Jayne Denham: raised to a higher key

Kesha Nevé is … Better This Way

Although Snowy Mountains-raised Kesha Nevé [https://www.keshaneve.com.au/] was the winner of this year’s Australian Idol, I did not know what to expect when I interviewed her because … I didn’t see any of this year’s season! I caught up on the musical side of things by watching clips and research revealed that she had grown up in Jindabyne, a town in the Snowy Mountains region of New South Wales that is known as the gateway to the nearby ski fields of Thredbo and Perisher in particular. Also that she started singing and performing at a very young age, that she’d spent time around the rodeo scene and worked on a farm in New Zealand for a year.  What research did not reveal – what can never be known until an interview starts – is what an artist is like to talk to, so I discovered in the moment that she’s an absolute delight. Smart and funny and self-aware, close to her family and committed to pursuing her dreams.  We sometimes talk about ‘following’ a dream but that implies a dream can become real if only a person follows long enough. Nevé has worked to make her dreams manifest in life, not just in terms of the time she’s put into developing as an artist but developing as a person, which can only benefit her artistry.  So this is a chat about music and about sport – as her life has been rich in both – about family and Idol and the tour she has coming up. It’s also about her debut country-pop single, ‘Better This Way’, which was written with Ruby Rogers, Lara Frew and Phoebe Sinclair in Nevé’s first ever professional songwriting session. The session began with two hours of conversation and Nevé telling the story of a relationship she’d only recently come out of, before a song emerged that charts the moment the rose-coloured glasses were finally gone, the relationship was done, and she knew she was ‘better this way’. Nevé is going on tour with fellow Idol contestant Kalani Artis. For dates and tickets, go to https://www.keshaneve.com.au/tour-dates/ [https://www.keshaneve.com.au/tour-dates/] Listen to ‘Better This Way’ on Apple Music [https://music.apple.com/au/album/better-this-way-feat-kesha-oayda-radio-edit/6779013204?i=6779013207&itscg=30200&itsct=music_box_link&ls=1&app=music&mttnsubad=6779013207&at=1001lryz] Listen to ‘Better This Way’ on Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/album/3M8yLdQWmAMalLfHlvBST4?si=ZI78hX8VRpiiXKZIl-vwdw] Listen to ‘Better This Way’ on YouTube [https://youtu.be/3X1NzF9HrF4?si=XHqRIpe9etieRmap] For more Sunburnt Country Music: Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/sunburntcountrymusic/] Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/sunburntcountrymusic]  YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@sunburntcountrymusic] website [https://sunburntcountrymusic.com/]  Substack [https://sunburntcountrymusic.substack.com] ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

Ally Paterson on her Gold Rush single, ‘Dig’, and life on the land

The latest single from Ally Paterson [https://www.instagram.com/ally.j.paterson/], a singer-songwriter from the Ballarat area in Victoria, went on, is called ‘Dig’ and it was born at Sovereign Hill, Ballarat’s living museum of the Gold Rush era. As Paterson tells me in this interview, the rhythmic banging of an old battering ram sent her imagination straight to the men who had worked the claims: Irish migrants, Chinese labourers, people who had crossed the world on the bare promise of a lucky strike.  ‘I was inspired by the hardy, wiry gold miner man who’d come from way across the world and was just digging without any guarantee of success,’ she says.  Digging for gold also turned out to be an apt metaphor for this interview. Not because I had to dig necessarily but because gold kept turning up. The longer we spoke, the more I discovered very interesting things about Paterson, such as that she spent several years singing jazz in late-night venues in Melbourne before she and her husband – who have four children – decided to move to the land. Neither of them had any experience with that work, and it has become a lifestyle they love and a connection to the land that inspires Paterson’s writing. Paterson’s earlier experience as a jazz singer explained something I heard in her singing voice: real power and nuance and such a great tone. She’s a really wonderful singer, and ‘Dig’ has great impact because of that and the story she tells in the song.  The song was produced by Matt Fell at Wilder in Tasmania, as was ‘Working Like Dogs’, her first single. More releases are planned, as Paterson is as committed to music as she is to the other parts of the rich life she has created.  Listen to Ally Paterson on Apple Music [https://music.apple.com/au/artist/ally-paterson/1848079271?itscg=30200&itsct=music_box_link&ls=1&app=music&mttnsubad=1848079271&at=1001lryz] Listen to Ally Paterson on Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/artist/3uIYubppw5bnoFWTYydOu0?si=FEeqVBhpQzqQeeGcoBbv-g] Listen to Ally Paterson on YouTube [https://youtu.be/inFpHOr1_mw?si=qWZ5n_rTCqEEPBUc] For more Sunburnt Country Music: Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/sunburntcountrymusic/] Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/sunburntcountrymusic]  YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@sunburntcountrymusic] website [https://sunburntcountrymusic.com/]  Substack [https://sunburntcountrymusic.substack.com] ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

