Pic by Jared Harrison

Howdy folks

Welcome to May. We’re getting a cold blast and huge swells here on the Central Coast of NSW.

There’s been some news behind the scenes at Moldre HQ (ie my currently very cold music room at home) and I’d like to give you all the latest. There’s a fair amount of info here, I hope you can make it to the end.

RADIO

Nambucca Fables has been receiving radio play across the continent – it was also one of the featured albums on 2serFM a couple of weeks ago. Double J, FBi, ABC, 3RRR and 4ZZZ to name but a few have all been featuring different tracks. Thanks to all the stations for their support. You can listen to a couple of interviews online at the links below. I also had the privilege to chat with POST TO WIRE for their “6 Strings Q+A”.

2serFM The Outpost
3WAYFM Guided By Wire 27-4-23
Antipodes Radio
POST TO WIRE: SIX STRINGS

REVIEWS

Very occasionally a review comes along that makes you feel completely understood. Reviews like this one in RHYTHMS MAGAZINE make this whole music-making malarkey worthwhile. Special thanks to Jeff Jenkins.

MARK MOLDRE

Nambucca Fables (Yellow Moon Records)

“The worst thing in the world,” said F. Scott Fitzgerald, “is to try to sleep and not to.”

Four years after his last album, Fever Dreams, Mark Moldre’s mind remains ruffled, his pillow restless. He writes songs about the early hours, when your brain won’t switch off and thoughts are ringing in your head.

In the first single from his fourth solo album, Moldre confides:

“Every waking hour I’m just dyin’ to go back to sleep.” In ‘This Little Town’, he sings about “the sweet relief of sleep” while in ‘Ghost Guitar’ he is “deep in the night”. Then there’s the songs ‘Wisteria Sleeps’ and ‘Dream Decay’. “Wake up, I don’t want to stay”, he declares.

Sounds bleak, but it’s not.

Moldre – who’s based in Wamberal in NSW – has crafted a record that’s a perfect middle-of-the-night companion. A record that will make you forget your insomnia, and revel in its dark beauty and clever instrumentation, which will have you discovering something new with every listen.

The setting is rustic, the songs are robust. Nambucca Fables is left-of-centre but there’s something here for everyone, with songs about love, loss, longing, memories, dreams and home. They will linger long in your mind, like ‘New Suit’, where the singer tells the moving story of his mother’s funeral. He’s awkwardly wearing his new suit, feeling numb as the fellow mourners talk to him, but then he repeats the song’s key line:

“Your love will live for evermore.”

It’s glorious.

Mark Moldre might just be the best Australian songwriter you’ve never heard of. Nambucca Fables shows that he should be on your radar.

JEFF JENKINS

You can also check out this review from across the other side of the globe courtesy of UKAmericana

YOU CAN PURCHASE NAMBUCCA FABLES HERE

SHOWS

First up, many of you may already know (if you’ve been hovering around the socials) that my eldest daughter, Bronte, was diagnosed with a rare and hard to treat form of breast cancer at the tender age of 21. You can read more details about that at her GoFundMe page. We’ve experienced a difficult few months since her diagnosis last November. It looks as though her treatment will continue well into 2024. Wonderfully, a few of my musical friends have banded together and organised a fundraiser for all ages at the Petersham Bowling Club on Friday May 26th. The Finalists, Joeys Coop, The Gin Palace and Infinity Broke have all joined the lineup. What a beautiful thing. I’ll be playing a handful of songs too.

Tickets HERE
Facebook Event

Also I’ll be playing two shows to kick off the launch of Nambucca Fables in Sydney and on the Central Coast. Both shows are free of charge.

The Golden Barley Hotel ENMORE with our friends RESTLESS LEG on Saturday 24th June. Facebook Event

Link and Pin WOY WOY with our friends THE FINALISTS on Sunday 9th July 2-4PM. All ages. Facebook Event

NAMBUCCA COVERS

Finally, I am currently giving away a free bonus CD-R entitled “Nambucca Covers!” with every physical purchase of Nambucca Fables (CD or Vinyl) – until I run out. The songs were recorded at home during lockdowns – with most tracks being started with a guitar and vocal recorded live in one take around a single microphone. Then I added any instruments that I could find in my wardrobe. It includes 11 tracks featuring The Felice Brothers, Tom Waits, Howe Gelb, Ron Sexsmith, Robert Palmer, Big Thief, Sammy Fain, Neil Young, Elliot Smith and Loose Fur. It will only be available as a giveaway and will not be found on streaming services.

