressive: Dave Mann Collective’s Roy Martinez on bass; True Believer Jason McGann on mandolin and Galleon’s Lap’s Luke Foran on banjo and backing vocals, amongst others. Always loyal to his talented siblings, Loren is joined by sister Freya Hanly on flute and brother James on bass and African Marimbas. “Everyone on the album brought so much to the music and exactly what I had hoped as well. My friend Andre really brought Good Seed alive with his electric guitar and Trombone parts…we played together for years in Perth when I was much younger and the connection hasn’t waned. The song was nearly scrapped before he entered the mix.” With so much success over the last year, and having evolved musically as well as personally, it’s only natural that Loren wonders what the future holds, and whether there will ever be a time when he can sit back and be happy that he has reached his goal. “The goals keep changing on me and moving back as I move forward…kind of like watching the moon out of the car window. I feel I have so much to learn about communicating to a crowd and expressing what I want to express clearly, so it is a never ending goal.” The Community album embodies all of Loren’s hard work over the last year: endless touring, festivals, song writing and constantly working to promote independent artists and encourage young musicians on the rise. Loren is known for his strength in bringing together the acoustic roots music community, and this is reflected in the immense respect that his fans have not just for his music, but also for the man himself. Loren remains humble and appreciative of everyone who has helped him on his journey, “..I feel really blessed to be supported by people listening to the music that I make, so I want to give to it as much as I can.”
|| Album Release Interview Loren has migrated from Perth to Northern New South Wales, near Nimbin, via India. On the way he’s developed a strong perspective on the need for a sense of community and he’s channelled it into his latest album, aptly titled Community. Now he spends about half his year on the road creating clusters of unity along the way. On his own part, Loren is creating a small community of musicians that he plays with around the country. There are ten different people who play on his album, recorded in Brisbane, Melbourne and Perth. “It’s a pretty small world, the music industry” he ponders. Loren started out playing in a band with Carus Thompson in Perth ten years ago and has collected musicians to play with in just about every capital city across the country. Loren loves the way music brings people together, so enjoys being able to play with different people in different places. “Every night groups of people from all walks of life come together to enjoy music and often there’s quite a strength of unity that happens,” he enthuses both about the band and the audience.
|| Accentuate the positive - Loren Brisbane-based artist Loren knows all too well the value of a little encouragement. Back in 2002 he was just another guy who enjoyed writing and singing songs in his bedroom. Now he’s just released his latest album of uplifting roots/reggae (Community), and enjoys an ever-building profile around the country. So who’s responsible for this transformation? “When I first got to Brisbane, my girlfriend got sick of me playing tunes at home so she encouraged me to go out and start playing gigs,” he recalls. “She actually booked me a few gigs, just for something to do. I didn’t really care either way, but once I started doing it I really wanted to play more gigs and get better. I guess those gigs were the start of me taking music seriously. “At that stage, I hadn’t been playing gigs for years. I played in bands in Fremantle about ten years ago and then I went travelling. I’d always dreamed of making a career out of music, but I didn’t really see how that was going to happen. But I’m glad I followed that path.” Loren says fellow artist and good friend Carus Thompson has also played a big role in his burgeoning career. “Carus has really taken me under my wing,” he attests. “He forced me to quit my job and go on tour and showed me the ropes. “Quitting my job was pretty scary because there’s not much security in the music industry. The only thing stopping me was the fear of it not working out. I’ve lived without money plenty of times in my life – that part didn’t concern me.” After recording his past two albums himself, Loren took a leap of faith and enlisted Perth producer Shaun O’Callaghan (Eskimo Joe, John Butler Trio) to work on Community. “It was really good to not have to worry about any of the sound stuff,” Loren says. “Sometimes you put all your energy into getting the sound right and then you’ve got no energy left for the performance. “I’d spent a little bit of time in the studio in Perth the last time I was there and I was really happy with this guy [O’Callaghan], so that’s why I decided to go back there. He really likes the music I play and he’s quite happy to give a lot of feedback. If I didn’t nail something he’d tell me straight away.” While the production has changed, Loren’s songwriting remains honest and inspiring. “You always write about whatever affects you in a deep way and most of the time things that affect you tend to be relationships and the problems with them or the state of the world. It’s quite easy to get into that [frame of mind]. “But I find it’s harder to see the light at the end of the tunnel or look at the positive. When that happens – when I have that moment of clarity and see the positives in a situation – that’s the point when I want to write a song and try to express it.”
|| Quote "Loren is one of those artists you see perform and wonder why you haven't heard of him before"
|| The Zoo, Brisbane - Supporting Lior “Seeing local favourite Loren perform often feels like you're sitting in on a jam session. Friends and comrades are invited onstage to add their sound to the mix and put a spin on familiar tunes. Loren certainly isn't greedy when it comes to sharing the spotlight and tonight we're treated to two guest vocalists and some low-key bongo action. Warming the crowd on a cool Thursday night, Loren's narrative songwriting style has toes tapping and hands clapping, particularly for crowd favourites ‘Bob Marley' and ‘Together and Alone'. His socially-aware lyrics, accompanied by some impressive strumming, equates to a genuinely satisfied audience.”
|| The Zoo, Brisbane - Supporting Lior "Solo artist Loren is joined by a string of friends throughout his set as he works his charm on the sell-out crowd. His warm and gentle yet deeply grooved and rhythmic style makes him many new fans."
|| The Zoo, Brisbane - Supporting Mason Jennings and The Beautiful Girls "Herbal acoustic soloist Loren is clearly stoked to be playing to a house so packed and makes rather a good fist of it. At times his tunings are reminiscent of the Toothfaeries while his vocals on "Angry Man" bring Neil Finn to mind."
|| Review "Influenced by new age ideas and a positive peaceful outlook on the word…listen to Loren for calming and wistful sounds…can a nylon sound funky…Loren makes it so….good song writing and an interesting perspective on the world makes it great listening….with some fresh ideas…very accomplished, lovely voice, nice cruisy songs….G groovy, R rhythmic, E excellent voice, A ace, T tops spells great to me…love how he's using his voice, song in swahili cool idea…Loren has traveled the world and his songs are richer for it." |