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{"id":40473,"date":"2021-02-01T10:30:00","date_gmt":"2021-02-01T15:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/?p=40473"},"modified":"2021-02-01T13:25:53","modified_gmt":"2021-02-01T18:25:53","slug":"playing-melbourne-sarah-mary-chadwick-me-and-ennui-are-friends-baby","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/playing-melbourne-sarah-mary-chadwick-me-and-ennui-are-friends-baby\/","title":{"rendered":"Sarah Mary Chadwick Makes Friends with Ennui"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"\" — Photo Credit: Simon J Karis<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Multi-instrumentalist, visual artist and intrepidly candid singer-songwriter Sarah Mary Chadwick<\/a> will release her seventh full length studio album, *Me and Ennui Are Friends, Baby<\/em>, on Friday, February 5th, via* Ba Da Bing Records<\/a>\/Rice is Nice<\/a>. Known both for her solo work and for a decade spent as frontperson of Batrider<\/a> – which formed while Chadwick and her bandmates were still in high school in New Zealand – Chadwick has explored some dark places and difficult terrain. Going solo certainly sent her on a new trajectory \u2013 one that has kept listeners compelled to discover what she\u2019s just done and what she\u2019s doing next. Her latest album justifies plenty of curiosity and attention, not only for its exploration of intense emotions – she is, as ever, starkly honest, articulate and unfiltered – but also for the approach to recording it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ennui<\/em> is almost entirely singing and piano, all recorded live in one day with Chadwick’s friend, bass player Geoffrey O\u2019Connor. Chadwick and O\u2019Connor recorded on a Yamaha upright piano in her friend\u2019s studio. The upright added to the \u201cbar-roomy feel of the record, which wasn\u2019t intentional but definitely came through when we were recording,” Chadwick says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
*It immediately follows 2020\u2019s* Please, Daddy<\/em> <\/a>– a painful, introspective work that, according to Chadwick, was more ambitious in terms of instrumentation. Though it seemed a logical trajectory to do something more complicated after its release, the stripped-down nature of Ennui<\/em> is a result of Chadwick’s conscious desire to free herself of expectation. “The last record had Geoff engineering, a drum and four other musicians. This was just me and Geoff sitting in a small, intimate room for a whole day,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIn terms of doing it in one day, my thinking has always been that there\u2019s only so good I can play and sing a song,\u201d explains Chadwick. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t get better if I do it 50 times. I think you lose a lot of energy if you iron things out. I wanted to capture a lot of energy in this record. I usually only record in one or two days, with only two or three takes of a song.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It’s all part of Chadwick’s effort to retain some of that \u201cdemo energy\u201d when recording songs for her albums. \u201cMy process is the same for music and visual art. Working fast, you\u2019re not afforded the space to second-guess decisions, so you get into the habit of making decisions quickly; you just make choices to realise what you think is important,” she says. “For me, that energy is so important. If you\u2019re doing it right, you\u2019re making good decisions that enable you to realise what is important about art.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<a href=\"https:\/\/sarahmarychadwick.bandcamp.com\/album\/me-ennui-are-friends-baby\">Me & Ennui Are Friends, Baby by Sarah Mary Chadwick<\/a><\/iframe><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Even while making choices that seem intuitive rather than heavily and lengthily considered, Chadwick is deliberate. One of those choices is the cover art for the album, revealing her parted legs in shorts that don\u2019t cover <em>everything<\/em>. It\u2019s quite brave, confronting even. \u201cI wanted to free myself up from having to put my own artwork on the cover every time,\u201d she says. \u201cIt\u2019s a candid photo that my partner took. I like the colours of it. It works well as a cover and as an image. The album itself is quite earnest in parts, so it\u2019s a nice counterpoint to have something a bit garish, a big vulgar, as cover art.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Chadwick is very much in the practice of constant creation, always engaged with visual art and music. When putting together a record, she books the studio three months prior and works each week on new songs, which typically take half an hour to an hour. \u201cWhen I was quite young, I was concerned with stagnant periods and writing block but now I don\u2019t encounter that ever,” she admits. “Doing lots of work subsequently makes me feel not guilty for when I don\u2019t want to work or can\u2019t be bothered. It makes my downtime guilt-free. I have always been in the habit of having something ticking over.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Having the deadline ensures she has selected songs which are in the process and refines them in preparation. She\u2019s already working on the next album and is considering doing demos to prepare, in contrast to the off-the-cuff nature of <em>Ennui<\/em>. \u201cI\u2019m always writing,\u201d she says. \u201cBecause we\u2019re just about to put this one out, I don\u2019t feel pressure to rush the next one, which means the next one will come pretty easily.