Jean Elliot on her epic EP Butcher, Lover, Runner

There’s never a guarantee of what will emerge during an interview – that’s partly why it’s so interesting to be able to talk to all sorts of artists. And even if I’ve interviewed an artist before, there’s always something new to discover.  In the case of Jean Elliot [https://www.instagram.com/_jeanelliot/], a multi-genre artist from the Hawkesbury region of New South Wales, north of Sydney – which inspired ‘Devil’s Wilderness Theme’ on her EP, Butcher, Lover, Runner – we discovered that we had a strong interest in common: ancient history. Elliot is studying it at university, and I studied it for years. So you’ll hear us digress a little on that subject in this interview … Except I don’t believe it actually is a digression, given the epic, high-stakes nature of storytelling in ancient texts and the way that has influenced Elliot as a songwriter and artist generally. Butcher, Lover, Runner opens with a country-influenced track, ‘Hole in Her Head’, and Elliot then takes us into a song cycle that includes moments of rapture, such as third track ‘Beneath Your Sun’, and bittersweet reflection, as on the closing track, ‘Highwayman’, crossing genres as she goes. ‘I never really think about genre when I'm writing,’ she says. ‘The idea pops into my head fully formed and we just try our best to translate it into something tangible.’ The landscape Elliot grew up in and around, and still lives in, has shaped the stories she wants to tell and how she tells them. It’s a place I’m familiar with – many Sydneysiders are, as we travel through it to the Central Coast or Newcastle – and a breathtaking part of the world. It’s little wonder that it inspires Elliot, and also that she respects it. ‘I’m contributing to a canon of thousands and thousands of years of storytelling about this place,’ she says. ‘I have to do so in an honest and loving way.’   Elliot has been studying philosophy and archaeology, along with ancient history, which all points to a fundamental interest in the intersection of storytelling and the questions about life and how to live it than many of us consider. She has honoured that lineage with her EP, and it was so interesting to learn about what contributed to its making and where she’s going next with her music. There’s also a great story about the building that appears on the cover of the EP – you’ll have to listen/watch to find out what it is!   https://jeanelliotmusic.bandcamp.com/ [https://jeanelliotmusic.bandcamp.com/]   Listen to Butcher, Lover, Runner on Apple Music [https://music.apple.com/au/album/butcher-lover-runner-ep/1894865917?itscg=30200&itsct=music_box_link&ls=1&app=music&mttnsubad=1894865917&at=1001lryz]   Listen to Butcher, Lover, Runner on Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/album/7xQfGFZD7snFj1j1ERZXvu?si=5CKe_BuVT12vaG8Y9_vUyQ]   Listen to Butcher, Lover, Runner on YouTube [https://youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_kPEPljvNFEPTdqilkG02Wp96HOPtolUxQ&si=2R8g3WbrNiO55W16] For more Sunburnt Country Music: Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/sunburntcountrymusic/] Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/sunburntcountrymusic]  YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@sunburntcountrymusic] website [https://sunburntcountrymusic.com/]  Substack [https://sunburntcountrymusic.substack.com] ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

