Former Savage Gardener 'spins' out on his own

Hayes: "The more rewarding part of doing a solo record for me was having more control in the studio."

(CNN) -- One half of Savage Garden is now one whole Darren Hayes.

For about a year now, Hayes has been planting new routes to solo stardom and has recorded a new album, "Spin."

The album is a step out from Savage Garden's global pop prominence. It's also a step away from Daniel Jones -- the now-split band's other Australian half -- and the comforts of collaboration. These challenges have been "a little daunting" but seemingly fulfilling for Hayes.

"Spin," he says, is about the romance of relationships and, in a roundabout way, about his changed life. "A record that is really celebratory," he calls it.

The Music Room caught up with Hayes on the verge of his new tour and talked to him about setting out on his own.

TMR: Why did you move on from a successful band and pursue a solo career?

Hayes: I think the thing with Savage Garden is, it was an amazing time in my life and an amazing period in my career and development for me, but within the context of the band the two of us had really worked out what we wanted to do. Daniel worked out that he didn't want to do it any more. I couldn't imagine not singing and not performing, so it was a decision that we came to mutually. It was sad. The last show that I performed -- it was a sad day. It was seven years and 20 million record sales of great times but life has to move on.

TMR: How has your approach to songwriting changed since you stopped working with Jones?

Hayes: I think the more rewarding part of doing a solo record for me was having more control in the studio. I know as a songwriter I was a little nervous writing apart from Daniel because he's been my only collaborator for seven or eight years. But once I got into the driver's seat it made me feel more confident, and I made a record, which I think reflected my record collection and the music that I really grew up listening to.

Even though it was a little daunting in the beginning, I think the sense of achievement at having accomplished this goal and overtaken this fear of having to take control was really great.

TMR: Why did you choose Savage Garden producer Walter Afanasieff for your solo album?

Hayes: Walter Afanasieff was the producer I used on "Spin" because he was the only element that was the same in my story I guess.

TMR: Often an album reflects a chapter in an artist's life. How true was that for you with "Spin?"

Hayes: "Spin" for me is a record that is really celebratory. It's a really romantic record. It's the antidote to the last record I made, which is really a break-up record, so it really describes my year off in my house. It's a luxury for a musician to sleep in their own bed and drive their own car to work every day but that's what I did with my solo record, and I think you can hear that in my music because I'm having fun.

TMR: Talk me through the first two singles, "Insatiable" and "Strange Relationship"

Hayes: I think my goal with this record was to make it about relationships, to make it optimistic, to make it romantic and to be fairly autobiographical. "Insatiable" for example, I wasn't in love when I wrote but I knew I wanted to be.

Songs like "Strange Relationship" -- that's the reality. That's my life. Most of my relationships are strange and a lot of the record talks about the push and the pull of my love life and my view on the world.

TMR: What has been the reaction to the album so far?

Hayes says he's a fan of Eminem because the rapper is "bold and has a point of view."

Hayes: I think I've won some fans, I've lost some fans, I've gained some fans. It's hard to tell because people get older. I get older. My tastes in music have changed. I'm very proud of Savage Garden and all that I've achieved, but for me "Spin" is just my third record, and I think there's a natural development.

Naturally, some of my fans have come with me, some have gone on to other things. But the response has been amazing and the only way I can gauge that are from the Internet or when I go and perform at a festival. I'm about to go out on tour and obviously I will get a good look at what my audience is now, but I have no doubt that it has changed.

TMR: Tell us about your touring plans.

Hayes: The tour's called "Too Close For Comfort" and it is in theatres and I start in Australia very soon. I'm about to go home for rehearsals and I'll pretty much go all over the world this year. It will be very gruelling. It will be much smaller venues so it's a lot more shows, but I wanted that. At this point in my career it is time for me to really connect, and I want people in an audience to come away from my show really remembering my voice, remembering my songs, and not so much about the spectacle.

I called it "Too Close for Comfort" because I am literally going to be in your face and I couldn't be more excited about it.

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