GRAB A BONUS CD-R WITH NAMBUCCA FABLES HERE

I think that pretty much covers all the current news. If you made it this far you have my thanks for being so attentive!

Go gently
Love
Mark

Nambucca Fables is an album steeped in beauty and sorrow, deep heartache and sweet remembrance.  

PURCHASE NAMBUCCA FABLES ON LTD ED VINYL, CD OR DIGITAL

A lot has happened in the intervening years since Mark released his last album Fever Dreams. Floods, fires and a pandemic descended, and just prior to that, on a devastating personal note, the sad and tragic loss of Mark’s mother.

A highly personal labour of love, the dozen songs on the album find the songwriter exploring and processing grief and loss, memory and nostalgia, dreams and hallucinations.  

There are flashbacks to childhood memories of towns and homes (Homecoming), an instrumental snapshot of his mother immersed in nature (The Absent Gardener), feeling like a ghost at her funeral (New Suit), the horror of Chernobyl and its parallels to the insidious advance of cancer (This Little Town), the incredible story of the return of a lost 1940s Tex Morton guitar (Ghost Guitar) and much more.

“Nambucca Heads was where my Mum was born and raised. Up until my mid teens my family would travel there at least once a year,” says Mark.

“As time has passed, and it’s been decades since I’ve returned, the place has taken on a mythical quality in my mind. Smells from the kitchen, fresh bread on the rustic timber dining table – that had been big enough to sit a family of 10. My grandfather’s ashtray on a stand that would spin when you pushed a button and the ash would disappear. His model train set and the room full of treasures and trinkets. The sounds and smells of chooks and the fowl mouthed cockatoo screeching in the backyard.”

Pic by Jared Harrison

In keeping with Mark’s holistic approach to his creativity – from the artwork to the videos, the songwriting and the music – the sound of the album is the perfect sonic canvas for his songs. 

The first single ‘Every Waking Hour‘ saw Mark’s lifetime of exploring the possibilities of the guitar in indie rock, jazz, power pop and beyond come to the fore on the song. Heroes like Nels Cline, Neil Young and Bill Frisell are omnipresent as Mark and his band create an exquisite blend of melodic Americana and indie pop-rock that descends into a frazzled, clattering heap as the song concludes.

“After grief, there is some kind of new balance… a new you,” Mark says of the song. “Damaged but somehow improved. A deeper understanding, more empathetic. Love finds new depths. Somehow you find you way out of that mist and into a new morning.”

On second single ‘New Suit‘ the intricate interplay between the guitars of Moldre and Jamie Hutchings (Bluebottle Kiss, Infinity Broke) provides the sonic mesh that holds the song together, the nuances providing fascinating musical details that exist at the intersection between intelligent pop songs, and hallucinogenic folk and country music. The song gradually swells and transforms from doubt and weariness to a kind of emphatic mantra with the cyclical and repeating line “Your love will live for evermore”. Even the darkest clouds have silver linings, eventually.

Right across Nambucca Fables, guitars jangle and rattle, soothe and disrupt as required, the rhythm section is constantly inventive in both traditional and more experimental styles and the use of violin, female backing vocals, banjo, melodica, Wurlitzer and Hammond organ, harmonica and more add beautiful organic textures.

TRACKLISTING

1. The Absent Gardener
2. Every Waking Hour
3. New Suit
4. This Little Town
5. Homecoming
6. Ghost Guitar
7. Kidnapping On A Train (Nambucca-Chernobyl 12:50pm)
8. Dream Decay
9. I Saw You Last Night
10. It Is What It Is
11. Wisteria Sleeps
12. A Tale Of Two Pities

STREAM OR PURCHASE NAMBUCCA FABLES

NSW singer-songwriter Mark Moldre releases ‘New Suit’ the second single from his forthcoming album, Nambucca Fables, due out April 14th.

“There is a quiet fortitude in the delivery and a melody and majestic framework that echoes songwriters as astute and eloquent as Moldre: Mark Oliver Everett from The Eels, Elvis Costello or Bruce Springsteen. This is a track that is heartbreakingly beautiful in its capture of loss and its quiet celebration of memory and love.”
Backseat Mafia

On the back of a highly successful crowdfunding campaign for his fourth solo album Nambucca Fables, Mark released his first new single ‘Every Waking Hour‘ (which premiered on Double J‘s Tower of Song with Henry Wagons and on Backseat Mafia), four years after his acclaimed album Fever Dreams. 

Now he reveals single number two, the wistful melodies and bittersweet jangle and sway of ‘New Suit‘.

