Thirty years deep into a stellar career, Troy Cassar-Daley has released his most remarkable album to date, The World Today, via Sony Music Entertainment Australia.
The World Today is the 11th studio album from the multiple ARIA and Golden Guitar winner and is his most personal album to date dealing with loss, acceptance and ‘story’, all while finding a will to grow stronger and move forward in these troubling times.
Troy explains, “An old uncle of mine used to say ‘it’s not all beer and skittles’ and that saying is so true. Over the last couple of years the family life and work life balance that I’d always had, shifted. It became a monumental struggle”. He added, “On top of that I lost my Dad in 2019. People knew of his passing but what I didn’t share is that he took his own life. It hit me incredibly hard and I feel I didn’t give myself the time to grieve. Then came Covid and that’s when I really hit rock bottom.”
Pulling himself from that dark time, Troy found joy in writing with old friends and playing bass and drums on some of the rough demos in his home studio, then in Sydney in the hands of producer Matt Fell with a handpicked bunch of incredible musicians and engineer Ted Howard – the record was finished in just under a month.
This new collection of songs stem from Troy’s story and his ability to write about a bigger picture that affects us all.
While Troy leads the song writing charge on The World Today, he has also worked with Australian songwriting royalty in the process. Take a look at the credits and you’ll spot alongside Troy’s own name the likes of Don Walker, Paul Kelly, Kevin Bennett, Shane Howard, Greg Storer and Ian Moss.
The album’s first single, Back On Country, is the story of loving a place and wanting to look after it. Other highlights on the record include Heart Like A Small Town, I Hear My River, My Heart Still Burns For You (a paean to his wife Laurel who he also got to sing harmonies on), the one-two punch of the prison songs about Troy’s cousins; songs that deal with the stories of those that are close to him. Parole and Doin’ Time’ are stark reminders of incarceration and of the challenges facing many men and women today.
It’s testament to the longstanding career of the 50th inductee into the prestigious Australasian Roll Of Renown and has been awarded numerous accolades including 37 Golden Guitars, 4 ARIAs, 3 APRA Song of the Year Awards, 9 Deadlys (Australian Indigenous Artist Awards), 4 CMAA Entertainer of the Year Awards plus 2 NIMAs (National Indigenous Music Awards).
After spending the majority of 2020 writing and recoding at home, Troy is currently touring with MIDNIGHT OIL & First Nations Collaborators – ‘MAKARRATA LIVE’ and has a run of solo dates coming up, including Bluesfest Byron Bay, Gympie Music Muster, Deni Ute Muster and Savannah in the Round. For more information, visit troycassardaley.com.au/touring/.