5 QUESTIONS
SWEET WHIRL WHO ARE YOU?
I'm Esther Edquist, aka Sweet Whirl.
WHAT DO YOU DO?
I'm a songwriter, so usually I'm trying to express in song what can't be said in words alone. You know, sometimes you hear yourself describe a situation or a feeling and it's not nuanced enough, you can admit that your mind will change in the future. Songs are a way of allowing for multiple readings, other possible moods, and the words are just the props on stage for anyone to come along and try out, to wield with their own intention, flex their own moods.
WHY DO YOU DO IT?
I've tried to leave music alone and prune it into a hobby, and I've been a big listener of music all my life, but there always comes a point for me where there's no way forward in my own thoughts, as they stand, and no way forward via listening to others'. I process myself, experience myself, my
thoughts, opinions, crises, hopes, solutions best when I have to work it all out via music.
WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW?
Well the second single, "Sweetness" from my forthcoming Album 'How Much Works', was released recently, a few weeks into lockdown here in Melbourne, and while I've been a bit distracted from all the usual excitement of a release it's been really nice getting messages from people I know and love, telling me how much they're enjoying the track. It's such an upbeat track, it was a real mind-bender for me to transform what I'd written on piano, heavy jazz chords etc, to this light and fun song. It was an exercise in letting my usual emotional intensity take a backseat and channelling the clever sunshine of pop. I'm glad it came out during this weird-arse bleak time.
WHAT'S THE HOT TOPIC?
In Australia, I think there's a changing awareness of just how 21
important the music industry is. We don't have anywhere near the amount of opportunities or revenue that, say, the American music industry has but as a community, and an economy, the industry is very valued. I think that's evident in all the press that gathered around the music fundraisers for the summer bushfires, and more recently all the concern for people in the industry who really rely on live music for an income. Being a musician when I was young was a bit of an oblique career choice.. you're drifting on to some unsealed backroad that your parents sort of wish you hadn't taken. I think recently there's been a big change within the industry as well as the broader Australian community; a realisation that live music, and local music, is really valued, and something we're all proud of. The debut album, 'How Much Works' out on Chapter Music on May 29th Photography by Traianos Pakioufakis
