essiemusicblog

[essiemusicblog]

It was a strange kind of dialogue

The inwards turning corkscrew

Twisting at her mind, her heart.

How to express a cliche in fresh verse.

Weaving sonnets in the seams of her dresses, 

The corners of her mouth,

Embroidering the palms of her hands and the soles of her feet.

The rhythm of her beat.

Offbeat, but regular.

Healthy, even.

Skipping through time, but carrying it’s groove.

Making the room move with her.

Her parents saw it,

Felt it,

Heard it humming.

The drumming waves on a pearly skull.

Branches drifting on the tide, nothing to hide.

Just a set of eyes awoken.

A heart born ajar, and slowly opened to the dichotomy.

The duality it seems, is never quite dual.

When either or is truly both and more.

A paradox beyond the flood.

The blood.

The sticky nature of being stuck.

Of losing luck, but finding fortune.

[essiemusicblog]

Plant the seed. And watch me bleed. To let love bloom. New songs 2018

[essiemusicblog]

Mondays.

Winter mornings mean lights on, laptops out. Bring it.

“Plant the seed

and watch me bleed

to let love bloom.”

-New Song 2018

[essiemusicblog]

Solo ESSIE. Winter Bear Vibes Pt.1

I’m stretching my skin so thin.

It feels taught, but still learning,

It feels fought, but not won.

I feel short of deserving,

But that’s grace, baby,

That’s love.

[essiemusicblog]

I get on late night trains,

I’ve got an old school brain,

It tears my hands apart,

You bring them back again.

Trains home through West Hampstead Thameslink

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Forever blown by the wind to the western shore,

Bathe my soul in the sea ‘til it sings once more.

It’s been so lovely to get away to Cornwall this week visiting relatives. Music and the ocean are two things that truly bring me peace in this life, and it’s always so great to jump on a train, guitar in hand, and head towards that western coastline of this little island. Sea salt in my soul always leaves me refreshed and refuelled, returning to London with new vigour and fresh vision. See you soon in the big smoke, get ready for something new.

[essiemusicblog]

Photo- Joel Smedley

Someone Lyrics

I've been reaching for you next to me,

Without your outline I just can't breathe

Getting restless, grit to groove

Prescription medicine, convenience food.

All I wanted was to find someone to love my troubled mind,

But I lost it all this time.

I got caught in the need to make you smile and say my name,

But I lost you all the same.

I got stuck in the grey within,

You always made me more coloured in.

You take me higher

You take me higher

All I desire

Could you take me higher

https://soundcloud.com/essiemusic/someone

[essiemusicblog]

GREY

The middle ground is wasting

Waning Losing all depth of truth. For the Grey man is bitter, He sees black, he sees white, but he whispers to the growing crowd, come get lost within my mist. He beckons celestial tendrils, The smoke for the mirror. Ever watchful over his gloomy shoulder, for the strange brother Paradox. But Paradox is hidden, he is found only by those seeking, And has confounded founders and thinkers since time began it's gentle flickering fall into the unknown.

Grey beckons once more, "come and lose yourself in the clouded skies, the overcast days of lukewarm complacency! The truth cannot be cut and dry, it must be foreshadowed in these dismal dusks of uncertainty and political correctness. One must not divulge too much of the wrong opinion. Offence is offensive to all."

A young girl stands beneath him, puzzled at the spectrum of his words, the resolute despondency of his hue. She cries out "this can't be true!" And, as if on cue, paradox turns from behind his corner, all splattered with black and white, unbalanced and balanced, not just a mixture, a completion. The day and the night in constancy, neither restricting the other. The unparalleled beauty leaves a sublime awe on her tongue. Bitter and sweet. Grey cannot remain, he must shrink back to another street, another sky.

As Paradox wanders over, full of purpose and yet taking his time, soaking up each step as it is determinedly put down, he is talking without speaking, and she understands. Understands that she does not understand, and yet she does. She cannot hold it for long, for it makes her big and small, old and young, weak and strong.

Paradox smiles as he weeps, for another is done and undone, he has won. He walks back around his corner. He remains, and he is gone.

[essiemusicblog]

Let's go lay down by the sea in the rain The truth is that truth has me going insane You're a river of love slicing through every vein Just hold on to me Let's go wait out in the field in the rain The truth is my heart has unraveled my brain I can't be sure what is saved and unsaved Just hold on to me

[essiemusicblog]

Summertime (and the Living is...)

