Tamas Wells
Tamas Wells | |
---|---|
Origin | Australia |
Genres | Acoustic, soft rock |
Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter |
Instrument(s) | Guitar |
Years active | 2002–present |
Labels | Inpartmaint (Japan), Pocket Records (China), Popboomerang (Australia) |
Website | tamaswells |
Tamas Wells (/ˈteɪməs/ TAY-məs) is an Australian singer-songwriter and academic based in Melbourne, Australia. Wells first came to attention in his home country in 2002 with airplay of a three-track demo, Cigarettes, a Tie and a Free Magazine, recorded with three friends. They followed this up with an EP, Stitch in Time, the same year. The band took off in 2004 when they were spotted by record producer Tim Whitten and invited to record their debut album, A Mark on the Pane, with Popboomerang Records. Beginning that year, they performed five national tours.
In early 2006 Wells relocated to
In 2012 he returned to Melbourne where completed a doctorate in Burmese politics at University of Melbourne where he now works as an academic.[2] He writes on issues of Burmese democracy and political transition.[3]
Early years and career
Tamas Wells began playing the piano when he was aged about eight years, but disliked sitting for the examinations.
Wells first came to public attention in Australia in March 2002 when Cigarettes, a Tie and a Free Magazine,
Wells first went to
Two Years in April was subsequently released in June 2008 by Popboomerang in Australia, Pocket Records in China and Inpartmaint in Japan.[11] Wells was inspired by his feelings of isolation during his first two years in Burma.[5] One reviewer said that Wells had shown "he has the songwriting stuff to capture an audience who, for the most part, may not be able to understand what he is singing but is drawn in by his infectious melodies and breathtaking arrangements. ... Wells has chosen to frame his on-point melodicism with a startingly fragile framework to put all of the emphasis on his songs. ... The melodies are sublime and Wells' choice in arrangements are near perfect."[12] In conjunction with the album release, Wells toured Australia, China and Japan in 2009 and 2010, including an appearance at the M1 Singapore Fringe Festival on 23 January 2010.[5][11]
The recording of Wells' upcoming fourth album was portrayed in the 15-minute documentary The Houses There Wear Verandahs Out of Shyness (2010) by Fabrizio Polpettini. The title of the film is a line from Les Murray's poem "Driving through Sawmill Towns" from the anthology Learning Human: Selected Poems (2000).[13] In 2011, Fabrizio Polpettini made a video clip for the song Thirty People Away from the album of the same name. The film, which brings to the screen French actors Roxane Duran and Denis Lavant, was inspired by the character of the god Pan in the book "Jitterbug Perfume", by Tom Robbins.
Wells has been described as having "the type of voice that you assume could only come from spending your school years continually being beaten up behind the bike racks. It is an instrument so frail and timid yet stunning in its clarity whilst still holding a glimpse of some deeper inner strength."[14] Wells has said that he does not write his music for a specific audience, but "[tries] to write things that I take pleasure in making – if certain groups of people like it then that's great but the audience is not the starting point".[5]
Discography
Albums
- A Mark on the Pane (2004)
- A Plea en Vendredi (2006)
- Two Years in April (2008)
- Thirty People Away (2010)
- On the Volatility of the Mind (2014)
- The Plantation (2017)
Extended play
- Stitch in Time (2002)
Singles
- Cigarettes, a Tie and a Free Magazine (2002)
- Valder Fields (2006, from A Plea en Vendredi)
Notes
- ^ Link, additional text.
- ^ Link, additional text.
- ^ Link, additional text.
- ^ a b c Mark Kay (23 January 2010), Singapore Fringe Festival 2010: The Tamas Wells interview, Singapore Kopitiam: An Insider's Brew, archived from the original on 17 February 2010, retrieved 5 February 2010.
- ^ a b c d Hamant Singh (16 January 2010), Interview: Tamas Wells, Magmug, archived from the original on 25 January 2010, retrieved 23 January 2010.
- ^ [Tamas Wells: Recordings], Tamas Wells, 2008, archived from the original on 4 January 2010, retrieved 23 January 2010.
- ^ a b c Valder Fields, OZtrax, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 18 July 2006, archived from the original on 7 January 2010, retrieved 23 January 2010.
- ^ a b Steph Edwardes (14 March 2006), "Tamas Wells", Rockus Online Magazine, archived from the original on 5 September 2007, retrieved 23 January 2010.
- ^ a b c d About Tamas Wells, Tamas Wells, 2008, archived from the original on 31 July 2008, retrieved 23 January 2010.
- ^ Field workers: Tamas and Bronwyn Wells in Burma, TEAR Australia, archived from the original on 23 January 2010, retrieved 23 January 2010.
- ^ a b Tamas Wells: Two Years in April (PDF), Tamas Wells, 2008, archived from the original (PDF) on 27 November 2009, retrieved 23 January 2010.
- ^ Scott Homewood (30 October 2008), CD review: Tamas Wells – Two Years in April (Pop Boomerang Records), The Rock and Roll Report, archived from the original on 23 January 2010, retrieved 23 January 2010. See also Matt James (7 July 2008), Tamas Wells – Two Years in April, Thedwarf.com.au, archived from the original on 23 January 2010, retrieved 23 January 2010; Ian Mathers (8 September 2008), "Tamas Wells: Two Years in April", PopMatters, archived from the original on 23 January 2010, retrieved 23 January 2010.
- ^ The Houses There Wear Verandahs Out of Shyness: A Short Film by Fabrizio Polpettini, Fabrizio Polpettini, 2010, archived from the original on 8 July 2011, retrieved 22 September 2010.
- Perth): Tamas Wells: A Plea en Vendredi, Popboomerang Records, 2006, archived from the originalon 20 July 2008, retrieved 24 January 2010.
References
- About Tamas Wells, Tamas Wells, 2008, archived from the original on 31 July 2008, retrieved 23 January 2010.
- Kay, Mark (23 January 2010), Singapore Fringe Festival 2010: The Tamas Wells interview, Singapore Kopitiam: An Insider's Brew, archived from the original on 17 February 2010, retrieved 5 February 2010.
- Singh, Hamant (16 January 2010), Interview: Tamas Wells, Magmug, archived from the original on 25 January 2010, retrieved 23 January 2010.
- Valder Fields, OZtrax, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 18 July 2006, archived from the original on 7 January 2010, retrieved 23 January 2010.