Melbourne-based indie artist Misha Bear has poured the feels and experiences about becoming a first-time mother while navigating a cross-country move from Perth to Melbourne during the first year of the pandemic into her newest album, 'Superflower'.
Blending pop and electronic tones sprinkled with folky, jazzy, classical undertones throughout and songwriting that strikes at the heart, Misha worked with producer David Herzog to bring 'Superflower' to life."I named the album after the Superflower Blood Moon eclipse, a red-coloured eclipse of a full moon," begins Misha.
"There was one in the southern hemisphere around six weeks after Amba was born, while I was right in the throes of dealing with a newborn during the global pandemic.
"Having moved from Perth to Melbourne to be with my family, they weren't able to hold her (or me!) for many months.
"We felt the isolation, but at the same time it made our little family of three so strong, like superflowers! The eclipse also symbolises fertility and healing.
"The album was produced by David Herzog, and thankfully was recorded before the intensely long Melbourne lockdowns really kicked in.
"His instrumentation brings the music to life, and he always knows how much sugar and spice to add to get just the right flavour for each song. The result is an album full of dynamics, movement, emotion and lots of stories to tell."
Ahead of the album's release tomorrow (1 April), scenestr is thrilled to premiere 'Superflower' today. Enjoy.
With a couple of local launch shows upcoming, here Misha shares a few thoughts about each song.
Playground Of Youth
'Playground Of Youth' is a catchy, upbeat opener. The changing of the seasons sets a backdrop for describing a momentous transition in my life.I went from a single girl who loved to get out on the town to a new mum of a beautiful baby girl! Some of my friends had babies very young, straight out of school. I chose to wait, enjoying a few extra years of youth.
Bathroom Stall DnMs
A saucy, sultry song that tells the story of a DnM (deep and meaningful) with a close friend on a smashed girls' night out.She approached me in the bathroom stall to tell me that my ex made a move on her some years ago. The song is my way of trying to get my head around it.
Déjà vu
My boyfriend had just dropped the L-bomb, and I thought things were going great, until he ghosted me for three days. After all the silence and confusion, I found out that he wanted to break up.It's déjà vu; I can recall having these feelings so many times before. A guy can't seem to communicate, and just disappears. We actually ended up getting back together, and now every time my partner hears the song he yells out, "I'm sorry ok!?!".
Feet
I wrote this song when I was in a pretty dark place, soon after having my baby Amba.Every night was such an emotional roller coaster, feeling so afraid that she wouldn't be alive in the morning. Then I'd wake up with this incredible relief and joy to see her smiling up at me.
Amba
A very sweet and simple love ballad dedicated whole-heartedly to my baby girl, and the most wonderful thing that's ever happened to me.2020
This song was written from the perspective of Amba's grannie Sue, who lives over in Adelaide, and had to wait almost a year meet her granddaughter.Full of instrumentation and harmonisation, the song presents an eerie, emotional world, trying to see the positives when things have become very hard to bear. So many people all around the world could relate to this sad and horrible feeling, which is why the title '2020' sums it up so well.
Tall Poppies
A reggae-style song about the frustration of trying to gain traction in the music industry. Australians in particular tend to have tall poppy syndrome. A lot of famous and successful people have found their happy place overseas, but I am persisting in my home town.Ship Has Sailed
After the break-up with my boyfriend, I wrote this song about moving on and never going backwards.I made it up as a story to console myself; I hadn't actually met someone new, but after hearing the song he regretted his decision and came back. I'm happy to report that we are still together, raising our sweet baby girl.
Misha Bear launches 'Superflower' at Open Studio (Melbourne) 2 April and Elwood Lounge (Melbourne) 23 April.
