31st July 2008 - Rave MagazineBrisbane’s Ms Carpenter is the latest in the long line of Australian female artists who have cropped up in the last few years. So, where does her debut Harlequin fit amongst those of similar ilk? Jacqueline stands out as a particularly sweet little tale of unrequited love as does La Di Da for its rather unexpected expansion in the latter half to encompass horns and strings. Lies is another great track that brings more surprises. I simply didn’t expect to hear a heavy guitar riff halfway through the song in amongst the bouncy jazz-inflected melodies. In a time when so much music is so predictable it is hugely refreshing and encouraging to hear somebody do something unusual in what can be and often is a stifling genre. The song Black Keys disappointingly doesn’t feature any blues-oriented rock but does however function as a strong piano-based track. So the balancing act is successful – the right proportion of simple, pretty ballads to counterbalance some quirkier but more enjoyable tracks. This is a solid record that notches up a point for Australian female artists.
MICHAEL PINCOTT
When the Hear and Say Centre discovered 2007 Australian Idol contestant Brianna Carpenter was deaf in one ear, they couldn't think of a better person to support their 2008 Butterfly Appeal.
The appeal, which raises money to help support deaf children and their families, kicks off on March 31. The Brisbane-based singer is excited about being the appeal's face. "I didn't find out I was deaf until I was about five or six and it was too late to do anything about it," she said. "These kids find out from birth if they have any hearing loss and you can start to fix it from then."
Carpenter, 22, said being deaf in her right ear had not stopped her musical career and she hoped she could be come a role model to the hearing impaired. "You can still be musical and still be in the arts industry with a hearing impairment...and you can achieve good things.," she said.
The singer has written a song about butterflies, which are also deaf, for the launch of the appeal in the Queen St Mall.
Hear and Say director ad founder Dimity Dornan said the campaign aimed to raise $200 000 to fund another 20 places for children at the centre.
IT’S been a long time coming, but Brianna Carpenter is happy to announce she’s
finally releasing her debut album on Friday. After a lot of research the unsigned artist decided to release the album Harlequin independently online. ‘‘I went down to Sydney to
suss out my distribution options and I just really wanted to get it out there,’’ she said.
‘‘I get a lot of hits every time I post something on MySpace, so I figured online is the best
way to gauge how many people are interested.’’ Brianna said the success of the online launch would be a major bargaining tool to get the album into stores nationwide.
‘‘If I want to get it in the shops I can go to distribution companies and say ‘this many
people have shown interest and I’ve sold this many copies online’,’’ she said.
Brianna recorded Harlequin at the Ormeau recording studio of Brendan Anthony, who was her lecturer during her studies in the Queensland Conservatorium’s Bachelor in Pop Music program at the Gold Coast.
‘‘I could have spent a lot more money and done it in a different way but I felt comfortable
with him,’’ she said. ‘‘He was really good at listening to me and then making those ideas happen.’’
The release of the album is a big milestone for the Brisbane based singer, who included a
few songs she wrote when she was just 14 years old.
‘‘It’s been a very long process and I’m really happy with how it’s sounding,’’ she said.
‘‘It’s also a relief to see the completion of something that’s been in the works for so long.’’
The 15-track album plays for just under an hour and Brianna said it was important to put out something with a bit of substance.
‘‘I know I get really annoyed when I pay $20 or more for a CD and then I get it home and there’s only 10 tracks on it,’’ she said.
Her launch party at The Globe on Friday features a number of Gold Coast artists, including her drummer, bass and acoustic guitar players.
‘‘Both of my supporting acts, Amy Cushway and Fatis Valour, are also from the Coast and they’re phenomenal.’’
She had originally planned to have the launch party a few weeks after the album’s online debut, but when the opportunity came up to hold it at The Globe she jumped at the chance.
‘‘I’ve always wanted to play at The Globe because it’s such a cool space,’’ she said.
‘‘The only opening in June was the same day of my online launch, so I figured it must have been fate.’’
The Globe show kicks off at 8pm and tickets are $10 from the venue. Brianna’s album is available from online retailers such as iTunes and her website,
She will also play an all ages gig on June 20 at The Hive on Elizabeth Street in Brisbane.
Courier Mail: Anna Hilton
Despite being profoundly deaf, Brianna Carpenter is aspiring to a singing career Now she wants to help other hearing-impaired youngsters.
The Australian Idol finalist yesterday launched the annual Butterfly Appeal for the hearing impaired in Brisbane's Queen St Mall.
Brianna led a parade through the Mall along with a butterfly stilt-walker and children from the hear and Say Centre.
Many of the children were part of Queensland's newborn screening program, which has significantly increased detection of hearing loss.
Gina Preston, 13, has been with the Hear and Say Centre since she was diagnosed at the age of two.
She received her second hearing implant last year and said it had changed her life.
