Artist genre-hops with 12 strings

Coordination is key when playing the guitar, but for Fremantle singer-songwriter Jordan McRobbie it gets a bit harder when you strum a 12-string version of the instrument.

“It took its time,” McRobbie laughs when speaking of how he came to master the beauty he calls Belle.

“I’ve been playing it for more than 10 years now though, so I would say I am actually more comfortable playing that than the six-string. My background in flamenco and classical music certainly helped.”

The skilled musician, who has just finished an 80-day residency playing at Perisher Ski Resort, has been playing since he was eight years old, when his mother gave him his first guitar and he decided to try his hand combining some rather unexpected genres.

“I learned flamenco when I first started, after I got given my grandfather’s guitar,” he said.

“I listened to a lot of rock though, so I ended up sort of combing the flamenco and rock.”

His ambition soon led him to play within the blues and roots genre, where he has flourished as a feature at the Nannup and Byron Bay music festivals and in supporting roles for iconic acts such as Angus and Julie Stone and The Beautiful Girls, the latter of which he credits as one of his favourite bands.

“I guess it was the ability to play loud acoustic music that really drew me to blues and roots,” McRobbie said.

“It was also the fact I could blend the rock genre into something more accessible and still deliver an emotional impact, which I think is important.”

After spending the better half of the year singing and skiing, McRobbie said he was looking forward to returning home for some shows, before jetting off to Canada and the United States.

“Coming back is like coming home, the west really has a special place in my heart,” McRobbie said.

“There is just a beautiful community there who are really supportive.”