Julia Deans says her new album We Light Fire is about "the importance of reaching out and offering support". Photo / supplied
Julia Deans says her new album We Light Fire is about "the importance of reaching out and offering support". Photo / supplied
Almost eight years since the release of her debut solo album, Modern Fables, Julia Deans is returning with a brighter, more positive record. Where Fables was a documentation of her journey through and out of depression, her new album We Light Fire looks outwards, and upwards.
"All the work I've written previously has been quite introspective in a very self-focused way, and I just wanted to not write about my sad life," says Deans.
"One of the instigators for that changing mindset was a letter that my grandfather sent me not long after I released Modern Fables. He was basically saying, 'I do think it's marvellous, all these songs that you write, they're wonderful and your music is lovely, but I do wish you'd write something a little more uplifting,'" Deans laughs.
"I think that planted the seed, (that) I should be more encouraging for everyone."
We Light Fire looks at world events, human vulnerability and the importance of empathy. Deans found herself in these headspaces due to a growing sense that current events were presenting an increasingly dire reality; but instead of tuning out, as is the more tempting option, she put her efforts into believing humanity can do better.
"It feels like people have been doing a lot of yelling and screaming and not a lot of listening," says Deans. "It just feels like it's not really that hard to stop and hear each other out."
But it's not with rose-tinted glasses that Deans is viewing the world. On We Light Fire, she doesn't shy away from the more painful aspects of the human psyche; Chelsea processes losing someone in her life to suicide, while The Panic analyses the debilitating reality of living with anxiety.
"I think most people we know suffer from anxiety in one form or another. And it manifests in different ways; for me, when I get really nervous before a gig, often my anxiety will manifest in a complete freak out about what I'm going to wear," she says.
"But that's a far lesser anxiety than your normal, everyday, 'I don't feel quite good enough, things aren't really going the way that I want them to,' or 'why is this voice shouting at me and keeping me awake at night.'
"The whole album is really about that connectivity of people and the importance of reaching out and offering support, or just going, 'hey, I need help.' And often that act of saying out loud, 'I'm not feeling so good right now,' is scary," she says. "But there's incredible value in it."
Julia Deans: "When I get really nervous before a gig... (I'll have) a complete freak out about what I'm going to wear." Photo / supplied
Deans largely recorded We Light Fire at a home studio built by her partner, David Wernham, and while the majority of the record was completed by the pair together, Deans recruited a number of friends to help out, among them Anna Coddington, Annie Crummer, Tama Waipara, and Anika Moa. "It's always nice to get fresh ears on things," she says. "And good to get in people who can actually play. I love playing the drums, but man I would not put that on tape."
A self-described perfectionist, Deans learnt to love imperfections in the takes and to be strict with herself when recording. When she finally finished the record, after years of stops and starts, she felt the need to celebrate – but after sending off the songs to be mastered, she found herself alone.
"Dave had to go to work, so I was at home by myself, [and] I was like, 'Well, what am I going to do? I really should be celebrating this'. So I cracked open a bottle of wine, and I sat and watched Queer Eye," she laughs. "I got some cheese and crackers and had my own little celebration."
This month, Deans heads on tour with alt-country crooner Marlon Williams. Though she has been a working musician for longer than Williams, Deans reveals she's nervous at the prospect.
"I never stop getting nervous about performing, which I guess is good, because if you're not nervous I guess you're bored.
"I'm a big fan (of Williams). I think it's always good to play with people who are going make you up your game," she says. "He's such a charmer, I'm going to have to learn how to be really charming. F***."
LOWDOWN: Who: Julia Deans What: New album We Light Fire, supporting Marlon Williams on tour When: Album out Friday May 11