Vixens of Fall on ‘Midnight Cowgirls’ and the power of three

Sibling harmonies are a form of magic – there’s a synergy that happens within families who sing together that makes for unforgettable sounds that are impossible to replicate. Brisbane sister trio Vixens of Fall have been creating that sort of magic for a decade, embracing it in the title of their 2023 debut album, Magick in the Chaos, and in their lives.  The latest single for sisters Nina, Wren and Lulu is ‘Midnight Cowgirls’, and might be said to have come about through a form of magic known as manifestation. All three Vixens love to wear the clothing label Tree of Life and have done for years. Then they were contacted by the owner of the company, asking if they’d like to be the faces of a new line called Midnight Cowgirls.  The Vixens already had a songwriting session booked with regular collaborator Sally Barris and decided to write a song to go with the clothing line, and their latest single, ‘Midnight Cowgirls’, was born. The song was produced by Rod McCormack, who also produced their first album – and their second, Fox Hollow, which will be released in November and which will feature ‘Midnight Cowgirls’. He’s like family, the sisters tell me in this new interview, which was conducted not long before Nina was due to give birth to her second child. The Vixens are a tight unit, as is evident in this interview and when they perform. One of the wonderful things about them is how clearly they love not only making music together but simply being around each other. There is so much strength in that sort of bond – and unlimited potential. Or magic. Whatever you’d like to call it, no doubt you will enjoy meeting Vixens of Fall. Listen to Vixens of Fall on Apple Music [https://music.apple.com/au/artist/vixens-of-fall/1182788294?itscg=30200&itsct=music_box_link&ls=1&app=music&mttnsubad=1182788294&at=1001lryz] Listen to Vixens of Fall on Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/artist/5E8CKxCEIm6vLESXqUExBt?si=WCW7d1QhSty2u2pn1lHQEQ] Listen to Vixens of Fall on YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@VixensOfFall] For more Sunburnt Country Music: Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/sunburntcountrymusic/] Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/sunburntcountrymusic]  YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@sunburntcountrymusic] website [https://sunburntcountrymusic.com/]  Substack [https://sunburntcountrymusic.substack.com] ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

Paper Daisies on their debut single and their friendship forged in music

Paper Daisies [https://linktr.ee/paperdaisiesmusic] are a duo from the Gold Coast who have released one single, ‘Heartbreakin’ Cowboy’, and as soon as I heard it I thought, These two are not just starting out. The vocals are glorious and there was this energy running through the song that made it sound like the artists, Britt Grey and Rhea Robertson, were completely immersed in the music. So I was interested to talk to them both, and … WELL. Even though I’d done my research and discovered that Robertson has her own pop releases that have garnered millions of streams, there was plenty that did not turn up, including a wonderful story about how they met – and you can watch/listen to the interview to find out what that is – along with the fact that Grey has a well-established acting career that includes the yet-to-be-released Zombie Plane, featuring Vanilla Ice and Sophie Monk (and the late Chuck Norris).  Then there is their friendship, which is gloriously supportive and evident in this interview.  ‘The experience of singing together and being immersed in our harmonies,’ says Robertson in this interview, ‘I wish everybody got to experience what it feels like to create music with your best friend.’ They not only love doing things together – they both have fully creative lives, and it was inspiring to talk to them about their various ventures and also wonderful to meet such talented people who embrace opportunities and, for lack of a better phrase, look for the light in life.  Their single, ‘Heartbreakin’ Cowboy’, was inspired by the experiences of a mutual friend: it was written with multi-instrumentalist Bradley Green and produced by Scott French at Love Street Studios. It’s the first single off their planned EP, and the next single will be released on 9 July.  Listen to ‘Heartbreakin’ Cowboy’ on Apple Music [https://music.apple.com/au/album/heartbreakin-cowboy-single/1895336536?itscg=30200&itsct=music_box_link&ls=1&app=music&mttnsubad=1895336536&at=1001lryz] Listen to ‘Heartbreakin’ Cowboy’ on Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/artist/2bTIWzsdR4WPTINuM72lKh?si=2MDmku7JQ-OkcAQw-ydUmQ] Listen to ‘Heartbreakin’ Cowboy’ on YouTube [https://youtu.be/JReEo7VBD80?si=zcKP5W_wlKyy-UhB] For more Sunburnt Country Music: Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/sunburntcountrymusic/] Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/sunburntcountrymusic]  YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@sunburntcountrymusic] website [https://sunburntcountrymusic.com/]  Substack [https://sunburntcountrymusic.substack.com] ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.