Stripped: Hat Fitz and Cara Robinson play Bellbrae’s Harvester Moon Festival next week.
By Cherie Donnellan
COUNTRY-BLUES duo Hat Fitz and Cara Robinson wanted to “strip” for their latest album, Wiley Ways.
Strip back their musical sound, that is.
Irish-born Robinson spoke to the Independent about the couple’s “old-time” music, her romantic beginnings with Fitz, married life on tour and playing at Harvester Moon Festival next week.
“We tried to keep our sound as authentic as possible by recording it live,” Robinson asserted.
“But you’ve got to be careful when you do that because sometimes you can make it sound like a garage band.”
Robinson confessed she was “chuffed” that internationally renowned Geelong musician Jeff Lang produced the album.
His studio was the “perfect” venue to do justice to the album, she said.
Fitz encouraged Robinson to extend her percussion repertoire to include playing the washboard.
“Fitzy threw one at me one day and said ‘get your chops around that’,” Robinson reminisced.
She remembered Fitz “wooing” her during her first time visiting Australia.
“We’d met earlier and had been talking over the phone for three months.
“I came over to Australia to visit him and he showed me how beautiful Australia was.
Robinson joked her husband’s father was a “comedian” for naming him Patrick Fitzpatrick.
“That’s why he goes by Hat Fitz – it’s a bit more unique,” she laughed.
The pair sometimes “gave each other the s…s”, Robinson admitted, but she still described married life on tour as “absolutely amazing”.
“A musician’s life can be pretty lonely because it involves a lot of travelling.
“Having him with me, I appreciate it so much.”
Fitz and Robinson will play at Bellarine’s Harvester Moon Festival for the first time.
Robinson said playing in front of a new audience was always “something to look forward to”.
She was aware the pair had a larger European fan base – perhaps due to their Irish heritage – but believed the number of followers was “growing” in Australia.
“It’s such a beautiful place here and it’s fantastic to make music here,” Robinson said cheerily.
Harvester Moon Festival is on October 19.
