Castlemaine singer/songwriter Nadia Phillips has launched her highly anticipated debut album A Million Birds and One Stone.
The EP has hit Bandcamp and music streaming services just as the talented 19-year-old, now based in Melbourne, and band The Girlfriends prepare to join fellow Castlemaine artists Dallas Woods and Galaxy Hop as part of the ‘Comin’ Down the Calder’ troupe to descend on Melbourne Music Week tonight.
Phillips and the eclectic lineup will play the special show at Melbourne’s Curtin Hotel at 7.30pm.
The showcase is part of the Regional Music Development pilot program in Mount Alexander Shire – funded by Creative Victoria and delivered in partnership by Music Victoria and Regional Arts Victoria.
Growing up in Castlemaine, Phillips enjoyed an upbringing surrounded by music, art and nature. Piano tuition from an early age shaped her passion. She has since been playing guitar to write, record and perform. The artist said complexities of self understanding and the longing to understand others drove her songwriting.
Since October 2020, Phillips has set a pace with the release of two singles – On Reflection and Your Dark Side – plus EP Sort It Out with her band ‘Nadia and The Girlfriends’. She has attracted insightful reviews in Australia, UK and Belgium and between lockdowns has performed live with successful shows at venues in Castlemaine, Daylesford and Melbourne.
Phillips told the Express her solo first album had been more than a year in the making and she couldn’t wait to share it.
She described the album as having an acoustic rock appeal.
“I had quite a backlog of songs from earlier in the year, so I took the chance to record my first album of 13 songs. It was also perfect timing for me to collaborate with new musicians and artists to extend myself as a recording artist,” Phillips said.
“I worked with prodigious musicians Finn and Jim Inkster to record to tape on their Tascam Portastudio 488 MKII, taking an analog route as a sonic exploration. I learnt a lot from this process!”
Phillip’s vocals and guitar are the backbone of the album. Local musicians Uma Dingemans (Stop That Mammoth), Finn Inkster, Jim Inkster, Jez Furlong (Thistleswitch) and other friends backing with harmony vocals have played and assisted with instrumentation on the album. After recording, the songs were given to Elvis Walsh (00_ and Dog Rocks radio Main FM) who mixed and mastered the album for digital release.
“Another thing I was keen to do was to invite my friends and community to submit artworks to the album project, and I’ve allocated one artwork to each track for release. I wanted this album to be very much a collaborative project and these artworks accentuate back story as well as supporting emerging talent too,” Phillips said.
Tickets for tonight’s show are on sale now at www.johncurtinhotel.com
You will also be able to catch Phillips live when she returns home later this month to perform with The Girlfriends at the ‘Be Forgot’ – New Year’s Eve extravaganza at the Lot 19 Art Space.
