AMANDA PALMER
& FRIENDS
announce
‘FORTY-FIVE DEGREES:
A BUSHFIRE CHARITY FLASH RECORD’
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A POLITICALLY-CHARGED ALBUM FEATURING GUEST MUSICIANS MISSY HIGGINS, MONTAIGNE, CLARE BOWDITCH, FRED LEONE, BRIAN VIGLIONE (THE DRESDEN DOLLS) AND JHEREK BISCHOFF
+ Neil Gaiman & Amanda Palmer Present:
A Bushfire Recovery Event
W/ Special Guests: Missy Higgins & Fred Leone
At Forum, Melbourne on March 8
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US musician, author and activist Amanda Palmer has announced Forty-Five Degrees: A Bushfire Charity Flash Record set for release on Friday, February 21. Recorded in just five days, the album is an immediate response to the ongoing bushfire crisis plaguing Australia with all proceeds going to Firesticks Alliance; an Indigenous led network re-invigorating and teaching cultural burning and land management.
The first single lifted from the release is a stirring cover of Midnight Oil’s hit “Beds Are Burning” featuring Missy Higgins taking the lead vocal under Palmer’s signature punk rock piano pounding. In addition to this, the tireless artist has also announced ‘Neil Gaiman & Amanda Palmer Present A Bushfire Recovery Event’ with special guests Missy Higgins and Fred Leone (Butchulla Song Man) in Melbourne on March 8th, in a bid to raise further funds to aid bushfire recovery efforts with proceeds going to Firesticks Alliance and Seed Mob: a movement of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people working for climate justice with the Australian Youth Climate Coalition.
Forty-Five Degrees: A Bushfire Charity Record came together at a dizzying pace between tour dates at Sing Sing Studios in Melbourne with the help of Missy Higgins, Montaigne (singing on “Truganini”), Clare Bowditch (singing on “Black Smoke”) and Fred Leone (playing didjeridoo on “Solid Rock”) who dropped everything to be in the studio and lend their talents to the effort. The album also sees Amanda reunite with Brian Viglione of The Dresden Dolls who plays drums across several tracks and long-time Palmer-and-Higgins collaborator Jherek Bischoff providing guitar and both electric and upright bass. The album was helmed by local engineer Anna Laverty and produced by Amanda with Ross Cockle on mastering duties. The artwork was created specifically for the project by newly-minted Australian citizen Sarah Beetson.
Every song has ties to Australia, but it doesn’t stop there: each song is also deeply political. Featuring a new original song, “Suck It Up, Buttercup”, penned in Tasmania after a Mona Foma residency in a confessional booth during which Palmer spoke with over 100 people in Launceston about their fears and histories of abuse, the album also contains covers of songs by Midnight Oil, Ted Egan, Jen Cloher, Goanna and Emily Wurramarra. Most songs were suggested by Amanda’s Patreon community who inspired the emergency effort.
“My ability to move and work fast is made possible by 15,000 full-time supporters on my Patreon crowdfunding page. As the bushfires hit global headlines, many of my patrons reached out and wanted to know if we could collectively help the cause, given that I was touring here,” says Amanda.
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LISTEN: AMANDA PALMER + MISSY HIGGINS – ‘Beds Are Burning’
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Currently on an extensive tour of Australia with her critically acclaimed theatre show There Will Be No Intermission, Palmer has witnessed the urgency of the climate crisis in real time as bushfires ravaged communities all round the nation and wanted to contribute to the relief effort as soon as possible.
“I’m an American, and an American who loves Australia deeply. Neil (Gaiman, my husband) and I landed in Melbourne in advance of my current tour a few days before Christmas, just when the fires really began to rage,” explains Amanda.
“It started with the idea of just covering “Beds are Burning” on solo piano, but then my patrons started clamouring for “Solid Rock”, a song I’d never heard of, and then I called a few friends to help, and the next thing you know, well, we had a whole record. We tracked and mixed eight songs in about five days between my tour dates.
“We decided to give all of the profits to Firesticks Alliance, as a way of looking towards a more hopeful future, one where we are able to learn from the traditional custodians of this land, instead of just paying lip service.
“During my last trip to Australia in 2017, I started reading more deeply about Indigenous land rights and Australia’s unique problems with the climate crisis. I thought I knew things, but I had no idea how much deeper and darker the story ran. This devastating round of bushfires simply cannot be untangled from the spiraling knock-on effects of colonialism and climate ignorance.
“If Australia is the canary in the dark climate coal-mine, I hope a bunch of artists making a response record like this, so fast and with such generosity, can provide a little crack of light.”
Firesticks Alliance Indigenous Corporation is an Indigenous led network and aims to re-invigorate the use of cultural burning by facilitating cultural learning pathways to fire and land management. It is an initiative for Indigenous and non-Indigenous people to look after Country, share their experiences and collectively explore ways to achieve their goals.
Oliver Costello CEO Firesticks Alliance Indigenous Corporation shared: “We are immensely grateful to Amanda and everyone that has contributed to the album. We hope that when people listen to this album, they can share in the love and hope that we feel flows from it. These generous contributions will support Firesticks and First Nations Custodians to continue to maintain and restore their Cultural Fire Practices and Connections to Country.”
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AMANDA PALMER & FRIENDS
FORTY FIVE DEGREES : BUSHFIRE CHARITY FLASH RECORD
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Featuring BRIAN VIGLIONE of THE DRESDEN DOLLS on drums and JHEREK BISCHOFF on bass and guitar
MY FAVORITE THINGS (BUSHFIRE EDITION) originally by RODGERS & HAMMERSTEIN
BEDS ARE BURNING (with MISSY HIGGINS) originally by MIDNIGHT OIL
THE DROVER’S BOY originally by TED EGAN
BLACK SMOKE (with CLARE BOWDITCH) originally by EMILY WURRAMARA
SUCK IT UP, BUTTERCUP by AMANDA PALMER
TRUGANINI (with MONTAIGNE) originally by MIDNIGHT OIL
SOLID ROCK (with FRED LEONE) originally by GOANNA
REGIONAL ECHO originally by JEN CLOHER
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Neil Gaiman & Amanda Palmer
Present
A Bushfire Recovery Event
WITH SPECIAL GUESTS MISSY HIGGINS & FRED LEONE (BUTCHULLA SONG MAN)
Sunday March 8th – The Forum, Melbourne
TICKETS HERE
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Amanda Palmer
‘There Will Be No Intermission’
Australian Tour
Thurs February 20th – Enmore Theatre, Sydney
TICKETS HERE
Sat February 22nd – Perth Festival, Perth
TICKETS HERE
Sat February 29th- Darwin Entertainment Centre, Darwin
TICKETS HERE
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AMNPLIFY – DB
My nickname is “The Amnplifier”. Why? Because around here my focus is on being a conduit for providing greater outcomes that people come here for. My day to day “work” is living in the moment, and I love helping others concentrate on finding their connection to themselves through their experiences.
Why start a music environment? The truth is I love music, I love writing, and I love life. I work with musicians every day, and I feel certain that I will be until they put me in the ground. I have been managing people in businesses of some sort for over thirty five years so along the way I have developed some “wisdom” from my regular and constant “observations”.
Amnplify your experience. That is what we want you to do here, and if you want to let me know why you do, or don’t, shoot me a message on Facebook.
Hope you enjoy yourself here and find something that hits you somewhere.
