Alex Lloyd

Years after its July 1999 launch, Alex Lloyd’s boldly experimental debut remained among Australia’s most discussed and admired LPs, having taken nearly two full years to complete. Music first reached him through his father’s battered guitar and the hours they passed together deciphering a Beatles songbook, Lloyd favoring the band’s later, more studio-focused recordings. Throughout adolescence he performed wherever possible—in his room, at parties, and along the footpaths of Balmain, a Sydney suburb.

Recognition arrived when he fronted the Sydney indie outfit Mother Hubbard, whose energetic concerts and modest recorded output drew local attention. Following that group’s lone album, Lloyd sought a decisive turn toward electronically driven textures; the other members resisted the proposed course, freeing him to shape the new material as a solo project. Working alone also let him immerse himself far more thoroughly in technology, and the deeper he delved the more the record diverged from his original plan.

Early 1997 found him laying down demos in cramped inner-west Sydney studios, sometimes devoting an entire month to a single track while perfecting the blend of machines and acoustic instruments, only to begin again once that equilibrium was reached. Formal tracking commenced in early 1998. Midway through the process an invitation arrived to Miles Copeland’s renowned songwriting retreat inside a medieval French castle. Although reluctant to interrupt his work and risk outside influence, Lloyd attended and realized he had spent too long in isolation—one year composing followed by another year recording. He therefore completed the album in Santa Monica, California, alongside Ed Buller, the former Psychedelic Fur who had produced Pulp and Suede.

The finished work, Black the Sun, emerged as an innovative, thoroughly modern statement that fused strong songcraft with sonic experimentation. Lloyd toured extensively, intent on presenting the pieces as living performances rather than studio artifacts. A year after release the album continued to provoke discussion, attract listeners, and secure Alex Lloyd a long-overdue ARIA Award for Best Male Artist on the strength of one of its singles, while also earning international distribution and enthusiastic notices abroad. In 2002 he delivered the eagerly anticipated follow-up Watching Angels Mend, which included the singles “Green,” “Amazing,” and “Everybody’s Laughing.”