In the first three weeks of release (and in some cases, before) Ngaiire’s Lamentations has been announced as feature album on Sydney’s Eastside Radio and 2SER FM, South Australia’s Radio Adelaide, Melbourne’s 3RRR, PBS and SYN, DIG Australia, 2 BOB Radio and Radio Goolgarri, as well as landing feature album prominence on AIR, and garnering on-air support from triple j. Now, the Sydney via Papua New Guinea artist announces the album tour proper, expanding on her previous two single tours; riding a wave of support for her brilliant debut album.
The highly anticipated July 12 release of Ngaiire’s debut album Lamentations follows two wildly successful lead singles – ‘Dirty Hercules’ and ‘Around’ – and the astounding live shows which accompanied each single tour. An incredibly compelling live artist, Ngaiire incorporates stunning costuming and evocative delivery to her band’s live sound presenting a show unlike any other Australian artist, with a soulfully powerful vocal to rival any of them. Show’s aside, and while praise was glowing for both ‘Dirty Hercules’ and ‘Around’ in their recorded formats, to hear the tracks assume their rightful place within the divine suite of compositions on Lamentations is to appreciate a stunningly-realised work.
Lamentations – from ‘the act of lamenting’ – as an album title, and conceptual design, derives equally from two sources of inspiration, a favourite composition of Ngaiire’s, ‘Dido’s Lament’ written by English Baroque composer Henry Purcell performed in his opera ‘Dido And Aeneas’ and the Biblical and poetic Book of Lamentations mourning the destructive fall of Jerusalem. Both works reflect Ngaiire’s own persuasion of writing, shedding light on an attraction to the dark beauty of the melancholic.
Aesthetic for Lamentations was realised in a tiny Tokyo bar with Japan-based collaborator and pianist Aaron Choulai. Sydney producer and bassist Tim Curnick then weaved organic sounds with digital, resulting in an eclectic sonic identity that is uniquely Ngaiire’s and one that can easily transcend universal territories with its electronic soul elements as well as gratify the folk sphere with her great adoration for storytelling and heartfelt laments.
Despite having already exhibited an incredible level of determination and resilience – between the car accident which left her with spinal fractures a day before recording to the death of a close relative upon the album’s completion – it is Ngaiire’s inimitable style, natural creativity and divine song craft that comes through on Lamentations.
Triple j’s 2010 Next Crop list, which featured Kimbra, Lanie Lane and The Jezabels, gave the country a heads up on Ngaiire’s talent. Mentor and electronic maestro Paul Mac and gypsy jazz outfit Monsieur Camembert have already presented her to their audiences. Now Ngaiire, with her own sound, has been amassing an audience of her own, and from early notices, they love what they are hearing.
LAMENTATIONS TOUR DATES
Thu 12 Sep – Oxford Art Factory, Sydney, NSW
38-46 Oxford Street, Darlinghurst
Sat 14 Sep – Republic Bar, Hobart, TAS
299 Elizabeth Street, North Hobart
Thu 19 Sep – Transit Bar, Canberra, ACT
7 Akuna Street, Canberra City
Fri 20 Sept – Baha Tacos, Rye, VIC
2203-2209 Pt Nepean Road, Rye
Sat 21 Sep – Northcote Social Club, Melbourne, VIC
301 High Street, Northcote
Fri 27 Sep – The Small Ballroom, Newcastle, NSW
139 Maitland Road, Islington
Sat 28 Sept – Heritage Hotel, Bulli, NSW
240 Princes Highway, Bulli
Thu 3 Oct – Brisbane Multicultural Arts Centre, Brisbane, QLD
102 Main Street, Kangaroo Point
Fri 4 Oct – Solbar, Sunshine Coast, QLD
19 Ocean Street, Maroochydore
Sat 5 Oct – The Northern Hotel, Byron Bay, NSW
35 – 43 Jonson Street, Byron Bay
Sat 12 Oct – Jive, Adelaide, SA
181 Hindley Street, Adelaide
Have never heard anything like this – and having a hard time settling on a favorite track. This is a powerful album