Lovers Parting, Dawn is crafted from a poem by Australian poet Kevin Brophy. The track merges the human experiences of love, loss, and longing with a dynamic soundscape that takes the words from whisper to roar. This is the first single from Jen Lush’s forthcoming album 'Hum Of The Mettle' due for release in August 2023. Adelaide singer-songwriter Jen Lush is known for her spacious, emotive vocals and passionate performances that straddle the worlds of poetry, art, and experimental folk rock soundscapes. From her decade with folk band Cat Dog Bird to her debut solo album 'The Night’s Insomnia,' Jen and her stellar band bring tender, dynamic, intimate, and adventurous new music with storytelling at the centre.
By Kamil Bobin
Discovered via Musosoup
Kamil) Hey Jen Lush, super nice to have the chance to chat with you. What first got you into music?
Hi Kamil, good to be here chatting with you too.
I think the first thing that got me into music was the fact of music being all around me as I was growing up. My Dad is a singer-songwriter in the folk genre and he always had music playing or concerts the family would go along to. It was much later that I got into writing my own music - for a long time I thought there was a very mysterious alchemy involved in making music. I learned the piano for years, but it only was in my early twenties when I picked up a guitar that I started making writing my own songs.
Describe your favorite and least favorite part about being a musician.
My favourite part about being a musician is the possibility of connecting with others through music - whether it be playing alongside other artists and hearing their stories or playing one of those shows where the audience and musicians are all held together by a shared experience, I think of it as gold threads that connect us together in those moments. I live for those moments where it is as much an exchange as it is a performance.
My least favourite thing is probably the marketing side of things - sending the word out to folks is not something I am naturally good at, but it's an important part of the sharing part! That and the admin side of things.. it makes writing the actual songs feel like a breeze..!
Your latest song is 'Lovers Parting, Dawn'. Can you share with us the background of its creation and did any unusual things happen during its creation?
Lovers Parting, Dawn was the last song created for my new forthcoming album 'Hum Of The Mettle.' The album began as a commissioned project (by Denmark Arts, for the Western Australian Festival Of Voice) that paired me with poets from WA, SA and Victoria to collaborate on 8 new songs that come from the poetry of these writers. I had completed the 8 songs, and was ready to record them but I prefer odd numbers and it felt like we needed one more song. So I remembered a poem that was sent to me by poet Kevin Brophy, and I found it and wrote music around it as the final word on the new album. The poem was written in response to the traditional German form of the Tagelied or 'Dawn Song', a three-part poem relating the plight of lovers having to part at dawn under an onlooker's eye. Kevin writes "Its tone and feeling arose from my own distance from home; from my talks with asylum seekers and homeless people on the streets of Paris; and from my then still recent task of having to compose the words to be inscribed on my parents' gravestone. They died within months of each other in 2017." The song kind of fell out in a single sitting, which is unusual for me, but really came into it's own once the band got hold of it. It's a ballad for a while..!
How do you differ from most other artists?
I don't really know, I think everyone is different from each other, but maybe the emphasis of poetry and prose elements are a point of difference. I spend a lot of time on the lyrics and it might take months or even years for the words in a song to find the right shape. I also enjoy writing songs collaboratively - I'm usually co-writing with someone. I love the way it challenges my own songwriting habits and pushes things into new directions.
Where are you from and do you have a stable home or do you prefer travelling?
I grew up in the country of South Australia in a small town called Yankalilla. It's by the coast and I continue to love being near the ocean. I have a family, a house full of people so I tend not to travel too much - but I love to head off on the road and play festivals and explore new places when the right thing appears. The elusive balance of life!
How would you describe the music that you typically create?
I would describe it as folky rock with storytelling at it's centre. Poetry is a big influence and an important leaping off place which defines the music quite strongly. On my own it's very acoustic folk, but when the band are with me things quickly veer into experimental folk rock soundscapes which I love.
How do you nurture your own creativity?
I think it's regular walks in the bush land nearby. We live on Kaurna country, and in just a few minutes I can be across the road and into a huge nature reserve full of tall, old gumtrees, creek beds and high ridged hills to climb. Nature, wildlife and the changing skies. I also find reading books, poetry and listening to music fills me back up makes me want to make things again.
If you could go open a show for any artist who would it be?
That's a hard question! I think anyone I admire deeply like The Fleet Foxes, Anais Mitchell, Sharon Van Etten, Jesca Hoop or Iron and Wine.
Who's your ideal musician to collaborate with and why?
I love collaborating with people and I find it's a beautiful thing to do when we are able to lay our egos down for a little rest and allow ourselves to be open and without judgement. It's such a vulnerable thing to do, and can be really hard, but when it works it works. And the best times have been when everyone feels valued and inspired.
I would love to collaborate with Jesca Hoop - she's a breathtakingly glorious songwriter with poetry sewn through every lyric. Her musicianship is stunning and her collaboration with Sam Beam (Iron & Wine) was sublime.
What are your plans for the future?
I'm looking forward to getting the new record out into the world - it's always quite a process, a kind of birthing..! Then I plan to play some lovely shows in South Australia and take the album on the road to other places and meet some new folk along the way. I should probably give Jesca Hoop a call and line up a collab!! (Haha)