TRANSFORMATIONAL MUSIC Miriam Lieberman Trio

By Morgan Quinn

One of life’s great joys is to be gifted an opportunity to purposefully listen to music you hadn’t been exposed to before. This week, Miriam Lieberman's most recent full-length release, Just Transforming, was this gift. While proceeding with my mindless 9-5 admin tasks, I stuck my headphones on and devoured this album.

It immediately invited another listen. Then a third.

The instantly more-ish nature of Just Transforming is due, in part, to the collective skills of the performers on display. This is coupled by a musical maturity evident in the choices of not only what to include but, perhaps more importantly, what not to.

“It's a testament to Josh Schuberth, the producer,” Miriam enthuses. “He would always say, ‘before you record anything, ask yourself – does this serve the song? Is this needed?’

“And so the album is filled with beautiful, technical playing - but it's restrained.

“Each string part or vocal harmony, for example, is there to elevate the overall piece. It serves the song by having a particular and precise function."

With Just Transforming, Miriam has struck a pleasing balance between the pop and world music genres. There are unmistakable, exotic influences that drive each composition’s tone, which are channelled into a traditional pop song structure that is delivered via the medium of modern, clean production values.

"There is a progression in the music I've released,” Miriam states.

“My last few albums have been heavily inspired by West African music, as is my new album. It’s also very much calibrated with folk music and my own personal journey.”

In our chat, I pointed out a resemblance to the vocal styles and song composition of Joni Mitchell’s album Blue

“That is a great compliment,” Miriam says. “I look up to, and admire, Joni so much. And I love that album. Her range, and the emotion she can evoke in her lyrics, inspires me. There’s something very bittersweet about those songs.

“It’s beautiful when artists can make you feel both happiness and sadness within one piece of music.”

I was curious to know more about Miriam’s approach to writing both her lyrics and her compositions, and whether there is a particular philosophy that guides her. I highlighted a particularly ear-catching lyric: Don’t let them know Though you might be shaking inside Just hold your head high And somehow it’ll all be alright

“That song was written about a specific person that I loved who didn't feel the same way about me,” Miriam reveals. “But your interpretation is as valid as the meaning I felt when writing it.

“The beauty of songwriting is that it can mean something very specific to the writer, but be totally open to interpretation.”

The idea of connecting with a listener in such a way is a kind of magic that can be achieved with many different mindsets and methods. For example, perfectionism, improvisation, and collaboration. Miriam let me in to her process and outlook when creating.

"I'm definitely not a perfectionist,” she states. “When I'm writing, I'm very conscious and accepting of that. I tend to be guided by the feelings I experience when I'm writing.

“There's a song that I started a couple of days ago that I know is good, because during the process I had a strong emotional response. It’s about my mother, who passed away recently - we had a very peaceful and strong relationship. I've been going to the swimming baths early in the morning to have a freezing cold swim, which mum loved to do.

“Those kinds of activities, and writing music about my mum, makes me appreciate our relationship even more.”

On the Just Transforming album, Miriam is joined by Lara Goodridge, Susie Bishop, and Lara Norman. Both Norman and Bishop will be joining Miriam, comprising the eponymous Trio, for the Saturday, 5 August Canberra performance.

“When you share your music with others, particularly with other musicians to perform, it adds so much more value to any given piece you write,” Miriam says. “I’m very lucky to have the musicians that played on my album perform with me live. They give the music so much depth.

“They both lead their own projects, so to be with them is an honour and a privilege.”

Whilst the translation from studio to live can be jarring for some songwriters, for Miriam and her trio performing is as natural as any part of the creative process.

“I love playing festivals,” Miriam beams. “Having a chance to see what other musicians are doing is one of the most beautiful parts about touring.

“I'm especially excited to come back to The Street Theatre, which is a beautiful venue. It’s a very welcome opportunity for me to play in Canberra, too.

“It’s a city that I personally love.”

Miriam Lieberman Trio will be gracing The Street Theatre on Saturday, 5 August at 7:30pm. Tickets are $29 - $35, which you can book now online via thestreet.org.au

By Joshua Eckersley

In the boundless landscape of the Australian music industry, there are certain visionary artists forging new paths and reinventing what popular music looks and sounds like. Fanny Lumsden is one such artist, delivering a compelling blend of stagecraft, storytelling, and musical prowess that has mesmerised audiences all over the world. For anyone that missed her last trip to Canberra, now is the time to load some Lumsden into your life!

