New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Bonniesongs, aka Bonnie Stewart, is pleased to reveal her new single 'Coo Coo' - the latest track to be taken from the Australia-based Irish art-folk virtuoso's forthcoming debut album Energetic Mind, set for release on Small Pond Records in the UK on 6th
September 2019. Aussie experimental music label Art As Catharsis will be handling the release Down Under.
In support of the new record, Stewart recently announced a rare run of
September 2019 UK tour dates supporting label-mate
Natalie Evans (see below for full listings) with tickets on sale now.
A highly addictive loop-driven hypnotic track with simple, minimal lyrical content. Stewart wrote 'Coo Coo' while playing around with her trusty TC Helicon Voicelive Touch 2 loop station, which is integral to her unique sound. The only track on the album not produced and recorded by
David Trumpmanis, 'Coo Coo' was produced by Stewart's friend Dave Kempton (aka "Other Dave").
"I was getting frustrated having not recorded or released anything a few years ago," explains Stewart, "and Dave offered to record a couple tracks at his home. I came over and recorded this track one afternoon, then, when it came to putting down the album, we decided to just use this recording and layer some drums and bass synth."
Commenting on the single, she says: "'I was testing out having multiple tracks and seeing what was possible. I love getting a kinda dark grungy odd metre riff and layering it with smooth simple vocals. I also wanted to play around rhythmically with the vocals, as looping allows me to create more complicated ideas than I can do live. My favourite part is the off-beat: 'Don't forget about me, I could be anybody, I don't mind…' It's a simple idea but has this really cool effect of cross rhythmic patterns because of the 5/8 guitar riff."
"While writing this I was visualising a cuckoo bird coming out of a cuckoo clock and just having a good time. The theme is a bit open to interpretation but maybe it suggest feelings of freedom, escapism, liberation, and identity."
Previous singles 'Ice Cream', 'Barbara', and 'Frank' picked up international radio plays from Amazing Radio, Triple J, FBi Radio, and RTRFM, with press coverage from Paste Magazine, London In Stereo, The 405, The Line of Best Fit, CLASH, Crack in The Road, For The Rabbits, Nialler 9, Joe.ie, The Thin Air, Tone Deaf,
Everything Is Noise, A Closer Listen, Overdrive Magazine, and a whole host more.
Energetic Mind is released 6th
September 2019 via Small Pond Records (UK) and Art As Catharsis (AUS)
Bonniesongs live w/
Natalie Evans:
18.09.19 - Leicester - The Cookie
19.09.19 - London - The Islington
20.09.19 - Bristol - Cafe Kino
21.09.19 - Cardiff - The Dojo, Pontcanna
22.09.19 - Manchester - Castle Hotel
23.09.19 - Leeds - LS6
24.09.19 - Canterbury - Bramleys
25.09.19 - Brighton - Nowhere Man
Bonniesongs online:
https://www.facebook.com/bonniesongsmusic/
https://soundcloud.com/bonniesongs
https://bonniesongs.bandcamp.com/
https://bonniesongs.com
For a peck of audiences in Australia over the past couple of years, Stewart has been one of those subtly transcendent artists. Described as "dreamy experimental indie folk", she's steadily been creating an ever-broadening platform for her unique sound amongst the Sydney songwriting scene. On much of her earlier material, Stewart's sweet, ghostly vocals sail over the polyrhythmic backgrounds created between her mandolin, percussion and vocal loops, while her imaginative lyrics tell diverse and dreamlike stories of treehouses, mice, birds, flying and video games.
Debut album Energetic Mind has taken a new, heavier, direction whilst also retaining the charm of her earlier releases, as the songwriter explains: "When I started writing for Bonniesongs, what came out was more dreamy folk, and often still is. I think the album is a balance of this ethereal soft sound but also a lot of darker grungy undertones have crept in. Recording made me realise the huge influence that 90s grunge/punk has had on my writing."
Stewart's previously-released four track debut EP
Strings (2018) was released on Art As Catharsis, a bold collaboration with friends Sascha Bota and Freya Schack-Arnott. Six days after a one-off performance as a trio, they made a recording of their experimental, textural and improvised variations on Bonnie's songs. The record was influenced by Jim Black's improvised jazz record AlasNoAxis, drawing comparisons to
Joanna Newsom, Cat Power, and Bjork, and was widely praised for challenging conventions of modern Australian music.