Summer 2017= one of the weirdest so far. Thanks to all of you who have been checking in on me, asking about my music, my health, my life. It's been a funny old season, with physical, mental, and emotional stresses weighing on me, and as a result I've been far less present with you the people. So I'm back, it's a new academic season here in London, and although I've been out of the education system for some years now (apart from in my teaching life), I'd like to treat this as a fresh chance to attack you all with new content, new ideas and images, lyrics and poems, songs and sonnets and half-baked ideas of fully fledged dreaming. So be prepared for some musings and rambles, some music and shambles, some heartaches and joys tied in melodies and images. I can't promise that you'll like any of it, but I promise you'll have content to consume nevertheless! Fresh ESSIE, back to reality, back into the fray.

[essiemusicblog]

Duvet Days

I’m currently sitting on the 7am train from Kings Cross to Edinburgh. I’m doing one of those bizarrely organised things that I do from time to time, and actually scheduling my social media and blog posts in advance of my holidays...what?! I’ll allow you a second to recover from the shock of this organisation from such a dreamer, and at such an ungodly hour for a musician.

It’s a crisp and clear morning, and the walk from my flat to the station was full of beauty and hilarity. I rounded a particular corner in the back streets of Kings Cross, and was confused for a moment as to the amount of people dressed up and seemingly ready for work? As I got closer, the untucked/crumpled shirts, tired faces, and slight sway in each walk gave way to the truth that these folk were still living in Friday night, and who was I to say it was Saturday? I must admit, I was impressed with their effort. But I’m not here to natter on about my people watching efforts for the morning, because in scheduled blog land, it’s now Sunday, and I want to tell you about something very exciting that I’m launching today in the lead up to the Not Easy EP release on Sept 9th. Introducing, Duvet Days.

Duvet Days are my endeavour to share with you some covers that I’ve been working on both in the studio and at home. Some of these will be more recent than others, and the first Duvet Day song I would live to share was recorded a few years ago now, at the Queensland Conservatorium of Music. I recorded this song with the help of my partner in musical crime, Ben Pohlmann, and the brilliantly minded Anders Gronningsaeter. The song is ‘To Love Somebody’, originally by The Bee Gee’s, and introduced to me through the soul queen that is Nina Simone. I’m fortunate enough to have a mother who raised me on Nina, Billie, Ella and so many of the greats, and part of my approach to my music, particularly in vocals (as well as encapsulating feel the blues), is inspired by these ladies. But HOW does one approach such a song, made famous by SUCH a voice? I’ve always been taught that the most interesting covers are the ones you make your own, and so this may or may not offend Nina fans and Bee Gee’s fans, but I’m hoping it will delight ESSIE fans. So follow the SoundCloud links at www.soundcloud.com/ESSIEMusic and have a listen. It’s a bit rocky, a bit bluesy, a whole lotta soul and a whole lotta love! Snuggle up for a lazy Sunday on the sofa and enjoy the first of many Duvet Days...

[essiemusicblog]

Hours

Why hello there! It’s been a while, hasn’t it? I’m sitting here in the lunch room of my 9-5 (OK, you got me, 10-6) day job that keeps my bills afloat, so I can pay for life in this crazy city. I’m sitting writing this blog because I’ve got some exciting new music on the way, and a lot has happened since my last post yet I haven’t found the time yet to write about it. I feel like I’ve sat around admiring the work ethic and tenacity of some of my fantastically talented friends, but I’ve not had the hours in the day to create such content to share with the world. And YET, after a long process of refining, tweaking, and gathering of extra content and images, the Not Easy EP is finally being released in just over one month. So, to use the title of one of the new tracks off the EP, “Here I Am”. I’m committing to you, oh wonderfully chaotic internet world. I’m committing to more demos, covers, blogs, pictures, videos, and anything else I can come up with. I want to entertain you, make your morning commute jammy, make you smile or cringe or fall in love with a mouldy flannel (because if you’ve read this much of this post, you’re probably a crazy flannel lover). So WELCOME to a new era of ESSIE, where I not only yell my name at you in capitals across all social media, but I actually just want to give you all some new music, art, and a few sneaky ideas. How am I finding the hours in the day? It’s a mystery for me too, methinks I’ll have to give up late night cartoons. Don’t fret, wherever the hours are lurking, I’ll find them.

