|
http://www.leahflanagan.com.au
LEAH FLANAGAN - NIRVANA NIGHTS
A storyteller at heart with the voice of an angel, Leah Flanagan can also wield a mean ukelele. As hometown Darwin locals will attest, Flanagan’s been playing original songs to passionate acclaim since she could swing a tune, and is the darling of the tropical north. Now the rest of the world is quickly catching on.
In between touring with the Black Arm Band (Leah will share the stage with Sinead O’ Connor, Rickie Lee Jones and Gurrumul Yunupingu at the Melbourne International Festival this year), appearing at the Popkomm Festival in Berlin, Woodford, Bluesfest or wherever else she’s in demand Leah Flanagan has spent a month in Melbourne recording her second album Nirvana Nights.
Nirvana Nights, is named after a small, defiantly seedy bar in Darwin where everybody plays. The album is a beautifully recorded document of Northern (Australian) soul, with full-blooded melodies, and Flanagan’s divine voice – at times channeling Shirley Bassey, at others Lucinda Williams - supported by a procession of Melbourne’s finest players – Liz Stringer (who wrote ‘Innocent Hearts’ for the album), Harry Angus, Emily Lubitz, Grant Cummerford, Matt Earl, Netanela Mizrahi and Mel Robinson.
Produced by Steven Schram (The Cat Empire, Little Birdy, Custom Kings) Nirvana Nights is a robust interpretation of her onstage persona – vividly human, quiet but possessed of a formidable strength and artistry. Bristling with gorgeous melodies and the kind of wry swing you might suspect of Lily Allen or Jolie Holland, there’s also the off-kilter catch of Martha Wainwright’s emotional torrent in Flanagan’s powerful delivery.
But her home and family are foremost authorities – her grandmother’s acute effect on Flanagan’s life is registered in songs ‘Goodbye’ and ‘Alyawarre Girl’, whereas ‘September Song’ and ‘Nirvana Nights’ beautifully detail life in the tropical north.
“2009 was a big year for me,” says Flanagan “I joined the Black Arm Band, got news I’d received a ‘Breakthrough’ grant (through the Cultural Ministers Council) and my Nana, who was a pivotal person in my life, passed away. It wasn’t until early 2010 that I was able to focus and start writing again. I was almost forced into it really. My partner and I forgot to book our flights home from Broome, and ended up staying for a week waiting for the next flight home to Darwin. It was there that almost half the songs were written for Nirvana Nights. Shacked up at the Roebuck Bay Caravan Park, overlooking the ocean where we would throw hand lines in the sea, drink wine and play guitar.”
With Nirvana Nights Flanagan has launched her Darwin soul onto a wintry national stage. It has the warmth to keep her there for many nights to come. |
