Vanessa Amorosi www.vanessaamorosi.com
Always one of the country’s most talented vocalists, Vanessa Amorosi’s recent open-armed embrace of new experiences and big vision has led to her creating some of her finest and most innovative work to date.
“I was really interested in discovering new ground,” the Melbourne-based singer-songwriter says. “I was developing a direction in my head that incorporated rock, dance and pop – in an electro-rock sound.”
With eight ARIA Award nominations and one prestigious APRA Award under her belt, not to mention her most played record on Australian radio in 2008, the anthemic ‘Perfect’, as well as an internationally highprofile collaboration with Hoobastank on the US act’s single “The Letter”, the time was right for Amorosi to take steps down an exciting new path.
“My last album, Somewhere In The Real World was a great start for me in my return from the material I wrote as a child,” she explains. “With the new album, it was important for me to simply focus on writing better songs and improve as a songwriter and an artist. Working on Somewhere In The Real World, I learnt a lot about myself and where I wanted to go musically and what I wanted to achieve. I was quite excited about starting the new record because, in a sense, I’d formulated the direction in my mind; I knew I needed to be different.”
Approaching her brave new musical world with the confidence and self-belief of someone with the track record and talent to back it up, Amorosi found the perfect foil in Swedes Niklas Olovson and Robin Lynch, best known as the songwriting and production powerhouse MachoPsycho and the team behind Pink’s “Stupid Girls”. On the same page from the get-go, the partnership proved fruitful –they penned 20 songs together.
“The experience of working with Niklas and Robin was exactly what I wanted,” Amorosi says. “There were no limitations, no musical boundaries. And when searching for ideas and sounds there were no restrictions or pigeonholing. It was a musical process of exploring every idea.” This open-minded approach not only saw Amorosi’s music step up to another level, but it also took the singer to a new place. She leapt at the opportunity to decamp to MachoPsycho’s studio in Gothenburg, Sweden, where the team spent three productive months whittling down the great amount of material to craft the album.
“Gothenburg is quite an amazing city,” Amorosi says. “I thought having the co- writers/producers in their normal environment would achieve a better result – and it did.”
During this time, and importantly, Amorosi also coexecutive produced alongside Ralph Carr to ensure the final work perfectly realised the artist’s vision. The finishing touches were added in Los Angeles by multi Grammy Award-winning mixer Chris Lord-Alge, the studio genius behind many of Green Day’s records including American Idiot, as well as acts such as My Chemical Romance, Stevie Nicks and The Replacements.
The resulting dance-slanted pop-rock set reflects Amorosi’s re-energised approach to making music and willingness to push the boundaries of her sound. It’s hammered home on commanding single “This Is Who I Am”, a fierce and confident pop-rock anthem that also resonates with Amorosi’s accomplished way with words.
“I think this track is indicative of the rest of the album. I indulge and move in a number of directions, tempo and groove-wise. Lyrically, I think it’s my best album yet. I’m very proud of its direction and content,” she explains.
“I’m so excited about this record and seeing the reaction from my fans.”