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Some days I take back the city, some days it swallows me whole...🎶🎹 #newmusic #essiemusic #essie #tmcstudios photo cred: @gordonhallmusic

[essiemusicblog]

L.O.N.D.O.N.

Leaving Australia was one of the biggest decisions and leaps of faith I’ve had to make thus far in life. Why any person in their right mind would leave behind a life of sunshine, surf, and brilliant company on the Gold Coast to live in the cold, rainy, concrete jungle of England’s Southeastern capital is beyond me. And YET, it IS me, because that’s exactly what I did on the 4th of January this year! What can I say. I’ve always pursued my musical dreams with reckless abandon, launching myself into new situations with the confidence that anywhere can be home for the right season of life.And graciously, I seem to have found my feet here in this bustling city of blinding lights. So here I am, five months in to my new life in London, and I have to declare it (without trying to endorse a major fast food outlet), I am LOVING IT!

So what have I been doing for five months that has led me to neglect this blog and seemingly disappear of the face of the musical earth? Well, I suppose I’ve been doing a lot of those things that most of us take for granted when living at home/relying financially on our families. These staples of adult life include:

a) Finding suitable employment (not too easy when one only has a music degree to their name).

b) Finding a suitable place to live.

c) Finding people crazy enough to share their social lives with me d) Finding amazingly talented new bandmates to share this musical roller coaster with.

Thankfully, after five months, I can put a big tick in all of those boxes, and thus announce my first gig of 2015, right here in Camden! I’ve been so blessed along the way to have been able to stay with friends such as the Georgis family, Daly family, Pryor family, and the brilliant gals of ‘Streatham Palace’, in order to make my transition into London living as smooth as possible. Of all the checkpoints on the list above, and as someone who has moved cities many times, I can safely say that C (of which D is inclusive) is definitely my priority when moving to any new place. Due to this, it’s only right to give a special mention to everyone at Holy Trinity Brompton, particular the Graduates Connect Group, for allowing this crazy Aussie musician to feel so at home in a city this big! I feel the photo below accurately sums up a lot of these new friendships.

Ok, ok, I know you all come here for the MUSIC, so enough about my personal life, what’s going on with ESSIE, you ask?

WELL...I’ve been fortunate enough to have been rehearsing with new bandmates Dan(drums) and Ed(bass) over the last few months, so that we can bring the music of ESSIE back to the London stage, this time to stay! We currently have two upcoming shows, one in Camden at The Fiddler’s Elbow on June 11th, and one through Absent Kelly’s Introducing night’s at 229 as part of their Indie Showcase on July 18th. As well as rehearsing for gigs, Dan and I have been collaborating on some new material, with programming by the extremely talented Jed Farquharson. The end of 2014 also saw a lot of new material being recorded with my long time collaborator (and unequivocally excellent human being) Ben Pohlmann, and somehow through the nightmare of our final year of studies, we oozed out another half dozen songs in a pool of sweat and tears that any creative soul can surely understand. These songs are currently in the mixing pot, readying themselves for your consumption in the not too distant future. Someone said to me recently that the biggest failure of our generation is the failure to flourish. We constantly hold ourselves back for fear of failure, and in the process we let go of our dreams and aspirations and replace them with more ‘sensible’ alternatives. I’d like to sign off by saying what I’ve said many times this year when people ask me why I would risk my secure life in Australia to move here and pursue music. Why NOT? Why hold back from dreams? Why spend our youth worrying about financial security and playing it safe, when there is a whole world full of creativity, vibrancy, love and laughter that is just waiting to be explored! Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for wise decisions, but sometimes the wisest thing to do is to go into that place at the centre of your being, in which there is written a deep sense of “this is what I was made to do”, grab it, write it all over yourself and then run naked through the streets of your city. Ok no, don’t do that (this started turning in to one of those vomit worthy motivational posters so I took it to the obvious conclusion), but please, be you, dream big, and surround yourself with people who get you and your dream. Life is too short to waste by holding back. Oh, and if that dream means jet-setting to the other side of the world, get off your arse and do it.

ESSIE

[essiemusicblog]

Happy New Year to all! I've finally returned to the blogosphere after a lengthy Christmas/New Year break, during which I have relocated to London for the foreseeable future, very exciting! I've settled in to life in London and it's pretty sweet (and very cold)! Despite temperatures below 0 degrees Celsius, I've been out and about soaking in the sights in this bustling mega-city. Of course, I can't wait to book some shows and get back out into the London nightlife, but for the meantime, here is a little tour video I put together after visiting the UK last August with Australian artist Fingertrap Family. Enjoy!