"It is amazing how much I can hear now, especially things like the direction of sound, which was just impossible before," she said.
Meeting Brianna Carpenter was the highlight of the day for Gina, who is in Year 8 at St Aidan's College, Corinda.
"I was a little nervous, but she was really nice and I loved her song," she said.
The song, Hush, was written especially for the appeal by Brianna, who says she was inspired by the Hear and Say Centre's continual efforts to help hearing-impaired children.
"The song is very new," she said. "I only finished writing it a week ago, so these guys were absolutely the first to hear me perform it."
The money raised will be used to fund 20 new places for children in the program.
Brianna Carpenter @ The Zoo
Stewr - FasterLouder.com
Often, punters assume that the first support act on a bill is going to be average, and choose to wait until later in the evening to arrive. This was a shame tonight, because Brianna Carpenter was far from average. Flying solo, with just her acoustic guitar for company, she turned out a set of quirky pop songs. Folk-like at times, alt-country generally, and reminiscent of Kate Bush at others, Brianna endeared herself to the early crowd.
Talented youngsters are getting a leg-up in the competitive music industry thanks to a local state-of-the-art recording studio.
Brendan Anthony's list of producing experience is long and impressive, but he has traded in working with big names such as Jimmy Barnes, INXS and Midnight Oil for discovering up-and-coming talent.
"Southeast Queensland has all of these untapped artists that haven't been signed," he said.
"Especially with the recent population growth, there are so many talented young people on the Coast."
He helped The Ten Tenors, who are now singing in front of sellout crowds in the US ad Europe, produce their album "One Is Enough" and he also produced the ground-breaking EPs of Brisbane five-piece band George.
Born and raised in Logan, Brendan went to Springwood High School and studied music engineering at The Queensland Conservatorium of Music.
After working in Sydney at the famed Rhinoceros Recordings and overseas in Los Angeles and London, Brendan returned to the Gold Coast in 1997.
"It was fun working with artists like Jimmy Barnes, but I wanted to do something new," he said.
"There's a lot of talent up here but not very many experienced producers who can give them a quality record."
He set up a self-contained recording studio as his home in Ormeau, mixing the best of analogue and digital technologies His personal collection of guitars and synthesisers have also come in handy during a few recording sessions.
"What self-funded artists need is a product which sounds good and shows record companies that the work has already been done," he said.
Brendan isn't limited to his home studio when it comes to recording.
"I will take the record to whatever studio gives us the sound that the artist needs," he said.
He often uses Rocking Horse studios in Byron Bay for mixing and the Queensland Conservatorium facilities at Griffith University's Gold Coast campus, where he also lectures in audio production.
As a lecturer, Brendan sees much of the talent that passes through the Conservatorium's Bachelor of Popular Music program, which is how he met Brianna Carpenter.
The Brisbane singer/songwriter was a Top 12 finalist in last year's Australian Idol and is the most recent unsigned artist to record her debut album on the Coast with Brendan.
"I could have spent a lot more money and done it in a different way," she said.
"But I knew him and if felt like a much more comfortable environment."
Brianna was keen to get her first album recorded after the publicity boost she received as an Idol contestant.
She and Brendan spent close to 3 months recording and producing her album, which is titled "Harlequin".
"I'm a pretty keen producer and I had a lot of different ideas, but I was thinking more about the creative arrangement," she said.
"He was really good at listening to me and then making those ideas happen."
Brianna is looking for a label and plans to have her first single "Jacqueline" which she sang on Idol, on the radio in the next few months.
Valley Mall Gig
Chiki Productions
Brianna Carpenter - fresh from her idol experience is keen to show her audience just what it was that got her into idol in the first place. Her original music speaks volumes of her raw artistic talent and her live shows are not to be missed. Brianna's performances are always intriguing & leave her audiences wanting more. The Multi instrumentalist remains tight-lipped about her idol experience,opting instead to focus on recording her eagerly awaited debut album. Going into the BAM studio's on the 8th of November, Brianna will work with producer Brendan Anthony, with the album due for release Mid 2008. Producer Brendan Anthony has worked on albums with a variety of big name Australian Artists such as George, Wendy Matthews, Ian Moss, Midnight Oil & INXS. Brianna and Brendan are thrilled with this opportunity to work together on the record.
"I am really excited to go into the studio with Brendan. We've known each other for a while and we work really well together. I'm recording songs that I have played live and some fresh new ones too so it should be a lot of fun"
Brianna will be performing solo until the Album release Launch in 2008, when she will tour with a band.
Interview with Brianna Carpenter
Noise.net.au
List five words that describe you:
Arty, spontaneous, fun, determined and a chocoholic
If you could be anybody else, who would you be?
Probably Richard Branson! That man is an absolute genius. I mean sure, if I was to become him I'd be shaving quite a few years off my life but he really is spectacular. I read his autobiography early last year and was blown away with the amount he has achieved. It's not about having all his money either, although that would come in handy, it's the fact that he has such remarkable ideas and dreams and always manages to turn them into reality. He's not afraid of anyone, and takes risks wherever possible.
