Amy Vee

'Jackknife' is acclaimed Australian singer-songwriter Amy Vee's first release of 2023. The track sees Vee exploring new territory with a slightly fuller, more electric sound, while still possessing Vee's trademark raw etherealness. The song is foreboding, alluding to the 'point of no return' before an imminent crisis. 

Vee plays guitars, bass, rhodes, and percussion on the track, accompanying an exposed and fragile vocal. Drums and production are provided by Vee's long-time collaborator Gareth Hudson (Hazy Cosmic Jive Studio) and cinematic ambient guitar lines by Michael Romeo. 

Listen to Jackknife on Bandcamp here: http://amyvee.bandcamp.com or via your favourite streaming platform here: http://gyro.to/Jackknife

Amy Vee writes music that both disquiets and mollifies the soul. Her songs are driven by a poetic lyricism that resonates as deeply with those seeking comfort and connection as it does with those seeking escape.

A skilled multi-instrumentalist and award-winning composer and performer, Vee’s latest works sit somewhere between indie folk and ambient dream pop.

In late 2022, Vee announced her next full-length release will be a live album, to be recorded at iconic hometown venue, Lizottes Newcastle in February 2023 with a 6-piece band. 

Vee's 2019 sophomore solo album Same Skin was regarded as her most musically mature work to date, a clear departure from the folk meanderings of her 2013 debut, Fits & Starts, but a fitting progression from the singles Ten Years (2016), and Red Desert Heart (2018), the former gaining Top 20 chart positions on iTunes and Triple J Unearthed, and the latter recorded as a result of Vee taking out the Studios 301 All Access Competition.

More than a year in the making, Same Skin featured rich, dark-magic vocals weaving through a haunting folktronica landscape. Vee’s signature nocturnal delivery took centre stage, floating over a blissful mélange of acoustic and electronic instrumentation, while Vee explored themes of belonging and becoming.

“There are several references to ghosts… things that haunt us or hold us back,” says the Vee. “The track ‘Same Skin’ came from my feelings about age… that the exterior changes but the same feelings, beliefs, motivations, ideas, desires still exist... even more deeply so”.

Producing the album was Vee’s long-time collaborator, Gareth Hudson of Hazy Cosmic Jive Studio (Briggs, Buddy Knox, Hilltop Hoods), with the two of them covering nearly all of the album’s instrumentation. Recognised more as a guitarist, Vee is also a classically trained pianist and competent violinist, bass player and percussionist.

A fully independent artist, Vee completed the album via a successful crowdfunding campaign, her fans effectively acting as her record label.

Same Skin gained steady praise, with Triple J’s Dave Ruby Howe calling it “impressively full-bodied folk”, and prominent Australian nu-folk blog Timber and Steel called it “a sumptuous piece of acoustic pop”. Vee completed a nine-date East Coast tour in late 2019 with a new live outfit and was set to extend touring well into 2020.

But as with most music artists, the global pandemic put a sharp halt to all of Vee’s plans.

With all live show plans postponed and juggling motherhood, post-graduate study and volunteer work as a Board Member for music and mental health charity, Listen Up Music, Vee was adamant about finding time to be creative, scheduling weekly songwriting sessions and experimenting with self-production.

As restrictions relaxed, Vee reunited with Hudson and got to work on crafting a new song – a veritable anthem for introverts titled Forget Me. The track was described by music blog Temporary Dreamer as "mesmerising".

“We built the song, Forget Me, around my demo and really just tried to capture that feeling of being desperate to connect but too stuck in your own head,” said Vee.

“It’s dark, but it’s honest,” said Vee. “I think there’s an expectation for arts to help steer us through this difficult time, but we the creators are feeling this as much as anyone.”

Vee followed up in 2021 with a collaboration with element rock enigma Spectre Tapes on a track titled Cruel Saviour, which has to date garnered over 1 million Spotify streams, and then the 70s-via-90s inspired single Only Just, a "layered, sultry slow burn" (Newcastle Live), that explores the multiplicity of Vee's persona as she navigates the diverse and varied roles of musician, mother, advocate and academic.​

Easing back into live performance in 2022, Vee has supplemented her creative endeavours by continuing her role as instrumentalist and band member for a diverse range of touring acts including The Album Show (spearheaded by award-winning Sydney producer Michael Carpenter) and The Rock Show (the current chapter of a series of theatre shows originally fronted by her long-time bandmate and legend of the Australian entertainment industry, the late Jon English; now fronted by Steve Mulry of Ted Mulry Gang).

Vee also recently curated and fronted a passionate project celebrating the dark and downtempo music of the 1990s. The show, titled "Glory Box: a euphoric 90s experience" featured a 6-piece band and special guests, selling out two special hometown performances.

While the future of live music remains uncertain, Vee continues to solidify her place as one of the most enduring independent artists in Australia.

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RECORDINGS:

Live at Lizottes (Live Album) - forthcoming 2023

Jackknife (single) 2023
The Pilot (single) 2022
Only Just (single) 2021
Cruel Saviour (Spectre Tapes feat. Amy Vee)(single) 2021
Forget Me (single) 2020
Same Skin (LP) 2019
Red Desert Heart (single) 2018
I Am the Fire (single) 2017
Ten Years (single) 2016
Fits and Starts (LP) 2013
Sleeping Dogs Lie (EP) 2010

AWARDS:

2020 Semi-finalist Unsigned Only
2018 Studios 301 All Access Winner
2013 Finalist ASA Songwriting Contest (Folk/Acoustic)
2013 Independent Music Awards nominee
2012 ARIA nomination - Best Original Soundtrack (The Rock Show)
2009 International Songwriting Competition Semi-Finalist
2009 Shortlisted for Vanda and Young Songwriting Prize
2009 Winner - APRA/ABC Publishing Songwriter of the Year
2007 LA Music Awards Nominee
2005 MUSICOZ Artist of the Year
2005 UK Songwriting Competition Semi-Finalist

bandcamp - http://amyvee.bandcamp.com

For further media enquiries, contact: publicity@amyvee.com