On The Volatility Of The Mind

When Melbourne singer songwriter Tamas Wells released his debut album ‘A Mark on the Pane’ Inpress Magazine described it as ‘one of the year’s most beautiful records’ and it reached number 16 in Australia’s AIR charts. It also received much praise internationally - with Savio Records in Italy declaring that it was ‘destined to become a cult record for many’.
Yet not long after the 2004 release, Wells left Australia - moving to the isolated country of Myanmar (Burma) to take up a long term position with an aid organization.
That could have been the end of the story.
But instead, he continued to write and record - and after three subsequent albums Wells has sold tens of thousands of records, signed label deals in Europe, Japan, China and Korea, headlined shows in Paris, Tokyo, Sydney and Shanghai and enjoyed a period in the international charts in Japan (HMV Shibuya) - all while remaining relatively unknown in his home city.
His songs have also been used in a number of films including Australian producer Marc Furmie’s award winning ‘Dark Horse’ and ‘The Houses there Wear Verandahs Out of Shyness’ from Italian film producer Fabrizio Polpettini. Polpettini also collaborated in making the stunning film clip for Wells' 2011 song ‘Thirty People Away’ - which was filmed in Paris and stars French actor Denis Lavant.
On the Volatility of the Mind
In 2012, Wells returned from Myanmar and in various homes around Melbourne began work on a new studio album. While previous recordings have drawn on Wells’ ‘beautifully broken’ use of acoustic guitar and piano (Daily Telegraph), the new album takes a different path. As Wells says, ‘I am a believer in using the instruments you have around you, and while I was writing these songs I found an old Casio synthesizer at my parent’s house and a friend had left his electric guitar at my house. So the songs started to focus on melodies, jangly guitar parts and dreamy synthesizer instrumentals’.
In the project, Wells also collaborated for the first time with Melbourne producer Nick Huggins (Kid Sam, Two Bright Lakes) and drew on the songwriting smarts of Mark Lang (Skipping Girl Vinegar). The result is ‘On the Volatility of the Mind’ - which will be released internationally in March 2014 (and in Australia through Popboomerang Records). Wells will tour internationally in May and June 2014.