Joel Rivendell is a songwriter and performer from Melbourne. He's been playing and performing music for over 30 years but now mainly writes songs from time to time as a hobby. Near the beginning of 2022 Joel started releasing music using multi-digital platform distribution (e.g. Spotify, Apple, Amazon) which established a loyal and dedicated fan base within less than a year that continues to grow rapidly. “Melbourne” is a bit of a love song to his home town. The lyrics are in part a big up for this great city. There are also themes around hope that Melbourne avoids becoming a troubled city in future as well as a wistful, somewhat nostalgic aspect throughout the song that secretly, and irrationally, wishes Melbourne never changes.
By Kamil Bobin
Discovered via Musosoup
Kamil) Hey Joel Rivendell, super nice to have the chance to chat with you. What first got you into music?
My uncle lent me his old beat up guitar when I was 14 and I went from there. It helped that my best friend at the time started playing bass guitar so we had that to share growing up.
Are there any musicians who inspire you? What qualities do you admire about them?
Cliche response but too many to mention, in most genres I have a few favourites that admire and that inspire me. I’m a lover of music in any genre as long as it resonates with me on some level.
Your latest track is 'Melbourne'. Can you share with us the background of its creation and did any unusual things happen during its creation?
I was travelling 5 days a week to another city for work for over a year and a half and I was becoming fairly home sick towards the end of that period in particular. It was around that time that I wrote Melbourne.
Which skills have you gained that help you perform effectively as a musician?
I’ve been performing and writing for a long time on and off, so I’ve been blessed to have the opportunity to continually hone a range of relevant skills to hopefully operate as an effective musician in the works I produce and distribute. As with most things in life you never stop learning and it’s a continuum, particularly if you keep an open and inviting mind to new learning opportunities, and I do enjoy that aspect of it as well.
What are your favourite musical genres, and are there any you dislike?
Not so genre focused as I am more about works that can evoke or provoke an emotion, mood, memory or thought for me. Some of my favourite musical compositions have a powerful feeling or emotion you can relate to, an inherent life of its own that energises you, an ability to transport you, or even sometimes, the power to heal.
Are there people who help you with the production of the songs?
For the most part not really, mainly due to it being a hobby of mine that I run at my own pace, a little like someone who tinkers on an old car in the garage when they can. Having said this my wife has sung on a few of the tunes and I hope in the future to get my daughters involved if they are interested (too young at the moment to tell).
What are your long term goals?
To keep writing music I enjoy listening to myself.
What is it about music that makes you feel passionate?
I thoroughly enjoy the song writing process. I’ve been a front person and performer in various guises, and while that was fun for me the most enjoyable aspect I’ve found for myself is music as a creative process. Namely the ability to conjure up any kind of music you can think of from thin air continues to excite me and keep me engaged. Interestingly, and this is where I knew long ago I could not make it as a full time musician, I can only focus on music for a limited time before I get somewhat tired of it. I then take a break doing other things in life and this re-energises me to come back and write more music which is a nice cycle that works well for me.
How do you feel the Internet has impacted the music business?
A tremendous amount in terms of enabling self distribution to an audience and almost a test and learn iterative music development culture. I personally embrace the new technology enabled potential it brings, everything from 1000’s of high quality samples and sounds at your fingertips, to the ability to release music in a ideation to production cycle that may last only a few days. It’s tremendous to be on a roll with something that’s still super fresh, fun and interesting to you, be able to publish that quickly, and then get almost immediate feedback. Love it.
What are your plans for the future?
To keep writing and publishing music, including exploring new pathways and genres that I may not have tinkered with before; the future is bright and full of potential.