The debut, solo album from WA singer-songwriter Belle Harvey brings together two different generations of country music.
To be released 22 September, the album 'Something Of Myself' has been produced by legendary country music Bill Chambers, the father of Kasey and Nash.
Belle says the pair worked closely together to bring the songs to life. “For me, Bill and I were good friends already before we stepped into the studio so we had a lot of personal experiences to put to it.
“It was more the collaboration of our eras; he comes from the older country background... and merging his influences with mine being more of the Sheryl Crow, Bruce Springsteen and Brandi Carlile feel.
“He helped merge that vibe and the tone together so it still keeps the classic, old-country feel but bringing a younger age to it I suppose, a newer age. He taught me a lot about songwriting and he taught me about how to put it down on record and the best way to go about things in tracking and rewriting the songs.”
With the wisdom and experience of Bill combining with Belle's own evocative songwriting and mesmerising vocals, 'Something Of Myself' is poised to launch Belle's career into the national and, hopefully, international spheres.
The debut album has been a long time in the works for Belle, with initial tracking for the songs taking place in January 2015. It wasn't until last year that the first single appeared, 'Bridges Burn', which was followed by second single 'Drive' earlier this year.
The latest single to be pulled is 'Crescent City', an ode to New Orleans nightlife that's as dark and seedy as The Big Easy itself. “I play bass as well and a few of the songs on the album are mapped out on the bass, and I had this slinky-toned riff going for quite a while and didn't really have anything to put around it,” Belle explains.
“Then I was talking to Bill and he'd just come back from New Orleans and was telling me about the stories he had on New Orleans. So I thought it went hand-in-hand, the tone and the music with the stories, so we sat down and mapped out the lyrics around it all and there it is.”
Belle will be getting around Western Australia during October on a small tour in support of 'Something For Myself', with plans for a large-scale national tour still underway.
Describing her stage show as a classic singer-songwriter set with a rock edge, Belle says she can't wait to play the album live. “I'm making sure I depict the songs the same as on the record because that's pretty important to me,” she says, “making sure I don't veer too far from what the record sounds like. I'm due to have this baby for sure, it's been a long gestation period.”
'Something Of Myself' is released 22 September, 2017.
Bell Harvey Shows
Sat 14 Oct - The Basso (Perth)Sun 15 Oct - Fremantle Arts Centre
Thu 26 Oct - Prince Of Wales (Bunbury)
Fri 27 Oct - Settlers Tavern (Margaret River)
Sat 28 Oct - Nannup Hotel
Sun 29 Oct - The Indi Bar (Perth)