Following on from the personal reflections that made up ‘Every Waking Hour‘, ‘New Suit’ poetically conveys the disorientation and psychological haze of experiencing his mother’s funeral. The song gradually swells and transforms from doubt and weariness to a kind of emphatic mantra with the cyclical and repeating line “Your love will live for evermore”. Even the darkest clouds have silver linings, eventually.

“You just want that day to end. You go through the motions. People speak to you and you don’t really hear what they’re saying. You become a ghost for a day, wandering from group to group of mourners but not really engaging. A grey hallucination in a New Suit.“

The intricate interplay between the guitars of Moldre and Jamie Hutchings provide the sonic mesh that holds the song together, the nuances providing fascinating musical details that exist at the intersection between intelligent pop songs, and hallucinogenic folk and country music.

The song’s monochromatic video clip poignantly and perfectly conveys that sense of loneliness and dislocation that hangs heavy in the air ahead of final farewells.

Listen to New Suit HERE

Pre-order Mark Moldre’s upcoming album Nambucca Fables on LTD Edition Gatefold vinyl, CD and digital HERE. 

On the back of a highly successful crowdfunding campaign for his fourth solo album Nambucca Fables, ‘Every Waking Hour‘ (which premiered on Double J‘s Tower of Song with Henry Wagons and on Backseat Mafia) heralds the return of Mark Moldre, four years after his acclaimed album Fever Dreams. Following the release of the single, Mark is excited to release its accompanying video clip (premiered online by Rhythms Magazine), filmed by Jo Moldre, directed and edited by Mark and beautifully populated with photos from his family photo albums.

NSW singer-songwriter Mark Moldre returns with the first taste of his forthcoming new album, Nambucca Fables, due out April 14th.
 

On the back of a highly successful crowdfunding campaign for his fourth solo album Nambucca Fables, ‘Every Waking Hour‘ heralds the return of Mark Moldre, four years after his acclaimed album Fever Dreams.

A lot has happened in the intervening years. Floods, fires and a pandemic descended, and just prior to that, on a devastating personal note, the sad and tragic loss of Mark’s mother. “Grief stifles you at first. You can barely sleep, eat or get dressed….let alone try to write. Your brain feels like it’s shrouded in a low, damp mist. I certainly couldn’t write at my desk, I felt like I was suffocating there,” he confesses. 

That creative paralysis would continue for a year before he could finally put pen to paper and was able to write again. “‘Every Waking Hour’ almost threw itself onto the page when I took a notepad down to the beach. It came out in a messed up jumble of words, total stream of consciousness. That hardly ever happens and it feels surreal when it does. I barely changed a word afterwards. Melody and lyrics all arrived fully formed.” says Mark. “The lyrical style felt different for me – it was more conversational and effortless. I was able to take my finger out of the dam after that day and thankfully the words/memories/love/loss began to flow.”
 

“Every waking hour I’m just dying to go back to sleep.”

The song, in spite of its subject matter and intense personal nature, fairly leaps from the speaker with a vibrant rhythm section and invigorating and vital guitars that cleverly convey remembrance as much as they contrast with the raw longing and emotional dislocation in the wake of the passing of a loved one. Mark’s lifetime of exploring the possibilities of the guitar in indie rock, jazz, power pop and beyond comes to the fore on the song. Heroes like Nels Cline, Neil Young and Bill Frisell are omnipresent as Mark and his band create an exquisite blend of melodic Americana and indie pop-rock that descends into a frazzled, clattering heap as the song concludes. 

“After grief, there is some kind of new balance… a new you,” explains Mark. “Damaged but somehow improved. A deeper understanding, more empathetic. Love finds new depths. Somehow you find you way out of that mist and into a new morning.”

Double J has already premiered the new single on Henry Wagon’s show Tower Of Song, Henry said “Sometimes music can process the most complicated and grief stricken experiences into quite a jaunty, toe-tapping tune. It’s sometimes the best way to fend off the tears. A great piece of jangle and country rock.”.

Backseat Mafia gave us the online premiere and said “A sparkling gem filled with poignancy and stature….gathering all the collective immediacy and veracity of songwriters from Bob Dylan to Sufjan Stevens.”

You can listen to the new single from today on all streaming services – choose your fave HERE.

Purchase the single on Bandcamp.

Pre-order Mark Moldre’s upcoming album Nambucca Fables on LTD Edition Gatefold vinyl, CD and digital HERE.

Welcome folks to 2023.

