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“His song writing clever and his performances radiant with infectious energy” – The Australian
“A powerful creation that is as slick as it is straightforward, with Riebl’s enormous vocals driving the track forward as it hits with a force previously unseen in his work” – Rolling Stone
“Offers momentary glimpses into the seemingly endless pit of musical talent and expertise that has all but made Riebl a national treasure” – The Music
He has also offered up latest release ‘Liar’, paying homage to the strong classical contingent in his family. The juxtaposition of a string quartet thrown into this rock song delivers an element of light-heartedness and humour, celebrating moments of contrast. Felix comments, “ ’Ya Liar’ is also a direct reference to Bob Dylan’s famous concert at the Royal Albert hall in 1966, where when he was called ‘Judas’ for playing an electric set instead of an acoustic one and he went into Like a Rolling Stone and muttered to his band to ‘play it fuckin loud!’” Standing at 11-tracks, each song details the wonder and obscurities of life with joy and exuberance. The album is timely as it breathes life into a new world. Surrounding himself with a dream team of musicians, along with engineer Andy Baldwin (producer / engineer) and Ross Irwin (co-producer / arranger), the recording process itself was very free flowing and only took two weeks to create. “Everyday Amen is one of the most exuberant, full-of-life albums I’ve ever been involved in. It brings together Worlds that are particularly special to me. One of them is international, full of fragments and scenes that drift around my mind after years of tour. The other one is my domestic life, equally over the top, but in a more insular, everyday way. For me, this album is the coming together of those different states. It’s a celebration of the extrovert and introvert in me, and the music comes to life at those points where the familiar flips and suddenly becomes magic.” Drawing on evocative and colourfully haunting imagery that has been mentally sketched from a previous time and place – Hamburg, Cuba, Apollo Bay – songs like ‘ Yeah Yeah Yeah’ came out of fragments of memory, acting as contrasts to life yet somehow affiliated in nature. ‘Barcelona Beers’ speaks of a touring pattern; a dream that plays on repeat. A forgotten memory in the morning that is relived each night as though it’s the first time. Closing track ‘ Are You Awake Love (Anya’s Song)’ is a lullaby for his daughter who struggled sleeping. It’s a love song; a quiet anthem for all those who are sleep deprived, half mad, but very alive all the same. The album at its core is a celebration of life. It’s the interplay between insular domesticity and very extrovert overflowing international moments that drives the songs and allows the listener to reflect on their own Everyday Amen moments. “ For me the Everyday Amen moment is that instance where something that you think is expected turns on its head, or becomes curious, or funny, or mad. It’s just a moment where you’re back in life for a second.” To celebrate the release of Everyday Amen, Felix will perform the album in full at Melbourne Recital Centre on Tuesday November 29 – tickets available here
FELIX RIEBL TOUR DATES
SATURDAY NOVEMBER 26 | QUEENSCLIFF MUSIC FESTIVAL
TUESDAY NOVEMBER 29 | MELBOURNE RECITAL CENTRE (ALBUM LAUNCH)
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