News

BRAND NEW SINGLE FROM JEFF LANG ’SEEK HIGH’ (WITH JOHN BUTLER) IS OUT NOW

Acclaimed Australian guitarist, 3-time ARIA winner, singer-songwriter and producer, Jeff Lang, today releases the first single from his forthcoming album.   

Seek High with John Butler is the brand-new song lifted from the forthcoming album, More Life, which will be released on Friday 4^th October.

The Australian roots visionary has held an extraordinary career spanning three decades, over 32 albums, three ARIA Awards, a book (now in its second printing) and inclusion in the National Film and Sound Archives. His recordings and live performances have moved audiences across the globe from Japan to Geelong. New Delhi to Newcastle. His work, while based in the “roots” genre transcends and defies categorisation as evidenced in the diversity of the upcoming album, More Life.

More Life is the culmination of a few years of work, beginning with the concept of an album of songs co-written by Lang and some of his favourite artists.

Says Jeff Lang “Seek High is the first single from my new album More Life, a duet with my friend John Butler. John and I wrote this song together a few years back when I was first thinking about putting together what ended up being the More Life album, and we sat on the song until things started coming together for this project before we recorded it. I really enjoyed discovering how our two voices blended in harmony, as well as contrasting when singing on our own sections.

He then went on to say “Instrumentally, Seek High features John playing amplified banjo alongside my electric lap steel, which we recorded together with my lead vocal, live off the floor at Head Gap Studios alongside the hypnotic groove of Danny McKenna on drums. John then added his vocals, a synth bass part and I put on a bass part of my own, using a Danelectro longhorn bass. Having two different types of bass made for some effective shifts in the feel of the track between sections, sometimes moving from the bass guitar to the synth bass or vice-versa, eventually having them both at once when the track started building up steam.”

Not content with merely(!) supplying the perfect balance of moodiness and propulsion in the song’s groove on the drums, Danny McKenna also created the video for this song using a “flipbook” type of computer animation technique. 

The album More Life features songs Jeff Lang co-wrote and performed with: John Butler, Liz Stringer, Don Walker, Fred Leone, Kerri Simpson, William Crighton, Suzannah Espie, Hat Fitz & Cara and Asin Khan Langa, and also includes guest appearances from Bassekou Kouyate and Debashish Bhattacharya.

More life comes as both a CD and a deluxe double gatefold vinyl album with artwork by iconic US cartoonist, Jim Woodring.

Touring Nationally Through Sep/Oct/Nov

Click here for dates.

Thredbo Blues Festival

January 19-21

Jeff and his partner in music and life – Alison Ferrier – are delighted to be featured artists at Thredbo Blues Festival 2024.

Playing some of their songs from the High Ace album released in 2022 and other
gems from across their respective solo careers, these will be very special and unique performances.

Tickets on sale now at Threbo Blues Festival.

Nor’easter Weekend Of Music

Fri 24 Feb – Sun 26 Feb 2023

Jeff will join a fantastic line up at this new event in Lennox Heads.

Tickets available HERE

Tasmanian Tour

April 20 – 23 2023

Jeff loves visiting Tasmania and this will be his first visit since the pandemic really took hold.

Tickets available HERE

Nannup Festival

Fri 3 March 2023

Jeff is one of the headline artists on the Friday night of this fantastic little festival in WA

Tickets available HERE

Gear Hunting from Some Memories Never Die

Jeff has found the time lately to film a few readings of excerpts of various chapters from “Some Memories Never Die” – click on the link to see the first of five weekly video releases.

Liz Stringer wrote a lovely review of the book on her Facebook page:
“His writing is like his conversation; erudite, descriptive and laced with a healthy element of self-deprecation and smart-arsery. It’s a ripper and a vital addition to the documentation of Australia’s music history. Music fans will go nuts for it, as I have. Ten stars out of five.
Anyone who wants to grab a copy can do so via the store, or via Jeff’s bandcamp page.

Jeff is also posting an in-depth video exploration of his live rig for his Patreon subscribers this week as well. Anyone who wants to check out what’s going on over there can do so at https://www.patreon.com/jefflangmusic

Nellijam Festival

Jeff is very excited to be hitting the road for a show in NSW in January. It’s been way too long between gigs so make sure you book early for this one!

Some Memories Never Die: An Evening of Words and Music 2021

Tickets on sale now at jefflang.com.au/shows.

This is Jeff Lang’s guide to the often hilarious life of a jobbing musician. He lived these tales so you can laugh in comfort.” – Don Walker

“Jeff’s passion surges like an ocean, his humour glides through the torrent like a catamaran: Manned by a grinning feline. Please catch a ride.” – Tim Rogers

 Jeff Lang has built a reputation for making startling and influential music that is accomplished, intricate, gutsy, melodic and loaded with soul. Often taking unexpected turns, he has consistently inspired his audiences by creating a stylistically diverse catalogue of over 30 albums.

But with every well-credentialed artistic soul, evolving and diving into the unknown is a step that is never too far away and so in 2019 Jeff sat down and began to write what would become his first book.

Some Memories Never Die, a memoir of three decades on the road, memories of gigs where the pay was akin to blood money, reflections on how the road’s twists and turns can be lightened by the presence of fellow traveller’s and occasionally darkened by them too, comes bundled with a 22 track album of Jeff Lang classics explicitly re-recorded for the book’s release.

And to celebrate the book’s release, Jeff will hit the highway for the An Evening of Words and Music tour commencing March 12 with each show combining music, a Q&A and an ‘in-conversation’.  In selected locations, early ticket buyers will have the chance to register for a free workshop that Jeff will be hosting for limited numbers, where he will discuss his songcraft, his influences, guitar techniques and a glimpse into the wizardry behind his sonic palette. Participating shows are marked with an * HERE

The book itself can be experienced in a few ways.

For the traditionalist, the book in its physical form can be purchased by visiting HERE.

For those who want to read it as an eBook, it’s available HERE.

And then there’s the Audiobook version. Read mostly by myself with a few special guest cameos and each chapter scored especially for the Audiobook listener, it’s a different way to experience Some Memories Never Die, and as with the book I put a lot into it so it will hopefully reward you should you choose to go with that option. It’s available HERE.

In an arrangement just finalised, Booktopia, Australia’s leading online bookstore, have realised the potential of Jeff’s book and entered into an arrangement to be the sole distributor to book shops around the country. So find it online, at gigs and your favourite book shop. If they don’t have it, ask them to order it in.

“For Some Memories Never Die I wanted to connect recollections from the life I’ve lived to some of the songs I’ve made up along the way. I wasn’t looking to write a linear autobiography, with my life’s journey laid out in order of occurrence. More a series of stand-alone vignettes was what I had in mind. I wasn’t sure exactly how a good many of these tales could be connected to the songs I intended to include, as I don’t generally write autobiographical songs. But as I wrote down the varied reminiscences, certain stories seemed to go together and themes became apparent to me. Gradually it all seemed to find it’s form, and Some Memories Never Die is the end result.”

Jeff Lang’s unique musical vision easily finds a home in myriad settings; from huge festivals like Glastonbury and Fuji Rock in Japan, to world renowned venues such as Sydney Opera House, but he’s equally at home in intimate venues such as the The Ark in Ann Arbour, Michigan and the 12 Bar in London. Most importantly, Jeff Lang has achieved what is a rarity in the cluttered world of contemporary sounds: his own voice.

Tickets on sale now at jefflang.com.au/shows.