Thanks to the overwhelming support last year for my crowdfunding campaign, 2023 will see lots of new music. I’ll be forever indebted to all you very kind benefactors.

Nambucca Fables will be released April 14th on CD and LTD ED gatefold vinyl (signed with bonus lyric insert) and sold exclusively at my Bandcamp site. It will be available for pre-order February 28th. It will also be available on all the usual streaming platforms.

Want to know some of the back story? Check out the home video we made for the crowdfunding campaign which features all the band members and engineer Tim Kevin. Lots more news incoming.

Love

Mark x

You read correctly! With much anticipation/excitement/apprehension I’m happy to say that my new album entitled “Nambucca Fables” has been recorded and mixed. It’s certainly been a long time between drinks, my last update may have been as far back as mid last year. We’ve been busy though – chipping away at these songs in the studio, (and from home) through Covid and lockdowns. I’ve been lucky enough to work with my usual band along with Tim Kevin (Holly Throsby, The Apartments, Youth Group) at the helm for most of the mixing/engineering duties.

Nambucca Fables is a very personal collection of songs for me, for a myriad of reasons, and I’m hoping to release this album on LTD ED Deluxe Gatefold vinyl and on CD. To accomplish that I’ll really need your help. I’ve spent my every last red cent on the album so far, financing the recording, mixing and mastering. Artwork is still upcoming. I won’t tell you too much of the backstory here though…..as you can read all about the turbulent creation of this new batch of songs at our Pozible HQ Crowdfunding Campaign. There’s also a link at the top of the campaign page to a mini documentary on the making of Nambucca Fables. The campaign will begin on Monday October 10th and will run until Monday November 7th.

If you head to Pozible there are loads of tasty rewards and pre-orders for your perusal. Thank you in advance for any support you can give this new, special project. Your help in getting this album off the ground will be greatly appreciated.

Plenty more news to come

Love Mark x

Hey folks

A lot has happened in the world since I last posted – and I’m struggling, like the rest of you to take it all in. Currently we’re into our 12th week of lockdown here in NSW, Australia. Remaining creative isn’t always easy, and I’ll admit I’ve been struggling to write. Lyrics aren’t coming as naturally as they used to. Melodies appear and fade. Chord progressions are softly strummed and promptly forgotten. Yet, despite the involunatry brain slump I’ve managed to start work on a new album, summoned up some new motivation and slowly (slowly slowly) something fresh is falling into place.

Here’s an update on a few happenings from the past year. 

Last May I took my usual comrades into the studio for a few days and we started work on a brand new album. We managed to get four songs in before COVID restrictions brought everything to a crashing halt. We are working with engineer Tim Kevin (Holly Throsby, Youth Group, The Apartments) out at Tempe River Studios. We’re managing to continue working remotely for the time being. Here’s a bunch of happy snaps.

In other news, my bandmates, Jamie Hutchings, Reuben Wills and Scott Hutchings also make 3/4’s of Sydney noisemakers Infinity Broke. They have just released a new album Your Dream My Jail which is currently available on vinyl and CD and you can grab a copy HERE

I also created the clip for their first single Death Of A Tourist which premiered at Rolling Stone Australia. Who had this to say: “With the song released earlier this month, it’s now been accompanied by a Mark Moldre-directed video, featuring the group performing the track in an industrial environment, armed with masks and the same sort of devil-may-care attitude that helps to turn a track like “Death of A Tourist” into a powerful, lingering piece of musical expression.”

I’ve been listening to loads of music and doing some reading while in lockdown, here’s the shortlist:

Music
The Felice Brothers : 3 new songs – from their upcoming release From Dreams To Dust – all 3 are brilliant I think this could be my fave release for 2021.
Howe Gelb : Cocoon
Jeff Tweedy : Love Is The King
Bill Callahan : Sometimes I Wish We Were An Eagle
Chris Corsano and Bill Orcutt: Made Of Sound
John Lennon : The Plastic Ono Band
Marc Ribot : Silent Movies
Infinity Broke : Your Dream My Jail
Restless Leg : Dream Buffet
Toby Martin : I Felt The Valley Lifting
Nathan Salsburg : Psalms
Eagle And The Wold : Two Lovers
David Crosby : If I Could Only Remember My Name
The Feast Of Snakes : The Feast Of Snakes

Books
Klara and The Sun : Kazuo Ishiguro
The Unconsoled : Kazuo Ishiguro
How To Write One Song : Jeff Tweedy
Wandering : Hermann Hesse
Room To Dream : David Lynch and Kristine McKenna
Emily Dickinson : My Life Had Stood A Loaded Gun
Tom T. Hall : The Songwriters Handbook
Edited By Yasmine Gooneratne : Poems From India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia & Singapore
Sylvie Simmons: I’m Your Man The Life Of Leonard Cohen

