Feature Artist
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Lantana On The Hill
Yanto Shortis
Yanto Shortis is a singer/songwriter who moved to Melbourne from Wollongong NSW several years ago. Yanto has established himself as a credible artist whose songs capture loss, struggle and hope contained in great stories, full of local references making his songs feel real and easy to relate too, with a vocal delivery that is reminiscent of Don Henley and David Gray with story telling inspired by Paul Kelly and Bruce Springsteen.
How much has Wollongong influenced your style of music?
The Wollongong influence I think is there in the references I still put in my songs, whether it's taken from the landscape or the situations and experiences I had living there.
What do you think influences your music most?
Lyrically it would be the darker side of love and life and the hope that comes after it, that's when I feel I can write my best stuff and also the reason I can sound like such a depressing bastard sometimes.
Why did you move to Melbourne? Have you enjoyed it here? Has it affected your music?
I moved to Melbourne because of the awesome music scene down here and love it for the friendliness and community feel. I think it's affected my music because of the couple of broken hearts I've aquired down here, that's always good for a couple of songs. but I 'spose that can happen just as easily in Dapto or Broken Hill.
You've got a terrific combo of strong vocals, great lyrics and a warm mood of a seasoned musician. How long have you been playing and singing and performing for?
My old mans a muso so I've always been around music, I wrote my first song when I was twelve and have been gigging since I was about fourteen.
Do you find your songwriting driven more by the lyrics and story of the song or does a tune bring out the lyrics?
There's no real rule to it, sometimes it might be random lyrics I've scrawled on a page, sometimes it's a story I've got building in my head and can also start from a strum of a chord and an annoying melody that I need to release.
Click to hear
Lantana On The Hill
