19th August 2020: #WhirlwindInFocus: “Nature is the best medicine” – Alice Zawadzki shares new video for ‘My Boy of the Birds’ plus exclusive interview

Alice Zawadzki has made a name for herself for producing multi-instrumental explorations of nature and human relationships. A violinist, singer and composer, she has released two albums on Whirlwind – China Lane, described as “genuinely original” by The Guardian, and her most recent release, Within You is a World of Spring. We caught up with Alice to talk about her lockdown projects and explore some of the stories she weaves into her music.

Interview by Hugh Morris (hugh@whirlwindrecordings.com)

WWR: Let’s check in first! Where are you based at the moment, and how are you finding this whole lockdown situation?

AZ: I’m at home in Haringey, and have been getting into a lot of solitary music making with my piano and violin, writing, practicing. The change of pace during lockdown is something a lot of musicians have been talking about. It’s a pretty scary time for so many reasons, but the silver lining has been the chance to slow down and think deeply and carefully about what we’re doing and why. Streamed concerts, musical and artistic offerings online and outdoor music making has been very different from how we usually operate, but it reminds me and reaffirms to me that what we do is a public service, and needed more than ever at times like this. When things feel hard, I try to remind myself of this and it gives me the inspiration to adapt and keep creating.

WWR: Despite the obvious disruption to your schedule, you’ve still found yourself doing a makeshift mini tour with guitarist Rob Luft. Could you talk a little bit about that, and how it differs from your normal touring experience?

AZ: It’s pretty weird to do a performance and not to be able to see the people you’re performing to! Playing with Rob is always amazing fun and he is so interactive that there is still plenty to ‘bounce off’ even when it was just the two if us in the room. I also did a streamed concert with Fred Thomas and Misha Mullov-Abbado in a beautiful theatre called Sands Films. Again, addressing an invisible audience requires a different output of energy and resourcefulness, but I have got used to it quite quickly and am so grateful to still be able to perform in this capacity. I did a beautiful streamed night with the folk singer Sam Lee, who camped out in the woods and live-streamed the nightingales who were singing there. Once you get your head around the technical side of making that work to a decent standard, it is actually a situation that inspires some really interesting ways of making music and collaborating over long distances. We did that concert at the peak of the lockdown and I found myself in tears whilst singing, knowing that people were listening to the music and getting as much consolation from the sound of those birds as I was.

WWR: Your songs all seem very grounded, and really in touch with people. Where do they come from, and in particular, how do they start?

AZ: That’s kind of you! All my songs begin differently. Sometimes from a sentence or two of lyrics, or prose, sometimes from a hook or bassline, or chord progression. But the common theme throughout all these different approaches is that I’m always thinking cinematically, of the place I want to transport the listener to, or the person I am writing about and the atmosphere they evoke. I find that having a strong and specific image in my mind of this makes other compositional things fall into place, the musical decisions just make themselves.

WWR: You were recently commissioned by Opera North, BBC Arts and Arts Council England’s Culture in Quarantine project to record one of five sound journeys, forming part of the ‘Walking Home’ project. Firstly, congrats – this seems like the perfect brief for you! Could you introduce the themes of your piece, ‘My Boy of the Birds’?

AZ: Thank you! Writing the piece was a really cathartic experience for me. Some people experienced psychological pressure during lockdown due to all their particular circumstances and challenges. The piece is for those who’ve been through those changes, and is an exploration of the mind. It’s supposed to be a moment of acknowledgement and consolation, and a space where all those feelings can be held.

WWR: Within You Is A World Of Spring is your most recent Whirlwind release. I’m particularly interested to know a bit more about the origin of ‘God’s Children’ – could you explain the story behind that track?

AZ: I worked as a volunteer in the so called ‘Jungle’ refugee camp in Calais for a large portion of 2016, and I’m still involved in various bits of work that aim to support people who have been or are going through the process of claiming asylum. Being in that place was a turning point in my life and I learned a lot about humans. The song was inspired by some of the characters I met there and became friends with. It blew my mind that even when some of these people were at their lowest point, they didn’t give up hope, and they still went out of their way to help others when they had so little for themselves. That’s where the line comes from – “the fall of night makes men search for stars – only the darkest night can reveal them” – the idea that under this duress, the strength of their principles and kindness was put to the test and shone through with luminous strength. The song also asks the listener not to forget our fellow humans who have had to leave their homes, who have largely been forgotten or dehumanised by the media and some sections of society – “Do you dare to dream? Are dreams not for all men? Let me ask you again – are dreams not for all God’s Children?”

WWR: Finally, your work engages with the natural world a lot – do you feel this relationship has altered during this period of flux?

AZ: I had a friendly giggle when Twitter went mad with memes of insane tropical island paradises saying that lockdown had allowed nature to return to Blackpool! But in all seriousness, yes, everyone commented on it and it just goes to show how in flux it all is. The way we live as modern humans is clearly out of sync and at the expense of other creatures and the environment, and our collective retreat for that brief moment was a very poignant reminder. I remember looking at the sky and thinking that this is probably the first time in my life that I’ve looked at a sky without any flight paths/chem trails. It’s now it might have looked 100 years ago. Nature – the sea, the wind, woods, grasses, the company of relaxed humans and creatures – is the best medicine.

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You can find Alice’s two Whirlwind releases China Lane and Within You is a World of Spring on the Whirlwind site. Within You is a World of Spring is available on 12″ LP 180g Limited Edition Vinyl / CD / DL, and China Lane on CD & DL.

Check out Alice’s full BBC commission on the Opera North website: here

Stay up to date with Alice on Twitter and Instagram. 

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