Anyway folks, it’s nice to catch up with you.

take care and go gently

lots of love
mark
X

Hey Folks
Here’s something new for you
A brand new clip that we’ve put together
for the song Keep On Moving from Fever Dreams
the clip features footage from the archives
of the band on tour
through France
(loads of footage during our shows for
the Binic Folks Blues Festival)
including Le Galion (Lorient) and Saint-Quay Portrieux
train travel, driving and wandering
the streets of Paris
plus appearances in Australia at
Lizottes, The Excelsior,
The Vanguard, The Green Room,
Dashville Festival, Sly Fox,
The Factory, ABC Radio, The Hopetoun,
The Glass Onion Society, Red Pepper Cafe,
2SERFM, camping on the South Coast of NSW,
National Folk Festival, rehearsing, recording,
Love Hz plus a few homely bits n pieces
all put to a rollicking rowdy soundtrack
thanks to all these people
Jamie Hutchings, Scott Hutchings, Reuben Wills, Adam Lang
Tim Byron, Ludovic Lorre, Jared Harrison, Michael Carpenter,
Marie Caillou, Gilou Le Gruiec, Jeanclaude Massart, Chris Colquhoun,
Chris Familton and Ben Jones

On another note
I’ve finally started writing the follow up
to Fever Dreams
hopefully you’ll be hearing some new music from me
in 2021

love
mark
X

Hi there fine folk, I hope this ramble finds you well during the current chaos. I just wanted to let you know about a new release (of sorts) that will be uploaded for the masses in cyberspace today. Just in time for Bandcamp Day I’ll be releasing ‘Fits And Starts’, a small collection of odds and sods from the past 15 years of my musical history. 7 songs that have previously only been available on compilations, as bonus tracks or have remained unreleased will now be available in a single collection. Fits And Starts features production work by a series of old friends and confidantes including Tim Powles (The Church), Jamie Hutchings (Bluebottle Kiss/Infinity Broke), Michael Carpenter and Shane Pex.

The cover art features a photo taken while touring in France at a great pub called Le Galion (Lorient).

You’ll only be able to find this collection on Bandcamp – and you can pay whatever you like for it – in fact you can download all the tracks for free if you wish. My gift to you, folks. Bandcamp Day will begin at 5pm (Oz time) on Friday 7th August and finish at 5pm Saturday 8th August.

I’ve also lowered the price of Fever Dreams on vinyl and CD specifically during the Bandcamp Day period. 
FEVER DREAMS CD $12 w/free postage (in Australia)
FEVER DREAMS VINYL w/FREE TOTE $20 plus postage
Plus T-shirt/vinyl/CD deals

What are Bandcamp Fridays?

Bandcamp will continue its special “Bandcamp Friday” series for the rest of the year, waiving its revenue share on all sales on the first Friday of every month to give musicians more money from each purchase. The series started as a one-off at the end of March to help get extra money to artists after the COVID-19 pandemic brought touring to a halt and forced independent record stores to close. After fans spent $4.3 million on music and merch, the platform decided to waive its revenue share on the first Friday of the next three months. In a statement on its website, Bandcamp said, “Because the pandemic is far from over, we’ll continue to hold Bandcamp Fridays on the first Friday of every month until the end of the year.” The next five will take place August 7th, September 4th, October 2nd, November 6th and December 4th.

WHITE LIGHTNING

In case you missed the last film clip from Fever Dreams, heres the latest news – big thanks to 4ZZZ, 3RRR, 2serFM, FBi, AMNplify and community radio for showing your support. White Lightning was also featured on a series of Spotify playlists and recently received a mention on one of my favourite websites AmericanaUK:

“Here is a delightfully creative, homemade video, featuring cut-out text and images combined with performance footage. It’s the fourth single from Mark Moldre’s acclaimed 2019 album, ‘Fever Dreams’, celebrating a year since it’s release. ‘White Lightning’ reached the semi-finals of the Americana category in the International Songwriting Competition. It’s a spare, acoustic ballad, showing Moldre’s traditional influences. This is one of the best songs from a well-received album. Check it out.”

Finally – I’ve updated my website to include my Tour Diary, detailing my trip to Binic France, back in 2018. You can check it out here.

Look after yourselves and stay safe. I hope you enjoy the music.

Lotsa Love
Mark
X