By Luke Voogt
Singer-songwriter Leah Flanagan will bring her smokey voice to Torquay for the first time next month for NaranaFest.
The Darwin-born artist is touring the country promoting her new independent album Saudades.
The album has a much more electric sound than her previous work, she said.
“But the songwriting is still at the core of the record.”
Flanagan spoke to the Indy after her third live performance in Brisbane since releasing the album in September.
She said she loves playing around with songs she knows well on stage.
“You give people a taste of what the album sounds like but with a bit more grunt.”
“The songs have a different life when they are being played live – they kind of take on their own personalities.”
Flanagan brings a little of her Italian, Irish and Aboriginal heritages to her music.
“They’re all quite passionate cultures,” she said.
A highlight of her career was singing a tribute to her grandmother – who was part of the Stolen Generation – at Melbourne Festival.
Another has been collaborating with music legends like Sinead O’Connor and Paul Kelly.
But Flanagan’s favourite duet so far has been with indigenous singer Ursula Yovich.
“Everything about her voice is just stunning,” she said.
“When you get to sing with someone like her it’s a luxury.”
Flanagan was looking forward to playing at Narana alongside friends and peers. She said she keeps a close eye on the indigenous music scene for emerging artists.
“It’s all a very close-knit community. There are so many artists whose voices really haven’t been heard yet.”
Flanagan recorded the majority of the album – which journeys from blues to “after-dark” jazz – in the studio of Midnight Oil’s Jim Moginie in Sydney.
NaranaFest, held on 5 November, will be Flanagan’s first performance in Geelong, but she was across her basic local knowledge.
“You guys have got a pretty good football team. I’ve got a soft spot for the Cats.”