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Perhaps, for Chadwick, there is a security in constant creation and self-analysis, working hand-in-glove to keep her on an even keel. Readers, beware: the following discussion may be triggering or difficult; those struggling with mental health issues may want to take a breather here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Both <em>Ennui<\/em> and <em>Daddy<\/em> are the continuation of a trilogy of albums, beginning with <em><a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/album\/2g3xSRjCB515D1oKzo2Q2E?si=hmmbgOsyRSe8afTE_EhtNQ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Queen Who Stole the Sky<\/a><\/em>, that focus on Chadwick’s attempt to take her own life in 2019, following the death of her father and a close friend, as well as the intense breakup of a long-term relationship. They openly explore the event itself as well as the trauma that precipitated it, and continue the healing process Chadwick has undergone in its aftermath, particularly her views on psychoanalytic therapy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ve always had, since a child, depression and anxiety, but it\u2019s gotten a lot better in the past six years. I\u2019ve always seen psychologists on and off since I was a teenager but never found it particularly useful and was disappointed by it no matter how much work I put into it,\u201d admits Chadwick. \u201cIt became clear that it wasn\u2019t my fault. I started psychoanalysis and that was far more rewarding. The more I put into it, the more it gave back.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Rather than process first and write later, Chadwick made the writing of these albums part of her journey toward healing. \u201cDid I want to explore it? Definitely, I did,\u201d she says. \u201cI was in treatment five times a week afterwards, and the experience only informed my creative process. I draw unconsciously and very naturally on day-to-day things.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Chadwick has released her latest batch of records through <a href=\"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/playing-melbourne-julia-wilson-rice-is-nice\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Rice Is Nice<\/a>, run by Julia Wilson and Lulu Rae. Chadwick met Jules through an ex-girlfriend. \u201cJules is a really, really dear friend and a great person,” Chadwick says. “We\u2019ve worked together since 2015 and done over four records together. Jules works super hard on things for me and she\u2019s not doing it for finance, since I\u2019m a relatively small artist, so I\u2019m really grateful for the fact she does so much because she loves me and she loves my work.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Chadwick is scheduled to do a series of launch events, in which she\u2019ll play music from the trilogy of albums for small crowds in Melbourne. The events will be live-streamed so international audiences can tune in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Despite the emotional weight of <em>Ennui<\/em>, there’s something triumphant in its self-deprecating tone. Perhaps Chadwick’s Bandcamp describes it best: “On <em>Ennui<\/em>, Chadwick is free, there is nowhere for her or us to run from the need to very presently and repeatedly articulate her trauma until it is simply, ‘articulated out.'” Another brave choice from an artist who, decades into her career, still stuns with her bravery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Follow Sarah Mary Chadwick on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/sarahmarychadwick\/?hl=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Instagram<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sarahmarychadwicknz\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Facebook<\/a> for ongoing updates.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Multi-instrumentalist, visual artist and intrepidly candid singer-songwriter Sarah Mary Chadwick will release her seventh full length studio album, Me and Ennui Are Friends, Baby, on Friday, February 5th, via Ba Da Bing Records\/Rice is Nice. Known both for her solo work and for a decade spent as frontperson of Batrider – which formed while Chadwick […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":117,"featured_media":40474,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10356],"tags":[11700,10657,780,6772,10458,10661],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/SMC-by-Simon-Karis-scaled-1-e1611950563749.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40473"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/117"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40473"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40473\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":40518,"href":"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40473\/revisions\/40518"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/40474"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40473"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40473"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40473"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}