Perth singer-songwriter Nicky de Blank springs forth into a solo career as The Fawn.
The past few years has seen Nicky building her chops as an independent musician and performer. In 2014, she released her solo EP ‘Wings’ under her own name, before setting off to travel the world.
Upon her return, she briefly formed a duo called The Tiger & The Fawn with friend and guitarist Andy Kermode, before setting out on her own earlier this year. “I went solo from about the end of January,” Nicky says.
“Prior to doing the duo with Andy, I was travelling and I did some open-mic work prior to travelling. I wasn’t real confident being on stage by myself, so that's why the duo formed when I got back. Now I’m all by myself and it's been lots of fun. I’ve had a really good response for my original music, which is amazing.”
It was during Nicky’s time overseas that her songwriting and performance craft flourished, particularly in France where she worked as an au pair and had both the time and resources to develop her skills. “I had so much time to myself,” she says.
“One of the girls was learning piano and one of them was learning guitar, so I had access to both of my instruments. I just sat down and actually wrote a song in French.”
Nicky is currently working on writing and recording her first release as The Fawn and says she’s unsure of how it will turn out because of the sheer volume of original material she’s compiled so far. “We've recorded two already and it's just a home recording process with one of my friends, Ian Parker. He's an amazing musician and he's just started doing solo stuff.”
“He's helping me with the whole process, which is amazing because I haven't got the first clue about how to record my own music.”
As Nicky’s career as The Fawn quickly gathers pace, she prepares to play her first-ever festival gig at Scorcher Fest. She played the Adelaide event at the end of April and will follow with a hometown performance at the Perth instalment this weekend.
As an independent musician, Nicky feels in tune with events like Scorcherfest that operate with a similar DIY ethos to her own. “I really love the whole idea of Scorcherfest and coming together with other musicians,” she says.
“It will be really good to network with them and have a chat, and I’m excited to see some of the bands in Perth I haven't spoken to yet.”
With Western Australia boasting a historical abundance of musical talent, Nicky hopes to follow in that proud tradition as The Fawn. “Of course I try to and all of those bands are really influential to my music, especially The Waifs and John Butler. They're incredible musicians and I would love to live up to their standards; I hope I do.”
The Fawn performs as part of Scorcherfest at Badlands Bar (Perth) 7 May.
