In Coverstation with Charlie Ivan ahead of his AU Tour, and Album ‘Of Nothing’ out this August

Alice Springs-based songwriter Charlie Ivan shares new single 'Fait Accompli' and announces an Australian tour in support of his second album, Of Nothing, due Friday 7 August via Bedroom Suck Records. The tour will take Ivan and his band across the country with shows in Alice Springs, Thirroul, Sydney, Melbourne, Hobart, Adelaide, Brisbane and Mapleton this August, supported by locals including Milly Strange, Ella Ion, Beryl and Hinano Fujisaki.

'Fait Accompli' follows the release of June's double single, the title track 'Of Nothing' and 'I'm Tired', providing another glimpse into the album's expansive world. Recorded in Mparntwe Alice Springs on Arrernte Country with Dylan Young (Way Dynamic),Of Nothing follows Ivan's 2024 debut, Where The Dogs Go To Die, drawing on years of songwriting shaped by the landscapes of Central and Western Australia. 

On new single 'Fait Accompli’, Ivan shares, "A kind of mash of words and anxieties that bubble away somewhere. Iterative lyrics - fragments from different times and notebooks. Some reckoning with futility which links a lot of the songs. Dylan Young, the producer, dropped the standard tuning on my Telecaster down a step and added the four-to-the-floor guitar harmonies."

A deep connection to place remains central to the album's identity. Rather than recording elsewhere, Ivan chose to make the record on Arrernte Country, where many of the songs were written and where their emotional landscape felt most at home. "The songs I've been doing for some time now always feel really grounded in the desert country."

Musically, Of Nothing sits somewhere between alternative rock and desert-folk. The album carries the influence of songwriters such as Mark Lanegan, Nick Cave, Leonard Cohen and Sharon Van Etten, while remaining grounded in the desert country and the remote landscape on which it was written.

"It's meant to feel like a car dropping into the low road, trying to escape a dust storm trailing in from the west. It's meant to drive forward with a kind of quiet intensity. Some soft moments of longing and memory. A feeling that everything could collapse."

Hey Charlie, Where are you writing to us from today?

My desk at my house in Old Eastside in Mparntwe Alice Springs

You’ve described ‘Fait Accompli’ as a "mash of words and anxieties" from different times and notebooks. How do you know when these fragmented pieces belong together in a single song, rather than staying separate?

I think the way I write words often lends itself to this kind of approach. I like images and mood. I’m never really interested in trying to tell someone how to think about something or feel about something, so it’s kind of necessarily ambiguous too which lowers the pressure to come across as coherent…

Naturally, some songs or ideas don’t make it onto the record. I’m usually keen to mine those lyrics and reappropriate them if they’re ok.. And then I guess I just pen stuff down in a all these random notebooks and napkins that come in and out of my orbit. I may flick through them, or remember them, and then suddenly they’re all crammed in together on a page and inside a song and it either works or it doesn’t.

You mentioned a "reckoning with futility" ties these songs together. What is it about futility that you find compelling enough to explore across a whole record?

It feels obvious to talk about these big kind of cyclical forces that we’re up against. Those ones that have toppled empires and staged revolutions. I dunno, I’m more interested in the micro than that big macro stuff. I guess I’ve felt that big macro stuff mucking around with the more intimate and personal and that’s weaved it’s way through.

Your debut Where The Dogs Go To Die came out in 2024, and now your second album Of Nothing is dropping on August 7. What shifted in your songwriting or perspective between these two records to allow for such a prolific turnaround?

I guess I don’t feel like it shifted heaps. I suppose I lifted my eyes some though. The first record is more personal from go to woe. The world bled into the second record more..

You’re releasing this album with Bedroom Suck Records, a label known for championing deeply distinct, community-minded Australian music. How did that partnership come about, and how does it feel having this specific body of work housed there?

I’ve never really been a label-head kind of consumer of music, but Bedroom Suck was always one I kept an eye on ever since I became all-consumed by that 2018 Cyanide Thornton self-titled record. 

