In Conversation With #220 - Fazerdaze
New Zealand singer/producer/multi-instrumentalist Amelia Murray, the artist behind Fazerdaze has just released her powerful EP ‘Break!’.
Fazerdaze’s debut LP, 2017’s Morningside, launched Amelia onto the global stage with rave reviews from publications like Pitchfork and Mojo and tours to the other side of the world from her previous home base of Auckland. But the wheels were coming off behind the scenes. A combination of unhealthy personal relationships, feelings of unworthiness regarding her burgeoning success and general mental exhaustion soon began to manifest in her musical output; for years, Amelia found she couldn’t finish a single song. That is, until she relinquished resilience as a badge of honor and let herself crack open.
Break! was completed during a three-month long lockdown in NZ while Amelia was living in solitude for the first time, and directly in the aftermath of a nine year long relationship.
She took a moment to talk to us about the EP.
Hey there Fazerdaze - how are you? So your EP is out now - how does it feel to have it out there in the world?
Hey, thank you for having me :) I’m well. Feeling grounded. It feels good to have some new music out in the world. Especially after a long time away.
It is called ‘Break!’ - what is the meaning behind that?
The name Break! felt really good to me. Like a shout or a big release. It’s about mental and emotional exhaustion and hitting breaking point. But there is a positive side to the word too; like breaking out of a negative cycle, and letting things unravel so one can build anew and stronger.
Where was it recorded? Any behind the scenes stories from the creative process you are happy to share with us?
I recorded a lot of this EP in my friend’s apartment while I was house sitting. I was living alone for the first time in my life and it was a deeply healing and restorative time. I just burrowed myself away there, watched movies and worked on these tracks late into the night. A lot of the recording is pretty haphazard; you can hear my laptop fan humming through ‘Come Apart; and a lot of the ‘Break!’ guitars are just an acoustic guitar with an amp simulator shoved on at the end. I really love this though, the vibe is there and it suits what the work is about; letting go.
What are the key themes and influences on the EP?
Every song on the EP has some sort of breaking or unraveling happening within it. But general themes are; giving up, disappointment, burnout, being too in the head and not in the body and letting go of things that are not yours to carry.
If the EP could be the soundtrack to any film - which one would it be and why?
Maybe Reality Bites or Ghost World or something, those came to mind for some reason, maybe just the attitude of those films or something. When I sent my EP to Lukas of Pickle Darling, they immediately said that the artwork reminded them of Wong Kar-wai which is cool cos I reference his work for visuals all the time!
Do you have a favorite lyric on the EP - if so, which one and why?
My favourite lyric is on the final track ‘Flood Into’. It goes: ‘I was losing the edge of myself so I drew a line’. It felt so good to write that. It’s my gentle declaration of self-reclamation to bookend the body of work. (This track is only on vinyl at the moment sorry!)
Now the EP is out there - what next?
My band and I are playing a small run of shows in SE Asia and New Zealand this November and then there is a lot more music to come next year :)