[essiemusicblog]

LA to Nashville

The final days in LA consisted of some great classes on songwriting and self-management, as well as getting my song Sugar Rush played in the main ballroom final listening panel, to which I received some great feedback! It was a surreal experience to have top A&R reps bopping their heads to my song and saying that they loved my vocals.

After late nights in the hotel bar and early starts to attend classes, I left LA very exhausted but encouraged by all the amazing people I met, the music industry truly is a community and it was great to feel so included and to make some great new friends from all over the USA and beyond.

Next we headed to Nashville, arriving in the afternoon to a beautiful and chilly autumn day. The golden leaves and crisp air surrounding our little house where the perfect setting for a week of songwriting and recording in music city. After eating my fill of shrimp and grits, and seeing the lights and sounds of Nashville's Broadway, it was nice to snuggle into a warm bed and try to regain some of the sleep lost in LA, before heading into a day of songwriting on the Tuesday.

The day began with a well deserved sleep-in, something I am very skilled in, and to which the -4 to 10 degree Celsius temperature range seemed to encourage. Grammy award winning songwriter Trey Bruce then arrived to co-write and oversee our songwriting for the day. Trey focussed his time on a country song with fellow travellers Taylor Moss and Jared Adlam, whilst I began a co-write with Fletcher Babb and Jake Whittaker. After a few hours co-writing, which admittedly was quite slow-moving and brain frying, I had some alone time in which I wrote a song called 'Love is Better', which I would go on to record at RCA Studio A later in the week. I then ran the song past Trey, who really liked it, particularly the chorus. That night we went and met Mark Moffet, one of the producers who we would be working with at RCA, and who is also the APRA representative in Nashville and an all around great guy. He showed us around his studio and had some great conversations with us before we called it a night (after a big southern feed of course). 

On Wednesday we headed to Middle Tennessee State University to sit on a songwriting lecture by Bobby Taylor (a very interesting class all about the relationship between songs, technology and culture), and then continued on to a co-writing session with MTSU students. I was fortunate enough to be paired with the talented Hunter Sutherland, whose amazing soul/blues voice and similar stylistic influences lead to the creation of a blues/soul song called I Can Live Without. It was such a fun session and the song seemed to flow easily, and I can't wait to record it over the next little while to show to you all! That evening we headed off to The National Underground to play in an Australian Showcase, and it was so awesome to get up on stage and play my music for the Nashville locals, as well as eat my fill of Tennessee Whiskey chicken wings!

Thursday saw more co-writing, this time with Andy Dozier of Andy Dozier and the Heavy Soul. We had a lot of fun writing a blues-rock song, which again I am looking forward to recording and sharing. The session ran so easily, and as I found with Hunter previously it's amazing how you can sit down in a room with a total stranger, and by the end of the session have a great song and a new friend! After the co-write with Andy, we headed we went to the Country Music Hall of Fame and learnt more about the history of country music and it's strong connection with Nashville. We then set off to see Scott Gerow, another producer we would be working with in RCA and who had also been at the Taxi Road Rally in LA. Scott and his wife Carrie made us feel right at home in their beautiful Nashville house whilst we did a quick pre-production session of the songs we would be recording the following day. Scott decided he wanted to produce my song Love is Better, and we worked on the bridge arrangement in preparation for recording. 

The next day was hands down one of the best days of my life. We walked into Grand Victor Sound's RCA Studio A on Music Square West, and it took my breath away! I've never seen a live room so big, and lit up with all the fairy lights along the staircase it really did look magical. The control room was homely, with vintage guitars lying around the place, and a vintage API desk in the middle, surrounded by a technicians dream in terms of outboard gear. When we arrived, Scott and the session musicians were finishing pulling sounds, and before we knew it we were diving into the recording, starting with my song. After playing the song twice acoustically to the session guys, as well as giving them a chord chart and explaining some of the alt-rock references, we dove headfirst into the recording process. After a quick play through and a decision on the tempo, as well as some extreme dampening of the tom's on the drum kit, we tracked the song in one take, and the session guys then went back to drop in a few bars here and there. I was amazed at the speed in which these guys worked, and how incredible they all were, before I knew it my song was done and I could kick back and relax until the overdubbing at the end of the day.

