7 minute read
Sounds like Aimee Chapman
Aimee set the stage for her career at a young age, with her work from performances to composing to event management certainly making an impression.
By Dianne Dempsey - Photographs by Leon Schoots
When musician Aimee Chapman was a little girl, she loved to put on concerts for her mum and dad. But young Aimee didn’t just put a tea cosy on her head and sing a couple of songs. She would plan the order of events, build the sets, do the costumes and makeup, the flyers and let’s not forget the music. In truth, as far as her multifaceted career is concerned, nothing much has changed. While Aimee is currently working as a programmer three days a week at the Emporium Creative Hub, she spends the other days and nights of her week extending her impressive repertoire as an innovative musician: composing, singing and recording. The sounds Aimee makes are a mixture of electronic music, jazz and pop. But don’t be afraid. Aimee says her particular blend of music is accessible because of her predilection for strong melody lines. “I also like song form,” she says. “I like interesting sounds. I like people to go away humming or remembering some words from my work. It’s not so experimental that it’s going to scare people away, it’s stuff you can have in the background and hum along to.” The last performance Aimee gave was at the Phee Broadway Theatre in Castlemaine earlier in 2021, between lockdowns. “I put together a project called Coming Home, which was a real-time musical interpretation of the train journey from Southern Cross to Castlemaine Station,” she says. “Myself and three other players improvised the music against the footage.” Along with the images, the soundtrack to Coming Home is mesmerising; available online, it will give readers a far better feel for her work than any number of written words can.
Aimee can also be found in the wee hours of the night creating instrumental music for film and TV. She works for licensing agents in the US who manage her catalogue of music. She says she has found a niche in the US producing soundtracks, mainly for American reality TV shows. “Every now and then, out of the blue, I’ll hear my work alongside an incredible storyline,” she says, laughing. Another aspect of her music is performing DJ sets that are compatible with the fringe vibe of Theatre Royal Castlemaine audiences. Operating two turntables, Aimee has a lot of fun with gizmos, producing her own electronic sound and beats, as well as incorporating the music of other people. “It becomes a bit of a hybrid music set, and the prospect of performing live again is very exciting,” she says. While music is her creative strength, Aimee’s work before leaving Melbourne was also as an events organiser and a coach to creatives. She helps artists (no matter their field) who are looking to develop their craft and their career: who may want to explore the parameters of their art; or shift status, from being an amateur to a professional artist. Aimee’s main gig in Melbourne, however, was as a venue manager. “I managed the Palais Theatre, Rod Laver Arena, Hisense Arena and Margaret Court Arena, so I was doing the big international concerts, which I loved. But it did mean you were there from the crack of dawn when things were bumping in, and then you were the last person there switching off the lights after the show at 1am.”
Aimee cites herself as a typical creative who, over the past few years, has moved from Melbourne to the country – in her case, Newstead. “I moved after living this really fast-paced life. My partner Anthony Lyons is a composer and we have two young daughters. We wanted to just slow it all down a bit. Like many others, I’ve found I can work from home. I’ve adapted. Rather than running the physical events in the venue, I’ve moved to promoting the events, which means getting the artists in and booking them into venues all around Australia and in New Zealand. So I can do 90 percent of that from home, and occasionally I’ll go on the road and tour-manage a concert, but mostly I can be out here in Central Victoria.” This geographical repositioning of artists from the city to the country has been accelerated by COVID. “Even in the last 18 months, there’s been a mass exodus from the cities of people who have moved because they’ve seen that they can actually do their jobs online and live out in the country, where there’s a lot more space,” Aimee says. “In August, I came to the Emporium Creative Hub, where I program the events and initiatives to support the creative community. It’s really about supporting the ways that creatives can collaborate.” According to Aimee, the hub has come into its own as the need to connect the various regional artists, and provide them with working spaces and contacts, has become more imperative. Aimee believes the days of the cultural cringe, of all things of value belonging to the cities, are long since over. Her work in Bendigo as a musician and Creative Hub programmer, are a testament to that reality. For gigs and coaching, contact Aimee at aimeechapman.net Aimee Chapman will be performing at the Theatre Royal for the Castlemaine Sound event on December 17.
Let em RIP InVis-Able Sleuths
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Murder and mystery unfolded in Bendigo courtesy of the Ripper Crime-Solving Experience.
With a virtual killer on the loose, teams of super sleuths – some in their best detective attire – scrambled through the city’s streets to analyse the evidence and unravel the next virtual clue to crack the case.
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Showcasing a love for specialty coffee, all day breakfast and lunch, complemented by our friendly staff.
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Alison Burgess, Peter Lennox, Anne and Don McRae John and Lyn O’Brien
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WELCOME RETURN TO THE TRACK
Spirits were high as the Bendigo Jockey Club welcomed back spectators and owners to the racecourse.
In the club’s first public race meeting since March, a few hundred people were keen to take a punt on the unsettled Wednesday weather to once again enjoy a day at the races.
WHAT SETS A GIRTON JUNIOR SCHOOL EDUCATION APART? EXTRAORDINARY OPPORTUNITIES!
Commencing in Prep, by the time your child nishes Year 6 they will have:
• enjoyed specialist PE classes from Prep • been immersed in a rst-class academic and emotional intelligence education • learned at least one musical instrument • discovered the world around them and beyond • undertaken specialist science classes • played in a music ensemble • enjoyed their choice of a broad range of co-curricular activities, developing interests and connectedness with their peers, including our renowned Sports Excellence
Program from Year 5 • and performed in three major theatrical productions Contact our Registrar on 5441 3114 or see our website to discover the amazing opportunities that come with a Girton Junior School education.