Fanny Lumsden and her band, the fantastically named The Prawn Stars, have already spent a big chunk of 2023 sharing their joyful music throughout Australia and New Zealand, under her hugely popular Country Halls touring banner.

The Country Halls phenomenon is something Fanny has been pushing for ten years now, performing in halls in often overlooked regional and remote areas, and raising funds for these communities along the way (Saint Fanny has a fine ring to it).

In June, the rambunctious bunch packed their bags and set off to conquer the UK and Ireland, kicking off with a daring debut performance at the iconic Glastonbury Festival. It’s safe to say Fanny and the boys knocked English socks squarely off.

“It’s been amazing, coming from the other side of the world and having our first ever UK show be to a packed-out Avalon tent at Glastonbury,” Fanny tells us. “That is not a sentence I thought I would ever get to say. “The audience was so incredible. We had not expected a packed tent of people who sang along, joined in on all the dance moves, and just really got into it.”

With hardly a spare moment in between, Fanny and co are now returning to Australia to start their national tour in support of their brand new album, Hey Dawn, set for release in August. This highly anticipated album follows the critically acclaimed Fallow (2020), which made a clean sweep of the ARIA, CMAA Golden Guitar, and AIR awards for Country Album of the Year.

The widespread success of Fallow established Lumsden as one of the biggest names in Australian country music. Despite the huge impact she has made from sharing her music and stories, Fanny is simply carrying on, business as usual.

“I just try to keep on trucking, getting the shows booked, the songs written, and the stories told,” she beams. “I think the success of Fallow was very validating to myself, my husband, and the team.

“We all work hard on this, without a big machine behind us, so to think our grass roots approach has got us here is pretty mind blowing.

“I’m very grateful.”

The first taste of Hey Dawn comes in the form of lead singles Millionaire and When I Die. Both songs are brimming with upbeat, feel-good vibes that will help shake off any cumbersome winter blues. Despite its title, When I Die is a life affirming banger. Not only that, it is replete with an amusing story behind it concerning a big, bearded lumberjack called Brett.

“Brett bailed me up at the pub one day to ask how much I would charge to perform at his wake,” Fanny explains. “I nominated an outrageous fee and a down payment of a cow, and two loads of wood.

“He rocked up a few months later with the first load of wood. Let’s just say it has taken off since then.

“The song is really about sticking to your guns and being true to who you are, both in life and in death.” (it is worth noting, at this juncture, that Brett is as healthy as a horse. He just likes to plan ahead, especially when it comes to booking big celebrations)

The title-track, Hey Dawn, is also an uplifting celebration of the human spirit, drenched in beautiful, The Beatles-esque harmonies, and strings. One of Fanny’s true gifts is her affinity for storytelling, capturing the everyday struggles and joys of life in her music.

“Hey Dawn is about whatever weeds you’re in at the time, the fact that tomorrow has a promise of something brighter is always there,” Fanny reveals. “The song might subliminally be referring to COVID, or bushfires, or just the fact that it was deep winter when I wrote it…

“We don’t usually have a big plan for each song. We just see how it evolves, and what it needs to tell the story.”

Fanny and The Prawn Stars will be breaking in the new songs at The Street Theatre on Friday, 4 August, and it will be a very special night of celebration.

“It’s the very day Hey Dawn comes out! We will be celebrating in Canberra!” Fanny enthuses. “Maybe we should have a cake?

“We really love playing Canberra,” she continues. “The audiences are always such fun. It was our favourite shows on the Fallow & Variations tour last year.

“This performance will be full of new songs, but not exclusively. We will play old ones, of course, and fun ones too. We are designing the set at the moment, and really want to make it special.”

Fanny Lumsden and The Prawnstars bring the Hey Dawn album launch tour to Canberra on Friday, 4 August. The show starts at 7:30pm, and tickets are $23 for under 12s, $44 standard, and $65 VIP (all + bf) via thestreet.org.au