Fanny Lumsden loves life! She lives it at a million miles an hour, but luckily, she pressed pause in 2023 just long enough for us to have a chat and a cup of tea at The Green Note in London.
Back on tour and currently smashing it in the UK and Ireland, it’s incredible but not really surprising what the Australian artist, now a two-time Aria Award winner, has achieved in less than a year.
1st 3: Let me start by asking you about your lyrics; they’re lovely! Can you tell me a bit about the title track of your latest album, Hey Dawn? What is its message?
Fanny Lumsden: Oh definitely hope- it’s always one of hope! A big part of the person I am is definitely hope- always. I guess I’m a very optimistic person. I don’t really decide what to write about and then write it; it just all comes out somehow and then I work out what it’s about after. There’s a lot of things that song’s about- I’m gonna tell you how I wrote it.
I hadn’t found the way of the album yet, but I thought I would just go into the recording studio, in Tasmania, in the bush. And you know, I’m going in to record the songs and I’m not ready! I’m just going in to see what happens…”
Were you scared?
No! I was just like- I’d never been so unprepared before so I was just going in to see what happens. My last album, Fallow, was quite successful in Australia, so I was feeling a little bit of pressure. In my head, I could hear the sound of a piano in a country town hall and I was recording some stuff, and then there was this massive storm. We were surrounded by trees and we had to move to a studio near the coast. I’m not a coastal person but it was beautiful, obviously, and as I got up one morning, the sun popped over the horizon. I’d been struggling with being in the moment and I literally said to the sun; “Hello Dawn…” I have a photo of that moment and I took a video, and I was like, ok; I’m just going to tell the stories as they are from now on. On the way to the studio, there was a little market, right there in the bush, in a hall; and there was a little man in a little red hat and he played and played. He had this notebook that he wrote everything down on, and I thought- “That’s it, that’s the sound I want.” Now the album is together, I think it’s about a lot of things. Yes, being ‘in the weeds’- (whatever that means to you), but every morning there’s a new dawn and you get to choose how you are changed by the stories you tell yourself, and how the stories change you.
People think “A country singer, you must sound like that, but I sound like I sound. It’s a bit deeper than that.”
Another set of lyrics are about the stories of women ‘who raised you’- who are they?
I was raised by fierce women! You don’t really realise that until you get older, when you look back and think you were surrounded by strong women all the time. There are women off the land; tough and conditioned, who thrived and got on with what they did, their stuff, you know?
Is that what you aim to be like?
Yeah, of course: they are strong women! But also soft and gentle. My grandma, for example, was a 1950s housewife and I couldn’t see her fierceness until she was older. My other grandma was more of an intrepid explorer so I could see that fierceness more clearly when I was younger. These are women on farms, working hard.
I get, from your lyrics, that you are acutely aware of these precious commodities called life and time… you have babies too as well as being a singer/songwriter ,touring the world, running a farm and being a part time firefighter?
I bring my babies on tour; I want to be fierce for them. I want to show them, to teach them how to be true to yourself, to be honest and kind and that is fierceness.
Your voice has been likened to The Coors and even Dolly Parton- has your voice changed since you had children?
Something changed when I had my babies- my voice got stronger, bigger. I haven’t had much voice training, unlike my brother (who will be singing tonight) who has done lots.
Your brother- and your family- are very much part of your singing aren’t they? I read that you are up in a family of musicians with instrumental lessons and live music all around you. Did you plan your career?
It just kind of happened accidentally. I never planned it, to be a singer. I went and did a rural science degree first.
You still use that, don’t you?
Yes, I do a little bit of farming. I live in the country and I like to say that I play music from the perspective of someone who grew up in the country. I tell the stories of people who live in the country, rather than a country singer. People think “A country singer, you must sound like that, but I sound like I sound. It’s a bit deeper than that.”
I was just doing my degree in science- it was so factual; you can’t be creative and I think as a reaction, I couldn’t stop the music coming out."
A lot of your songs are quite different- folky?
It happened because I fit into that genre of country and folk in Australia, but my style is quite broad. I think if I was going to America, I wouldn’t be named a country singer, I think I would be folk/Americana or something.
You’ve played Glastonbury and now you’re playing on this tiny little stage- if someone offered you your perfect venue, where would it be?
I think an old, shambly theatre that has been full and had its day- and where you can still feel the power of that. I think that would be ideal. Ive booked all my own gigs here and as Im getting to know London, I’m hearing about more places I’d love to play in.
Do you think you can manifest good things coming your way?
I think you can be good at what you do, be a good and kind person and the stories will come to you. Glasto was a mind-blowing experience – it was huge and it was full! They showed up and did all the dance moves!
When do you feel most inspired to write your songs?
When I’m moving, driving around the country. We do a lot of regional touring and moving around and I always get inspired by that. But of course, having my kids changed me- I don’t feel I had full access to my feelings before I had my kids. It really shifted me. Fallow was written after Dan’s (her husband) mum had died and then 2 months after that, I had a baby! Moving around, meeting our fans is inspirational, hearing their stories. We do a lot of interactive shows! We talk to people about funny, warm things.
Is it the melodies or the lyrics that come first?
Usually the lyrics, but sometimes I have the shape of the song in my mind first. It’s always different- every song is different.
Where do you like to write?
Sometimes, I just pick up my guitar and the first thing that comes out could be something that’s been inside me for a while, unformed- but it just has to come out! I was just doing my degree in science- it was so factual; you can’t be creative and I think as a reaction, I couldn’t stop the music coming out.
The Grown Ups song- what is it about?
I found a book, in a travelling library, about a child who was remembering things for her grandma who had dementia. You get to the era of your life when the impact of life and time hits you. I feel I’ve had a lot of that recently. Time doesn’t go on forever. When you’re in your 20s, it goes on forever. In your 30s, you realise YOU are the grown up and time seems to speed up… You’ve got the career, the family, the babies, the music- and I know that’s what’s important.
Interview with Fanny Lumsden
Thursday 6th July 2023
The Green Note Camden
