''Fish Out of Water'' is the fourth
studio album
An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...
by
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
n
blues
Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...
musician
Ash Grunwald
Ash Grunwald (born Ashley Mark Groenewald, 5 September 1976) is an Australian blues musician. He has released nine studio albums and has received five nominations for ARIA Music Awards. Five albums have charted in the ARIA Albums Chart top&nbs ...
. It was released in August 2008, peaking at number 43, becoming Grunwald's first album to peak inside the
ARIA Charts
The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...
top 50.
At the
ARIA Music Awards of 2009
The 23rd Annual Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (generally known as ARIA Music Awards or simply The ARIAs) took place on 26 November 2009 at the Acer Arena at the Sydney Olympic Park complex. The ceremony was telecast on ...
, the album was nominated for
ARIA Award for Best Blues and Roots Album
The ARIA Music Award for Best Blues and Roots Album, is an award presented at the annual ARIA Music Awards, which recognises "the many achievements of Aussie artists across all music genres", since 1987. It is handed out by the Australian Recor ...
.
At the
APRA Awards of 2010
The Australasian Performing Right Association Awards of 2010 (generally known as APRA Music Awards) was the 28th annual ceremony by the Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) to award outstanding achievements in contemporary songwritin ...
"Breakout" won "Blues & Roots Work of the Year"
Background and release
Ash Grunwald attended a label-initiated songwriters day at
Michael Gudinski
Michael Solomon Gudinski AM (22 August 1952 – 2 March 2021) was an Australian record executive and promoter who was a leading figure in the Australian music industry. Born and raised in Melbourne to Jewish Russian immigrants, Gudinski formed ...
's house in Victoria's
Macedon Ranges
The Macedon Ranges is a region in Central Victoria, known for its expansive native forests, vibrant arts scene, thriving food and wine industries (including weekly farmers' markets) and natural attractions such as Hanging Rock and Mount Macedon. It ...
and was teamed with hip-hop artist, Pip Norman (from
TZU
TZU (pronounced "Tee Zed Yoo") were an Australian hip hop group, formed in 1999 by Joelistics, Yeroc, Seed MC and Paso Bionic. They used instruments in live performances, giving their shows a rock-infused feeling. Duzy What joined in 2005. TZ ...
) and the duo wrote the album's title track, described by Shane Fowles from The Standard as "an uplifting blues gospel tune", in a day.
Grunwald said "It's a songwriting exercise that Mushroom put on with their songwriters, they do it every couple of years and it's a bit of a tradition out at Gudinski's house. You get there early and they make breakfast for you, everything is taken care of, and I turned up there and Pip and I just started jamming. He made this beat on his laptop and I played my guitar, and that became the song "Fish Out of Water." Grunwald asked Norman to write more with him and sharing credits on five tracks and production co-credit.
Reception
Shane Fowles from The Standard said "Like a merging of the old and the new, the result
f the co-producing by Grunwald and Normanis a melding of blues bass-lines, ripping riffs and hip-hop influenced backbeats." adding "There are grunge elements on opener 'Can U Find a Way', smooth funk on 'Get What You Want' and some soulful, acoustic numbers that temper the digital assault. Grunwald loses the annoying air of earnestness to show that modern-day blues can do more than tip the hat to the old masters."
Andrew Rudge from The Dwarf said "There is a range of styles in the songs on this album from the chain gang industrial sound of 'Can U Find a Way' to the slow acoustic gospel of 'Give Something Away', sung with a preachers desperation. There is range of emotions in the songs too, from the fast paced fun and funk of 'Mojo' to the dark relationship regrets within 'The Devil Called Me a Liar'."
Track listing
Charts
Release history
References
{{Authority control
2008 albums
Ash Grunwald albums