The sheet music is prepared, the strings tightened and the first eerie sound of tuning instruments fill the beautiful, old walls of the Brisbane Powerhouse.
This is not just a painting beautifully drawn in your mind – the incredible orchestra behind DeepBlue will bring your artwork to life later this month, sharing the stage with special guest and elite cellist K Mak.The orchestra, made up of talented musicians from all walks of life in South East Queensland, are talented beyond their years (with an exceptional CV and passport stamps as evidence), who intertwine their vast experience into a dynamic and immersive performance, something as equally magical as a piece of well-written poetry.
Taking a moment to chat to Brisbane-based professional, cellist and cello tutor Emma Hales, she so sweetly encapsulates the passion embodied by each of the musicians, who she joins on tour.
Emma says not only are all of the DeepBlue musicians authentically talented, but they will also be welcoming a few fresh faces, making their DeepBlue stage debut.
"This is so exciting as we have played at the Powerhouse before and it is such a good time and is a beautiful venue," Emma says.
"This has given us an opportunity to get back on our feet and we will be performing old favourites that highlight our best sound and top fan picks.
"We also have new people in the band, giving them the opportunity to get up on stage and do their thing for the first time, which is so exciting."
With a dynamic double bill of strings, synths and big beats, this family of musicians are among our most innovative artists, living and performing right in our own backyard.
Added to the incredible sounds that music lovers can expect to bound across the delicate Powerhouse acoustics, DeepBlue are DEEP-ly honoured to share the stage with vivid, emotive electro-pop cellist, K Mak (real name Kathryn McKee).
Emma modestly thanks Kathryn for being so important not only in redefining DeepBlue, but also as a major catalyst to Emma's own professional career.
"Kathryn is awesome – I'm a huge fan and she was actually my cello teacher when I was in high school.
"It's amazing now to be working together and I have incredible respect for her. She is so talented, she does so much and her new album is awesome.
"We've had a chance to do a gig with Kathryn recently and she is one of those people who is always so excited and so switched on.
"She is amazing to watch as a musician as she never skips a beat and is amazing to work with because her communication skills are phenomenal.
"She is just so nice and it makes me personally want to be more like that, myself."
DeepBlue's values reflect connection, innovation, incredible sounds, movement, theatrics, and aim to create an immersive experience.
With stage lights turning back on across the country, DeepBlue are ready to move onto bigger and better events, with the team preparing for their Yonder Festival performance.
"The thing about festivals is that you get to play to people who might not normally see you or buy tickets to your shows. The community outreach is so much broader and that's very exciting.
"My personal experience with Yonder is that they do have a younger demographic of attendees, whereas festivals like Woodford have a broader range of guests.
"With Yonder, we can connect with a younger community and it's great to see how it is received – people are so nice at festivals."
DeepBlue and K Mak play Brisbane Powerhouse 22 October.
