Let's drop the postmodern irony, the pretenses at objectivity, and all the other music-critic smarts. The music which Karl Broadie makes - as captured on his debut proper as a singer-songwriter, Nowhere Now Here - is magic. And it's the truth, in all the dazzling simplicity with which the truth sometimes presents itself in our lives - suddenly, mysteriously, as if from nowhere. There are those who unfailingly bring you into their world with each word they sing. Jeff Tweedy and Bob Dylan and Lucinda Williams and Neil Young and Townes Van Zandt are a kind of landscape of their own, their voices an open invitation to enter that world whenever you choose. And Karl Broadie is like that, too. Karl's voice has ache and it has immediacy and it has soul, and it has the simple, plainspoken conviction of someone who is telling the truth. If Karl Broadie has a strong philosophical bent, perhaps he was born to it. The 30-year-old Scottish expat, now living in Sydney, was born in Edinburgh to a family of philosophers, artists and free-thinkers. His father is an Oxford-educated painter, his mother a dance teacher. Karl's introduction to the music industry occurred when he was offered the chance to do work experience in a London recording studio. Karl's first day on the job saw him in the studio with famed Eurhythmics producer, Mark Freegard. As a T-boy (tape op) he was soon breathing the same stale studio air as Bananarama, Big Audio Dynamite, Maxi Priest and the Fine Young Cannibals. This last band must have taken a liking the young studio apprentice, since their multi-million selling album, The Raw and the Cooked affectionately credits Karl Broadie as "executive engineer". Still, his mind was elsewhere, on the songwriting, which would soon become his main concern. Karl's personal philosophy can be most succinctly expressed in the song, which ended up being the title track of his debut. "The song Nowhere Now Here was just... everything brought together. It's cause and effect, the simple philosophy of remembering that you are never nowhere -- you are always now here." Karl still works full-time in the music business, although he has a musician's instinctive distrust towards the machinations of the industry. "Even though I've always appreciated it, I haven't needed a second opinion, not with my music. When we went to make this album, we knew we wouldn't compromise; not on one high-hat! We were so sure, when we were making it, what was right, and what was wrong. "To be able to present what you've created to others, you're gonna have those emotions of being either convinced or apprehensive, and this is the first time I've been completely convinced. Not that everyone's going to like it, that doesn't matter; but I was convinced that I'd made something I had reason to be proud of." Karl brought many deep-running influences to Nowhere Now Here, but identifies one album in particular - Bring 'Em All In, the solo debut by ex-Waterboy Mike Scott - as a creative turning point. "When I heard it, I had to lean against the wall", he recalls, the awe still evident in his voice. When asked to nominate his all-time influence, however, Karl doesn't hesitate. "It's gotta be Dylan. It's kind of in my blood; my dad still talks about Dylan endlessly, and Dylan Thomas as well - when we get together he'll sit in a cafe, reciting 50 verses of Dylan Thomas and Dylan lyrics. So the Dylan influence is there, and I've always felt really natural in the way I sing. I've always had the Dylan comments and there's never anything wrong with people mentioning Dylan to me. I love it! I'd only have a problem with it, I reckon, if I was trying not to sound like Dylan!" It's as simple as that, for Karl Broadie. He says in all sincerity: "I believe in my stories, I believe in my truths and what I'm singing about." Have a listen to Nowhere Now Here and there it is; belief in the stories, belief in the truths, self-evident and shining bright in each song. This is an album to believe in, if ever there was one. PRESS: "I'm a true believer in all that's pure and real," sings Scotch-Ozzie singer-songwriter Karl Broadie on "Devil By My Side." He repeats himself indirectly throughout the record in his reverence for song craft and discreet derivation from influences (acoustic folk rock a la Dylan, with shades of Chris Whitley's Dirt Floor period). He knows the mechanics of a good tune and employs them (best evident on "A Few More Miles," in which his broken-intonation and unfeigned delivery create the illusion of dotted lines disappearing in the crosshairs of a hood ornament). He's not perfect, however, and slips up on occasion, like on "See