It was natural from our end. A few characters who have been along for the ride for us had kind of suggested that Bedroom Suck would be a good home for these songs. Dylan Young who produced both of our records was strong on it when we were in the studio doing the songs and so I was pretty quick to shoot Joe the out-of-the-desk mixes. 

Joe and I had a long talk on the phone after we got some subsequent mixes back. I was in Tennant Creek, Warumungu country, and he was in Broken Hill. We pulled the trigger on it together not long after that. It’s been a real pleasure so far.

You were adamant about recording Of Nothing at home on Arrernte Country rather than traveling to a major city studio. Why was it vital for the physical geography of the desert to mirror the recording environment?

Maybe ‘vital’ is too strong. We’d have done it in a studio if that made sense. I guess I’d have just preferred to make it work up here. The songs are from here, written here, with imagery from here and a mood from here. We all live here. This place makes sense to me and ‘down there’ can scare me. Maybe we’ll record the next one in Iceland though.. who knows.

Songwriting is a lineage for you, starting with your mother introducing you to the craft and artists like Nick Cave, Neil Young, and Sinéad O'Connor. How does that personal family history intertwine with the deep sense of history and place you feel in the desert?

My mum wrote songs and played in bands when I was a kid. They listened to a lot of music and introduced me to a lot of artists. We drove a lot so I guess these desert-scapes always had those soundtracks sitting on and within them.

This tour is incredibly expansive, hitting everywhere from major capitals to regional hubs like Thirroul and Mapleton. What are you most looking forward to when it comes to experiencing the unique musical communities in these distinct pockets of Australia?

Nice to bring these songs around the traps, you know? Feels like a bit of due diligence to the songs or something – like I gotta air them out a little before moving on. Nothing new there. We’ve played a few shows around since I started this project – it’s been nice to reflect on some connections we’ve made too. I guess it’ll be good to do some more of that.

You are kicking off the tour with a hometown launch at the Araluen Arts Centre in Alice Springs. What does it mean to you to debut these songs for the community that directly inspired and held them during their creation?

We’ve tried to be careful, you know, we don’t want to overplay to our mates here. It’s been a while since we played a show. We’ve hired a generator a couple of times and put on these lovely free sunset shows at the Clay Pans and up at the Ilparpa Quarry. People used to love coming to those. We haven’t played in town since late last year. We sold out a little tin shed theatre on the banks of the dry riverbed that runs through town. People up here have always been really supportive. It’ll be nice to play up here again.

You have a brilliant lineup of local supports across this tour—artists like Milly Strange, Ella Ion, Beryl, and Hinano Fujisaki. What is it about these particular creatives that made you want to share a stage with them?

Again, it’s been cool reflecting on some of these connections made over the years. You step back and realise you have a lot of mates doing really great stuff and so it makes sense to do it all together when you can..

Are there any other up-and-coming artists, writers, or creatives—either from the heavy-hitting scene in Alice Springs or elsewhere on the road that you are currently listening to and want to shine a light on?
A friend of mine in town, Kynan, has a project called Alepmepaye, which is his Arrernte language name. We’ve been sharing stages together for a while. He is getting serious about getting some music out which I’m really excited about. 

Milly Strange has been working on some stuff I know. I’ve heard a few snippets. That’ll be big, I think. 

Field Commander Ali put out a record through Brierfield Flood Press called ‘the next from field commander’ earlier this year. I’ve had that on repeat. 

That new debut Blue Communications record is a beaut too. 

CHARLIE IVAN OF NOTHING TOUR DATES

Fri 7 Aug – Araluen Arts Centre, Alice Springs, NT w Jack Spencer
Thurs 13 Aug – Frank's, Thirroul, NSW w Beryl
Fri 14 Aug – The Vanguard, Sydney, NSW w Hinano Fujisaki & Beryl 
Thurs 20 Aug – Northcote Social Club, Melbourne VIC w Milly Strange 
Fri 21 Aug – Hobart, TAS w Dolphin
Sat 22 Aug – The Scenic, Adelaide, SA w Ella Ion
Sat 29 Aug – Junk Bar, Brisbane, QLD w McKisko
Sun 30 Aug – Mapleton Pub, Mapleton, QLD w Angharad Drake

More supports TBA.Tickets here