‘New Album’ is where a band or artist answers some questions about their latest release. Up next is something a bit different, with Harry Hodgman, a piano playing singer songwriter, usually based in Melbourne but currently living in Wellington. A unique figure in the NZ music scene Harry, in addition to his music, has released two lovely illustrated songbooks for piano & voice with an upcoming third on the way, along with new E.P Puzzle, consisting of recordings of his performance at City Gallery Wellington in 2018 on the #MichaelParekōwhai Steinway & Sons piano.
You can follow Harry on Facebook, Spotify, YouTube, Instagram, Twitter & Soundcloud.
When/where was the new songbook written?
I started writing these songs for my new book, ‘Little Dirty Cinema – for Piano & Voice’, while finishing the intense artwork for my 2020 songbook, Sadness & Horror, when I lived in Melbourne just before covid. Over the last year that I’ve spent in Wellington, I have been writing here at home on the piano most days.
Who produced the songbook? How did the songs come together?
It’s all completely original solo work, from the writing to notation and artwork. The songs are still falling into place, with most of the writing done now.
How did the songwriting happen? Are there any overall themes within the songs/album?
The initial idea was to simply name the book ‘Little Dirty Cinema’, and as the songs started to exist, the concept of each song being the name of a business on a street in a derelict and filthy area of a fictional city started to form. There’s a run down old porn cinema, a convenience store, a diner, an apartment, a sewer, and a few romantic scenes amongst some classic ragtime numbers based around the street.
Were you going for a different approach on this songbook?
While most songs I’ve written have been very dark and biographical, these are mostly fictional stories based on new locations and characters. I don’t seem to be able to stick to repeating any formula for writing, so naturally I feel lured by new directions in songwriting. It’s like using a completely different colour palette each time. One conscientious factor I’ve had for this project is to not be too focused on making the piano too technical. Keeping it simple. I’m hoping to encourage piano players of any skill level to learn my pieces. And it also gives me a break from memorising a million more notes to perform.
Was there any specific gear you used to capture that?
Here at home, I have a Steinmann piano. It’s a sweet little machine that can play so delicately at 2am, as well as my more theatrical numbers. I have used Sibelius to notate all my songbooks so far, and a mix of Adobe & Affinity design software for the artwork and layout design.
Is there a particular track that you feel captures the essence of the songbook?
There’s a song in the book called ‘Blume’, which is an art-deco diner run by one employee. The place is filled with cigarette smoke and introverts. My favourite line in this song describes the café as ‘The laundromat of hospitality’. That’s the mood of the book – filth and comfort.
Is there a physical copy available? And which digital platforms is it available on?
There will definitely be a digital download available from my Website when the book is released in December 2021 / January 2022. Printing physical copies has been made very difficult since covid, but they will be printed as soon as that is available, for sure. After my second songbook was finished, I compiled both my books into a digital double-billing edition called DYAD. So once ‘Little Dirty Cinema’ is complete, it will also feature in a triple-billing songbook called ‘TRYAD’ in 2022.
Are you working on a video/videos for any of the songs? Are you doing any gigs or promotion for its release?
I’d love to film a live performance of the work, YouTube is a brilliant asset – particularly for viewers getting to see a piano with all its moving bits. Depending on the latest covid regulations, I’ll at least be performing an online release concert of the book. Once this book is published, I’ll be working on a solo album featuring a few songs from all my books!