Where do you get your inspiration?
I get my inspiration from looking out the window in my music room and seeing the world existing around me. I draw inspiration from the stories I'm told by my friends. I feed off their misfortunes and turn them into songs! How delightful! More recently I've gained a lot of inspiration from travelling overseas. I went to Europe by myself where I travelled around for 10 weeks not knowing any other languages, and for a lot of the time I had no idea which country I was going to be in the following day. All the whacky people I met on my travels, the beautiful scenery and the feeling of intense loneliness at times were all fuel for the fire.
How would you describe your work?
Ever-changing
List your three favourite things:
Sunday Markets, my guitar Rufus and Cadbury Dairy Milk chocolate.
What do you consider to be essential in your creative process?
A pen, some paper and a messy room
Do you have a life/creative highlight?
The biggest highlight for me to date would have to be my time overseas. I saw 12 countries in 10 weeks and have never felt so alive, yet so tired at the same time. I never anticipated that I would see so much or meet so many amazing people, and doing it by myself was an incredible feat. I was only 19 at the time. A friend of mine came over for the last three weeks of my trip which was great. A familiar face was surreal yet very comforting.
How do you imagine yourself in ten years time and what challenges do you imagine you'll face along the way?
My biggest hope is that I'll be living out of home by then! In all seriousness, I hope to be a fairly well known singer/songwriter in both Australia and more optimistically, internationally. I want to be working with as many talented musicians as possible and as often as possible. I also can see myself hopefully finally having enough money to buy that house in Spain. If I am to have children I expect that they will be somewhere within the next 10 years as well, (I don't fancy being an old Mother). I expect many challenges, like Searching for a record deal, a manager, good marketing, reliable and punctual musicians (very hard to come by).
Is there an idea or subject that you feel obsessed by or curious about at the moment?
How to play the Harp and Dulcimer; Both incredibly interesting instruments in my opinion and I have no idea how to play either of them. I watch in awe those who can play these stringed instruments and I'm currently looking into buying a small beginner dulcimer myself! The thirst for instrumental experimentation is always presen
Brianna Carpenter - Rave Magazine
Alasdair Duncan
Next week, Brisbane-based musician and former Idol performer BRIANNA CARPENTER will judge the Soma Singer Songwriter Search competition – ALASDAIR DUNCAN catches up with her to talk about the pressures of judging, her time as an Idol, and her forthcoming album.
Though most people would know Brianna Carpenter form her performance on Australian Idol, the Brisbane-based singer/songwriter had been recording her own music for several years prior to appearing on the show. She traveled through Europe with a guitar – marveling at the musical life and street art of Barcelona – and went on to record and self-release a debut album, while establishing herself as a figure on the local touring circuit. Given all of this, I wonder, why did she decide upon a potential career as an Idol?
"I tried out because I found out you could sing original songs and play instruments at the first audition," she says, "although I never really had that much of an urge to do it. My family pushed me – they told me I had a really great thing, and I should let as many people as possible see it. I couldn't believe how positive they were about my original stuff – the response I've since had on my MySpace has been really great also. I'm not necessarily an Idol-based singer, but Idol turned out to be a really good platform."
One of Carpenter's most memorable performances on the show was her version of the Regina Spektor song Fidelity – I'm wondering, is Carpenter a committed fan of the New York-based musician? "Absolutely," she says, "I found her on MySpace just before she got big here, which was really cool – I was drawn to her display picture and clicked on it and thought, oh man, I love this girl! A few weeks later, she was massive on Triple J." So did Carpenter also catch Spektor on her last Australian tour? "I did, and it was awesome, so intimate. You don't often see shows that are really good when it's just a soloist, but it was great. She's funny and weird, and the gig was all ages, so there were little people there too, which I love."
"I'm recording at the moment with Brendan Anthony, who has worked with George, INXS and Wendy Matthews, and it will hopefully be out in May. The album will be fairly folk pop-based, but there'll be influences of electronic stuff in there as well, because I'm into that ina fairly big way. I really like Endorphin, also Portishead and Masive Attack – that sort of melancholy, dark electronic music. That's definitely going to be a big influence on the album."
Is Carpenter nervous at all about her upcoming judging gig at the Soma Singer Songwriter Search, given that this time, she will be on the other side of the desk? "It's going to be hard," she says. "I mean, I'll feel bad if I have to say to someone 'that's a crap song', because we'll be listening specifically to and judging people's very personal expressions. It's a bit weird, I guess I'll have to be honest but not too critical …"
The SOMA SINGER SONGWRITER SEARCH final happens at barsoma on Friday November 30, 7:30PM. Cover is $15 on the door, and the night includes a special performance by BRIANNA CARPENTER.