Music Feeds’ Love Letter to a Record series asks artists to reflect on their relationship with the music they love and share stories about how it has influenced their lives. Here, Tay Oskee raises a glass to Ben Howard’s debut studio LP, 2011’s Every Kingdom.
Queensland singer-songwriter Tay Oskee released his debut album, Keepers of the Morning, on Friday, 14th April. “I believe with all my heart that this album is my best work to date and definitely my greatest career achievement,” Oskee said in a statement shared upon its release. The album includes the singles ‘Oxytocin’, ‘The Pill’, ‘Let the Fire Burn’ and ‘Sequoia’.
Tay Oskee’s Love Letter to Ben Howard’s Every Kingdom
Tay Oskee: When I first heard Ben Howard I was living in a remote Indigenous community in North-East Arnhem Land called Galiwinku. I was on a break from music and heard the song ‘Keep Your Head Up’ after a friend shared it on Facebook. It was everything I wanted in a song at that moment.
Lots of folk music wasn’t grabbing me at this time as I feel it was all a little too beautiful and safe. But the raw guitar riff, bass and drums and interesting phrasing of Ben’s vocals hit me straight away. I’d say this song really inspired me to get back to music again – I started feeling that burning desire to play and write once more.
When I first put on the whole album, I wasn’t completely sold with some of the love songs and a few of the poppier tracks, like ‘Only Love’ and ‘Diamonds’. I was pretty anti-pop at the time – definitely not anymore – and as such, I was more drawn in by the raw instrumentation of darker cuts like ‘Black Flies’ and ‘Promise’. Ben wasn’t afraid to really go hard in sections and the energy shows, especially in ‘Black Flies’.
But didn’t take long until I really warmed to the whole album. Even in his poppier cuts, he somehow manages to have it feeling so interesting and real. For me, the melody, instrumentation and beautiful mix of dark and light were pretty perfect. The energy of the recordings was the same – you could hear that it was live instrumental recordings with just the right amount of rawness.
Above all, what I loved about this album was when I put it on, I could be transported into another place. It takes me on a journey, a wave of ups and downs. I feel at peace listening to it; I feel excited listening to it; I feel completely nostalgic listening to it; and I have moments of sadness listening. It’s a true dynamic journey.
This album set a benchmark for my musical journey, and I know many other artists who say the same. If I can make a record that feels so exciting, dark, light, and raw but beautiful at the same time then I’ll be a very happy camper. Here’s hoping I got somewhere close with my debut album.
Tay Oskee – Keepers of the Morning (Full album stream)
Tay Oskee’s Keepers of the Morning is out now.
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