BERTIE BLACKMAN
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Bertie Blackman’s first encounter with her artistic self came as a child sashaying across her mother and father’s paint-strewn studio floor. The daughter of iconic Australian artist Charles Blackman, Bertie can boast a foundation of emotional expression more than most musicians. “I come from a family of painters, so everything I do is pretty visual. You can see and feel my music.”
Bertie first stepped onto the scene with Headway (2004), her folk-inspired debut album powered by acoustic guitar. The album’s single Favourite Jeans became Bertie’s radio breakthrough and saw her dubbed ‘Australia’s underground queen’. On her second album, Black (2006) Bertie returned armed with an electric guitar delivering a sexier, gritty rock sound. “There’s always been something about a feisty girl with an axe and a pen…” (Mess+Noise, 2006)
Constantly evolving as an artist, Bertie continues to develop her sound on Secrets And Lies (2009) blending electronic influences with her signature vocal style and penchant for brutally honest lyrics in a modern exploration of pop music. “I wanted to do something more electronic and less band-oriented”, says Blackman, “It’s dark, but it’s also a pop record.”
Secrets And Lies is a result of the meeting of great minds including Sydney-based UK producer Lee Groves (Goldfrapp, Gwen Stefani) and Francois Tetaz (Gotye, Architecture in Helsinki.)
The album’s first single heart is a pulsating rhythmic track that buzzes with a fusion of tribal beats and acid-Motown grooves. heart was released in March 2009 and was added to high rotation on Triple J and across the board on commercial radio network Nova. Altogether heart was the fourth most added song on Australian radio in its premier week of release. heart was also an Australian iTunes Single of the Week in April and was one of the nation’s most downloaded Singles of the Week of all-time.
The album Secrets And Lies was released on May 8, 2009 on Forum 5 Recordings with distribution through MGM and was presented as a Triple J Feature Album. In July Secrets And Lies was nominated for a J Award, Triple J’s highest accolade for the best Australian album of the year.
The album’s second offering is the single Thump, mixed by Dave Bascombe (Tears for Fears/Royksopp) and mastered by Jon Davis at Metropolis London. Haunting vocals soar, industrial electronics collide and the track troughs into eerie breaths of quiet throughout.
The music video for Thump was met with instant rotation on MTV Video Hits, Rage and Channel V, who nominated Bertie for [V] Oz Artist of 2009.
Hot off the heels of a 15-date Australian album tour boasting 11 sold-out shows, Bertie is set to release her intoxicating third single from Secrets And Lies, Byrds Of Prey and embark on a string of major festival dates including Parklife, Falls, Sunset Sounds and Southbound.
Bertie delivers pop music with depth. Her voice is seductive, her lyrics are inventive and honest and she mesmerizes as a live performer. “When I’m playing music, I just disappear into what’s going on,” she says, “it all just sort of channels through.”
www.bertieblackman.com
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