His latest release was recorded in Auckland "in between lockdowns" last year.
"It's not an album that hits you over the head with drums and things, it speaks to you intimately," Stretch said.
"We only used three or four instruments during the whole recording process - my voice, my guitar, a cello and a little bit of percussion here and there.
"As much as it's intimate, it also sounds really huge. I think it echoes where I wrote it - the coast of Hawke's Bay."
Stretch, who has opened for artists such as Damien Rice, Jeff Tweedy, Angus & Julia Stone and Elton John, said he didn't want to tell his audience the songs were "about this and this and this".
"There is a lot of searching in it, and a bit of loss.
"I lost my dad leading up to it, my aunt followed close behind, and other family members as well, all in a terrible, short period of time. Naturally, there's some heartbreak in there.
"That makes for a pretty universal feeling for us all I think."
As a singer-songwriter, it was important to mine your own experiences, Stretch said.
"It's personal, and it would be very disingenuous to be anything else.
"You've got to be a bit brave to be that vulnerable, and you may as well be.
"From that comes real connection with an audience. I don't feel like a concert is a monologue or a one-way conversation; if I've done it right on the night then it feels like the room is together."
He said having conversations with audience members in between songs wasn't something he shied away from.
"I'm pretty open with dialogue. I try and open people up if they have anything to ask or talk about.
"That can get pretty interesting.
"It's all right to be shy, we all are, but you're in a safe space with Stretch."
• Stretch will perform at Space Studio and Gallery on Friday, July 30, at 6.30pm.
