Project Description

Interview with
SOPHIE HUTCHINGS

Interviewer – Dave Bruce

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Have you always wanted to be a composer? When did you get the song writing bug?
I always loved composing. I started writing music and recording it from a very young age with the encouragement from my teacher as this was my strength over site reading and kept me enthused towards my piano tuition.  It wasn’t something I thought was going to become my full-time career. It kind of found me and I’ve worked really hard at it ever since.

How would you describe your sound? Why do you think people resonate with your music?
I guess I would say there is a certain fragility and pensiveness about it. The pieces have a sentimentality about them that moves around in various shapes and forms and it kind of pushes and pulls, sometimes a bit like the ocean, it dips and swells, rises and falls and can be quite tempestuous but also quite lulled in nature too. I think people are drawn to it because the music becomes something personal to them unleashing a certain emotional freedom.

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Which artist’s music and/or performance, past or present, inspires you today?
Oh too many to mention! But I will say I’ve always been very inspired when I’ve seen the Australian Trio ‘The Necks’ live. They are very hypnotising…

Your new album ‘Scattered On the Wind’ has just been released. Describe its origin and evolution.
Unlike my other albums this one began by digging into an old cherished hard drive of stored away demos that I’d almost forgotten about. I developed and built some of the pieces that stirred something within again and then started building the album from there with some freshly written pieces also.  As the album grew the recurring theme that kept coming to mind became all about being comfortable with venturing down an unfamiliar path and trusting that things will align. We all meet crossroads in life and we can sometimes come to standstill unsure of the decision but its liberating when you throw caution to the wind, doing so often comes with some sort of resolved contentment and peace and by trusting that decision we’re often pleasantly surprised as to where it leads us…

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What are the signature pieces on the album, and which is your favourite track?
They all have their own personality which makes up the entire mood of the album so that’s a hard one to answer but I guess I have been quite attached to ‘Your Heart’ from the very beginning for some unknown reason.

If you could perform with any music artist, alive or dead, who would you choose? And why?
Hmmm I’ve not thought about this one before but I would perhaps say ‘Alice Coltrane’ because she’s an amazing and unique female artist. She played beautiful harp in unusual ways and has used so many amazing analogue Synthesisers and group harmonies that maybe joining in for some textural layers would be nice in any shape or form. Otherwise I would say some flowy kind of piano along side Brian Eno’s signature ambient tones…

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You’ve played in some unique venues around the world. What has been your career highlight so far?
I love that there’s so much versatility within the scope of venues I’ve performed at around Europe. There’s always a historical story behind them but interestingly enough I really think Dark MOFO held in Tasmania was a highlight for me as I think it’s one of the most culturally dynamic festivals we have here in Australia and we should have more of it…

What do you miss most about performing in front of a live audience?
I think I miss the organic energy between the audience and yourself. It’s real. You can’t replace that.

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What’s next for you? Any tour plans once the restrictions are lifted?
I’ve been booked for a really nice music festival in Istanbul Turkey in October with my European tour rescheduled around that. So, October is the next run of dates but Covid-19 really will be the judge of that! Let’s hope a vaccine is here in the not too distant future!

Finally, a few questions for some quick answers –
FAVOURITE:
Album – Selenography by The Rachels
Artist – Composer Arvo Part and Painter Egon Schiele Movie – Alice In Wonderland Place to visit – India and Paris
Food – I love everything, but you’ll always find me in a happy place if there is Berkelo Sourdough bread, Haloumi and poached eggs in the house!
Drink – Coffee & Peppermint tea by day, Red Wine by night
Person in History – The Persian poet ‘Rumi’
Tattoo – (If you don’t have one, what would you get?) If I were to get a tattoo it would be a small image of Alice from Alice in Wonderland.

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Check out SOPHIE HUTCHINGS below
Website | Facebook  | Instagram  | Twitter 

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SOPHIE HUTCHINGS
‘SCATTERED ON THE WIND’
New Album Out Now
Listen HERE

Composer and pianist Sophie Hutchings released her new album ‘Scattered on the Wind’, on Mercury KX, April 17.

Sophie’s music is ruminative and dreamy, with rippling piano-based instrumentals described by The Guardian as exuding “an intimate, contemplative quality; sometimes melancholic, often with an exhilarating beauty.” The new album invites the listener on a journey back through time, taking in the ecological influences of Sophie’s upbringing on the coast of Australia.

Sophie explains: “I think a lot the natural environment I spend time in subconsciously filters into my compositional style but it’s also digging deep into my own sensibility that this music naturally unveils itself.  Music is a unique form of communication and taps into our own thoughts and feelings. At a time like now we all need music more than ever so in a way it’s quite timely and I look forward to sharing it with the world”.

Sophie spent a good deal of her childhood outdoors, by the ocean. “I find the water has an almost medicinal effect,” says Sophie, who still swims and surfs with enthusiastic regularity. “There’s a peace that comes over you when you’re in the ocean or gazing at its horizon.”

The elemental, almost otherworldly effect of that natural landscape on Hutchings’ psyche has proved a formative and lasting influence on her style as a pianist and composer. As a student, Hutchings chaffed against traditional conservatory methods, preferring to embrace alternative methods of learning. Although she cites the works of American ambient hero Harold Budd and legendary Estonian composer Arvo Pärt as influences, Sophie‘s distinctive style – repetitive chords, subtly shifting moods – is entirely her own, arriving from a place of deep, unfettered instinct.

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‘Scattered On The Wind‘ is a truly spellbinding affair, an elegant and transcendent meditation on surrendering to the unknown, trusting that things will align. A blend of brand-new original pieces as well as a collection of compositions that have been lovingly written over time, the album was all recorded at Sydney’s Trackdown Studios in 2019.

Tim Whitten was on hand to engineer, while long-time collaborators Peter Hollo and Jay Kong guested, adding cello and violin accents respectively. New players Bree Baxter and Vera Marcu added violins to ‘Your Heart’, ‘Scattered on the Wind’ and the album’s enchanting first single, ‘Two Flames’, while soprano singers Sandra Liu and Josephine Stark join Sophie in adding subtle, choral-inspired vocal accents throughout. Her father Lee Hutchings also guests on the album, playing flute and alto flute.

Having been named one of MOJO’s ‘Top 5 Independent Albums’ of the year with her debut album ‘Becalmed’ [2010], it was her solo piano album ‘White Light’ [2015], that marked her first buzz release, proving a hit on streaming platforms and earning her a wider, more global fan base.

A decade on from her debut, new continents beckon. Sophie is a star in undeniable ascension, ready to unleash her first Mercury KX record upon the world.

Sophie recently participated in World Piano Day (28th March) celebrations from her home in Sydney, streaming a stunning solo piano version of Barry White iconic ‘Love’s Theme’ from her living room. Listen here.

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About Mercury KX

Mercury KX, launched in 2017 as part of Universal Music Group/Decca Records, celebrates genre-defying, multi-disciplinary artists. Home to acclaimed composers and innovative musicians such as Anoushka Shankar, Ólafur Arnalds, Keaton Henson and Isobel Waller-Bridge, the label prides itself on carefully curated audio-visual adventures. Their diverse roster creates unique sound-worlds that bridge electronic, modern-classical, cinematic, alternative and ambient genres.

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Tracklisting
Scattered on The Wind

1.  Scattered on The Wind Part I
2. Scattered on The Wind Part II
3. Your Heart
4. Orange Glow
5. Surrender to The Deepest Blue
6. A Small Kind of Revival
7. Cold Front
8. A Secret
9. Two Flames
10. Rain of Feathers
11. The Last Sigh

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AMNPLIFY – DB