Christopher Coleman & The Great Escape’s new album ‘The Great Tasmanian Escape’ is a beautiful love letter to Christopher’s home state. To understand the achievement that is The Great Tasmanian Escape, you need understand Christopher Coleman the human being and all his foibles. Chris doesn’t cruise through the process of making a record or setting up and performing a gig like the majority of musicians. Often his anxiety takes over to the point that it makes it difficult to get through the daily tasks associated with a musician’s day. As he told Australian Musician in our interview, “I’m learning that this (the music business) might not be the way to go for me but it is an absolute addiction if you fall into a song.” Chris went on to tell us that his musician life would be much easier if he could just teleport himself in at the start of a gig and straight out afterwards.
Speaking to the amiable Coleman, it’s easy to see why so many prominent Tasmanian musicians, including Augie March’s Glenn Richards and the late great drummer for The Drones, Mike Noga were happy to commit to this project and the 8 piece live band. It was a labour of love for Christopher and that clearly rubbed off on the others too.
Set against the backdrop of rural Tasmanian life, the album is a semi-autobiographical affair. For some of the song titles on The Great Tasmanian Escape, Christopher name-checks local places such as, ‘Petersham Lament’, Beaumaris Zoo, New Norfolk, Queenstown Crows, Paloona and Launceston. Throughout, he narrates a decade in the life of protagonist Jesse after he returns from serving in the Middle East. Equal parts fact and fiction, Jesse struggles to integrate back into his hometown of Sydney and decides to escape the mainland and embark upon an epic adventure across Tasmania – arriving with nothing, and leaving with nothing.
Much like the Tasmanian landscape, Coleman’s sonic vision is beautifully grand and at times breathtaking. Hobart music fans are lucky to have the opportunity to experience Christopher Coleman & The Great Escape live on March 27 at In The Hanging Garden when he officially launches the album.
Australian Musician editor Greg Phillips had the pleasure of chatting with Christopher Coleman via zoom recently about his life as an artist and the creation of The Great Tasmanian Escape
Christopher Coleman’s Linktree
https://linktr.ee/christophercoleman
Below is Christopher’s clip to the single ‘Amelia’ from the album The Great Escape