A brief article about Mark Seymour’s upcoming Mayday album.

Author:  Cindy Ngo, Canterbury-Bankstown Express.

Date: 28 April 2015.

Original URL: http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/newslocal/south-west/former-hunters-collectors-rocker-mark-seymour-takes-aim-at-refugee-policy-with-new-album-mayday/story-fngr8hxh-1227324422412

Article Text

Mark Seymour and the Undertow will play at Revesby Workers’ Club on Saturday.

Former Hunters & Collectors frontman Mark Seymour has pulled no punches in opposition to the Federal Government’s asylum seeker policy in his band’s new album Mayday.

Mark Seymour and the Undertow’s third album features two tracks which take aim at Australia’s treatment of refugees, with the rest touching on contemporary issues.

And the rocker knows he won’t win any friends with his political statements.

The former frontman of iconic Australian rock band Hunters and Collectors now leads new band Mark Seymour and the Undertow.
On the album, Asylum is a “big blues funk track” that describes the displacement of refugees around the world, while Two Dollar Punter is told from the perspective of an asylum seeker fleeing their homeland.

“I started actually trying to describe what it might feel like to be imprisoned in the bottom of a boat and hearing troops climbing on board and walking around on the deck above your head,” he said.

The chorus, he says, has a basic message: “I’m going to hang on to this because I can’t turn back, and if it has to be this hard, it has to be this hard.”

Mark Seymour and the Undertow have previously released two albums.

A veteran of the music industry, Seymour, 58, says his attitude hasn’t changed since he committed to becoming a musician.

“When I decided I wanted to be a singer it was just a complete decision. I made it when I was 22 and I just haven’t looked back really,” he said.

“I still get very nervous but I get out onstage and it feels right. I always feel very comfortable when I’m out there. My basic attitude hasn’t changed in all that time.”

The band will play new and old tracks, including from the Hunters & Collectors’ era.

THE SHOW

WHAT: Former Hunters & Collectors frontman with his new band Mark Seymour and the Undertow

WHEN: Saturday at 8pm

WHERE: Revesby Workers’ Club

COST: $35

DETAILS: rwc.org.au

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