You When I Get There" where a lame line - "this dusty grey-blue view knows your heart-song" - drops through the quality control sieve. On the whole, though, Nowhere Now Here is mostly great stuff and Broadie may have some scary albums on deck." - HARP "Scotsman-by-way-of-Sydney Karl Broadie doesn't shy away from the Bob Dylan reference to his own work, and it's not hard to trace the influence on his debut, Nowhere Now Here. But like many contemporary singer/songwriters who claim Dylan as a primary influence, it's just as easy to hear some of the second-generation strains in Broadie's translation as well. His Scottish intonation and perspective nods toward a more country-flecked Francis Dunnery ("A Few More Miles," "Ride Out Alone") while his raspy delivery suggests a down under Steve Forbert (the title track, "After It's Over"). Of course, the most important quality that Broadie shares with all of the above is a passion and sincerity that differentiates the influenced from the mere pretenders. Although Broadie doesn't venture too far from the vicinity of his own heart and its relationships, it's obviously familiar terrain and he is an expert guide." - AMPLIFIER Fresher-of-the-month award goes to Karl Broadie, a 31-year-old Edinburgh-born singer/songwriter now resident in Sydney, whose Nowhere Now Here is a highly promising debut. Possessed of a fine, lugubrious croak, Broadie is in thrall to Dylan ("Stranded", in particular, owes much to Highway 61 Revisited), but his slow-sad meditations - set adrift on a raft of mandolins, banjos, dobro and fiddle - are closest to Jeff Tweedy's Wilco circa Being There." - UNCUT "A Scots-born Oz-based singer-songwriter whose chops are in the right place. His voice comes nicely cracked, his folksy songs often worth an instant replay. That he has been inspired by Townes Van Zandt and Mike Scott provides a plus on his CV. " - MOJO "Imagine the pure, raw power of whatever it is that makes Wilco amazing, taken back to its roots via some smokey pub in the Scottish highlands and even the odd thunderstorm, and you have the charming world of Karl Broadie. This, his debut, sees an intrinsically American sound (think banjos, brushed drums, incessant fiddling) matched with a supreme confidence. Broadie has every right to be confident too - tracks like 'Ride Out Alone' and the tearjerking 'Paperback Book' could quite easily have come from the Mermaid Avenue album. Even the Beatles vibe of 'A Few More Lines' keeps the ante up. Broadie's sound betrays the fact that he's lived and loved, but more importantly, it makes clear that he's learnt too." - RECORD COLLECTOR "Karl Broadie is a 31 year old Scottish ex-pat who now lives in Sydney but sounds like he came from somewhere in between, or more specifically from the land and recent times of Son Volt and the Jayhawks. While both of those particular bands have moved on to arguably more diverse territory, Karl Broadie makes americana like he's about to start a third full on movement of the genre. With lyrics drawn from a philosophical bent apparently gleamed from his upbringing in Edinburgh, his lyrics are full of observations on nature, loss, regret and in one sense the complete unabridged guide to americana subject matter - but Broadie has a knack rather like Peter Bruntnell for making ideas sound fresh without being entirely original. It feels genuinely personal. His lyrics aren't the only thing he shares in common with Bruntnell too - Broadie's voice is quite simply amazing, perfectly suited to both the intimacy of his quieter moments like "Paperback Book" ("I'm a drinkin' man, it's where I find my solace, I've got your words in my bottle and I'm throwin' them down fillin' my veins) and the gentle optimism of his more upbeat material, a better example of which you won't find than the title track which is every bit as classic as Bruntnell's "NFB" or Mark Olson's "My Own Jo Ellen" with its mandolin, banjo, dobro and beautifully conceived production. Broadie's songs are strong right the way through and rarely feel laboured. The odd track can feel repetitive but you still get the feeling about something almost magical when you're listening, making it very difficult to move on quickly. It might be occasionally overly derivative but it's a genuinely triumphant first record, and indeed the first truly essential album of 2003." 4.5 / 5 - Americana-UK Website "Nowhere Now Here, has now been hailed by critics all across the land as an alt.country masterpiece and has had more radio play than many big budget releases" - Audio Technology Magazine "The best album to come out of Australia this year" - One Times One Website