WENDY MATTHEWS' latest offering Cafe Naturale is the kind of album you would expect to hear playing in the background at your favourite cafe.
In a laidback collection of tracks personally selected by Matthews, she said she drew inspiration from the days she spent listening to songs while sitting at cafes in Bondi.
``I spent a lot of time in my favourite cafe there listening to records,'' Matthews said.
``There's nothing like a song to bring you back to a specific moment or feeling in time.'' Cafe Naturale is Matthews's sixth studio album and boasts an eclectic mix of chilled-out tunes.
The tracks move from obscure numbers such as Moon Beneath My Feet by Irish writer NAOISE SHERIDAN through to AL GREEN's Love and Happiness , and All I Need by French lounge lizards AIR. ``Even I'm surprised by some of the song choices,'' Matthews said.
``Once we got into the studio the record started to reveal its personality to me.
``It all came together and the songs, these very melodic songs, started to make themselves known. It just worked.'' Recording the album allowed Matthews to strip back the layers and record the songs with minimum fuss and maximum effect.
Recorded in Sydney at TIGER STUDIOS with the help of some of the finest musicians in Australia, Caf aac Naturale was laid down on good old-fashioned tape without resorting to any of the modern studio tricks.
She even sang through a vintage microphone that was used by FRANK SINATRA during his infamous Australian tour in the 1950s.
Matthews spent many days jamming with her band in order to capture the desired sound.
``I think it's human nature to box people in, just in terms of reference in order to understand what it is they do; I doubt I resist it,'' Matthews said.
``To keep creative you have to break down your own personal barriers. With this record that meant moving away from pop and crafting something instrument-driven, something that feels like me playing live.
``So this is an acoustic album, taking a very eclectic selection of songs and turning them around, completely stripping them back to make them something else.'' Matthews recently wrapped up a national sell- out tour with SARAH McLACHLAN where she road tested the new material for the first time.
She said the songs had been well received and she looked forward to taking them on the road for her own run of headline shows.
Matthews said fans could also expect to hear renditions of classics from her previous albums, such as Lily, The Witness Tree, Ghosts and Beautiful View when she starts her CAFE NATURALE TOUR in the Hunter this week.
lw1 She will appear at the SOLDIERS POINT BOWLING CLUB tomorrow night, WEST LEAGUES CLUB on Friday night, PANTHERS CARDIFF on Saturday night and HEXHAM BOWLING CLUB on Sunday night.
Tickets from the venues.
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