I took an hour out of RCA to head into town and have a brief look around Guitar Centre as well as Third Man Records (something I'd been angling for all week). Third Man was amazingly quirky, and I was buzzing just being in there, I'll admit I was fangirl-ing pretty hard at the fact I was in Jack White's label store, and yes, merchandise was purchased!

Back into RCA, I continued to learn so much from watching the session in action, and from Scott and Mark in their production approaches and other conversations. It was humbling to be in the same room as so much wisdom and talent, and the whole day had a dream-like feel to it. In the evening we over-dubbed some more guitars, and session guitarist Mark was happy to let me direct him in the guitar lines I wanted. I then put down the lead vocals, and it was so easy to feel the vibe of the track and I felt so comfortable in the vocal booth (using a U47 for all you gear-heads out there). After everyone's overdubs were done, we headed out for some much needed food and celebrations at a great Southern barbecue place in town, and I finally tried deep fried catfish, which was absolutely delicious. The excitement over the success of the day led to a late night of great conversations, and a bittersweet final night in Nashville.

Saturday saw some last minute shopping, with vinyl hunting at Grimey's, drooling over guitars at Gruhn's (Jake bought a stratocaster and Fletch bought a lap-steel), and a final fantastic american burger from ML Rose. We then headed off to the airport and began the long journey home, arriving in Brisbane two days later and heading straight to university for my  graduating years celebratory drinks, oh the life of a rocker!

All up, it was a fantastic experience, and I am so grateful to Griffith University and the Bachelor of Popular Music degree for funding the trip and allowing me to be a part of it. Myself and the four other students selected were blown away by the opportunities we were given and the people we met. I will take all of this new knowledge into the next chapter of my career, and I feel truly blessed to have been a part of this trip.

To all the amazing new friends I met in LA and Nashville, thanks for everything and I hope we can catch up again next year, in the meantime keep making great music like I know you will! As for me, I am definitely inspired to keep pursuing my dreams of being a recording and performing artist, there's a lot more ESSIE still to come!

[essiemusicblog]

LA so far

Wow, what a crazy few days I've had so far in LA! 

We arrived at 6.30am local time to a beautiful Californian day, and upon dumping our luggage at the hotel, we headed straight for Santa Monica beach and pier. After a stroll along the front and a visit from a friendly sea-lion, we headed up to Malibu and attempting to hold off snoozing in the car so that we could lay eyes on the ocean-front mansions perched precariously on the side of the Malibu cliffs. We also began to accustom our stomachs to American portions, and crashed out for an early night in the hotel.

Day 2 saw us strolling down Hollywood Boulevard, laying our eyes on Capitol Records, as well as the Hollywood sign, Hard Rock Cafe (where I ate my bodyweight in nachos!) and the Chinese Theatre. We then headed back to the hotel to sign up for the Taxi Road Rally A&R conference and to sign up for our one-on-one 15 minute mentor sessions. I got my first preference of sitting down with Don Grierson, a well known A&R rep who who has signed and worked closely with artists such as The Beatles, Tina Turner, Celine Dion, to Iron Maiden, Duran Duran, Cheap Trick, Joe Cocker and so many others! We then spent the night at the bar meeting other delegates and conference VIP's, including Scott Gerow, the producer we will be working with in Nashville next week.

Day 3 was the first day of the Taxi Road Rally, and started with a bang as I sat down with Don Grierson to discuss my music. He was encouraging and enjoyed my latest single Sugar Rush, and believes my music has a lot of potential on the UK market and it's wise to be moving there. It was so great to get such positive feedback from a true industry professional and he was very impressed with my work ethic, another great encouragement. 

The rest of the day was spent in different seminars, learning about writing music for film, self-management skills and about what A&R reps are looking for in new artists. I also had the opportunity to participate in a mentor lunch session, where different industry professionals rotated around the lunch tables to answer questions and give advice. Again, the day wound up with some great networking at the hotel bar, meeting other people and sharing musical tips. It was a great first day to what continues to be a very interesting conference, which kicked off again this morning with a lecture from the incredibly talented and knowledgable songwriting expert Pat Pattison.

As I sit and write this in my lunch break, I look forward to the people I'll meet and the things I will learn at the rest of the conference here in LA, as well as being very excited to be songwriting and recording in Nashville next week in RCA Studio's!

USA, I'm not finished with you yet!

ESSIE