Gareth Koch is an award winning classical and flamenco guitarist who has formed a successful musical partnership with legendary frontman of The Church, Steve Kilbey. Jason Barnard talks to Gareth about drawing from classical and contemporary genres to forge his music.
Gareth Koch, photo by Ron Brown
Can you tell me about your latest single ‘Lost At Sea’?
The idea was to write a soulful ballad filled with ocean and journey references. Musically it harks back to a tuneful and almost Italian style of writing. The harmony owes a little to J.S. Bach’s ‘Sheep May Safely Graze’, as does of course Procol Harum’s ‘Lighter Shade of Pale.
How did you link up with Steve Kilbey?
This is a longish story which began when I first saw Steve performing with the Church in 1980. I was still at school, and immediately heard the trademark ethereal chiming which has featured in my musical consciousness ever since. So when I ‘switched’ genres from classical to contemporary in 2018 it was not surprising that a type of ‘Kilbey aesthetic’ filtered into some of my songwriting.
During the creation of Broken Toys & Lost at Sea I was aware that I was writing for Steve. But how to get him to hear the songs? You see there is a divide between classical and contemporary music, and although I am reasonably well known in my field I was an unkown across that great divide. Thankfully mutual friends (Martin Kennedy & William Bowden) helped bring us together.
Steve Kilbey and Gareth Koch, photo by Tony Mott
Were you an admirer of The Church at the time?
Yes I was a convert ever since the band’s gig at the Mosman Hotel in Sydney 1980. They were playing songs which found their way onto the debut album. There were about 10 people in the pub, and of course the 17 yr old me went bouncing up to Steve proclaiming that the songs would become classics.
What have you recorded and released with Steve?
So far we have recorded and released two titles, ‘Broken Toy’s and ‘Lost at Sea’. These are released in a few versions though, including a Steve/Gareth vocal in Lost at Sea.
Where are you from and where do you live now? Does that impact your music?
I was born in Italy, grew up in Sydney, Melbourne, Tasmania and Europe. I’ve attended 13 schools, some of them in Spain, Germany, UK and of course Australia. Yes all this has influenced the way in which I experience and create music. I lived in the UK during the English folk revival. began learning flamenco guitar in Spain. A pretty heady brew for a 12/13 year old. Sydney had been home for much of my life, although I lived in Vienna for 10 years after winning a scholarship to study classical guitar there. I currently live in Tasmania.
When did you pick up your first instrument? How long have you been making music?
I began learning the piano at age 8. I switched to guitar at age 12 in Europe. We lived in Spain at the time, in the company of flamenco musicians. So I’m in my 4th decade of being a musician.
When/why did you start songwriting?
I have been arranging/composing for much of my career, so I sort of knew the process, roughly. But my 1st ever song was written in 2018. I have been a songwriter for 1 year! I guess I wanted to see if I could…..
Gareth Koch, photo by Jade Hallam
What artists/composers, past and present do you admire?
Ok, here we go!
J.S Bach, Beethoven, Allegri, Pentangle, Steeleye Span, Beatles, Joe Cocker, The Who, Paco de Lucia, Sabicas, Paco Pena, just a few..
Can you describe the differences and similarities playing and writing classical and rock music?
Interesting question. I would say rhythmic drive is a feature shared by great classical and rock music. There is as much rhythmic drive for example in Mozart’s G minor Symphony as there is in Deep Purple’s Highway star. As a writer/arranger/composer it seems to be about conciseness, getting a message across without too much superfluity. Having said that I do lean towards intricate instrumental arrangements in songs, in which the classical guitar is often the star! Writing a song is a journey of adventure, it’s never clear (to me) where it may lead.
Given you work across genres do you bring ideas from both musical styles into each other?
Oh definitely. There are celtic/classical leanings in my writing.
What generally inspires you to write?
The last piece of inspiration came from Vivian Smith’s poem ‘Thylacine’. I had been wrestling with elements of the song before finding the poem, but the poem made it clear what the song should be. A recent song ‘Code Blue’ came about after a hospital stay! I don’t have a system. Maybe i need one.
What songs/pieces of music that you’ve been involved with are you most proud and why?
Well I am proud of my Rumba Flamenca. This work took my group Saffire – The Australian Guitar Quartet to the Arias (Oz equivalent of Grammys) where we won an ARIA in the classical category.
What are your plans for the rest of 2019 and 2020?
I’m hoping to write for and with other other artists I admire. As we speak, I am collaborating with Peter Gray (Mental as Anything) as we’re pitching the Code Blue song to his band.
Fans of Steve Kilbey and the Church would like to hear more of my collab with Steve, so this is likely.
I’m also planning to get back to live playing in a band, love playing bass and own 6 of them, gotta have one in every flavour!
Thank you Steve!
‘Lost at Sea’ by Steve Kilbey & Gareth Koch is available here.
For more information visit garethkochmusic.com
