We were witness to magic ex-Drones drummer Mike Nogas posthumous swansong

In July 2020 a jubilant Mike Noga took to social media to announce the forthcoming release of a new solo album, Open Fire. “It’s been a long time in the making but I couldn’t be prouder of this one,” he wrote in a Facebook post.

One month later news broke that the singer, songwriter and former drummer for the Drones â€" who played with the acclaimed Australian band over 10 years and three albums â€" had died suddenly at the age of 43.

A statement from his family later said the coronial report attributed Noga’s death to a “rare condition that caused a cerebral haemorrhage”, which was “exacerbated by bouts of heavy drinking”. “Mike had a lifelong struggle with anxiety and depression which became particularly difficult in the last three years of his life, during which time he often relied on alcohol to self-medicate,” the family wrote in April.

“Our hope is that the conversation never stops because the industry is quite brutal,” Noga’s sister Ali tells Guardian Australia in the lead-up to the belated release of Open Fire this month.

“Mike used to live with me between tours when he was with the Drones, and it’s a tough way to make a living,” Ali Noga says. “I think there is this huge disparity between what musicians earn and what the public think musicians earn.

“Mike was seen as successful but he thought he was a complete failure at times. Here is this talented, charismatic 40-odd year old who has dedicated his life to music â€" he started drumming around five years old â€" and [in his mind] has nothing to show for it.”

Mike Noga as a kid, playing with drumsticks

In August 2019, before the pandemic left him grounded at home in Hobart with no gigs on the horizon, Noga had flown to Duluth, Minnesota, to record his fourth solo album with Low’s Alan Sparhawk as producer. The pair had connected years earlier, when Noga opened for the celebrated US group across Europe, Australia and New Zealand, and the sessions had been a “dream come true”.

“Our first meeting was on a tour, where that common shared timeline carves deep and eternal friendships grow quickly,” Sparhawk recalls in Open Fire’s liner notes. “Mike’s eye for style and the relentless heart he put into every song inspired us, while his generous friendship and vulnerability made us stronger people.

“He put in long hours, pushed through doubt, worked out glitches and found the transcendence he so desperately hungered for, all the while sharing and inviting us into the journey,” he says of the album sessions. “I feel we were witness to magic and for a moment Mike found a way to unravel the message he had held so tightly clutched in his hand. A true talent, gentleman and champion.”

Noga performing with the Drones in 2008 at the Forum in Melbourne. Photograph: Martin Philbey/Redferns

Although mixed and mastered at the time of Noga’s death, it was left to his sister and family to finalise and release the album â€" with the help of the record label Part Time Records, and friends and collaborators including Something for Kate’s Paul Dempsey and Augie March’s Glenn Richards.

“We [always] asked ourselves, ‘What would Mike want?’” Ali Noga says of creative and logistical decisions, from cover artwork to press releases. “It was really like putting a puzzle together. I took the time to go through Mike’s laptop and gather as much information as I could and I found that things flowed quite seamlessly, like Mike was leaving me a little trail of clues to follow.”

Mike and Ali Noga in London

At the same time, delving deeper behind the scenes of her brother’s industry proved eye-opening. With a background in industrial relations, she was shocked to learn just how precarious the life of an independent working musician could be â€" a gig economy in every sense, often lacking entitlements and protections that most industries take for granted.

“It wasn’t until I started trying to wrap my head around royalties, commissions, Apra, PPCA, contracts, online streaming, et cetera, that the reality really hit home. And that reality is that the vast majority of musicians are not the ones making any money â€" I had to contact friends in the industry and actually ask if what I was reading was correct,” she says.

“I am hopeful that these conversations might not be quite so difficult in the future. I’ve definitely had more open and honest conversations with musicians about their own mental health struggles since Mike left us, so that’s a good start.”

‘Knowing the struggles he put into that record, it’s an incredible achievement’

Before he died, Noga described Open Fire as “my global warming, apocalyptic, mid-life crisis album”, and, while inevitably the record’s darker moments ring even louder in his absence, there’s also plenty of light. From the Springsteen-channelling title track to more mediative ballads like Breathe for Me and the piano-driven closer Holding On, Open Fire makes for a stirring endnote to a hard-fought body of work.

“It’s heartbreaking,” Sparhawk tells Guardian Australia. “But it really is a beautiful record, and knowing him, and knowing the struggles he put into that record, it’s an incredible achievement.”

For Ali Noga, it’s the album’s centrepiece Better Than Before â€" a duet with Sparhawk’s Low bandmate and wife, Mimi Parker â€" that resonates most strongly. “The song is short and sweet and simple, and finishes with the line: ‘At the end I’ll be there with my heart all a-flutter / because there’s hope in the air / and it feels so much better than before.’

“It’s the ‘hope’ reference that strikes a chord with me.”

Open Fire by Mike Noga is out on 8 October through Part Time Records

In Australia, support is available at Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636, Lifeline on 13 11 14, and at MensLine on 1300 789 978. If you’re in the music or performing arts industries in Australia, you can also contact Support Act on 1800 959 500. In the UK, the charity Mind is available on 0300 123 3393 and Childline on 0800 1111. In the US, Mental Health America is available on 800-273-8255.

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