Milly Moon performs in Whangārei at the Octagon Theatre on Saturday night.
Milly Moon performs in Whangārei at the Octagon Theatre on Saturday night.
Milly Moon performs Walking Songs at the Octagon Theatre on Saturday during the Whangārei Fringe.
The performance has a strong Northland connection, and includes material influenced by her hikoi through Puketi Forest, Ahipara, Waipu, Ngunguru and Mangawhai.
Milly embarked on the hikoi as a healing journey after her marriage ended.
What attracted you to taking part in this year’s Whangārei Fringe?
The feedback I had from fellow artists about some of the venues and the general excitement of arts explorations, support and collaborations in the Whangārei area was what I was initially drawn to. I actually then stumbled into Fringe as the tour timing happened to align and well, it felt very preordained. To have begun with Fringe and now to complete this project with Fringe feels like I’ve come full circle.
Tell us about Walking Songs and its genesis?
Walking Songs was born from my long hikoi on Te Araroa in 2021, where, upon return to Aotearoa from a life built over a decade in Australia, I walked in reaction to trauma and change, hoping for direction in this, my new life.
I have always worked in the arts, in music for a decade or more, mainly based in Melbourne as a session vocalist and producing original soul/rock music.
After walking alone for five months the full length of Aotearoa, and moving through some of the most vital personal shifts of my adult life so far, I found I had a body of songs and stories, written along the way, that were a move in a new creative direction.
Initially, I began writing a novella but soon discovered the urge to perform, to tell these stories in person was too pressing to ignore. With the passing of my adopted Māori aunty Lenna, who in our last conversation told me I must sing again, I picked up my ukulele and spent the end of 2022 developing the songs to accompany the stories and over that summer wrote Walking Songs - a story of songs from Te Araroa with the intention to perform it at NZ Fringe.
I felt Fringe was a good starting platform for me to experiment and develop the piece and as I’d never participated before, it felt fitting to do more of that which I was afraid.
Walking Songs then performed at Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Scotland after which I walked across the Highlands alone for three weeks to develop and refine further my writing ... and then finally performed at Melbourne Fringe Festival where the final piece won the Best Music award 2023.
This year, I recorded all my walking songs and solo produced an album and a zine to accompany an NZ/AU tour of the show. I feel like this tour, with the release of the music, is a completion of the project and I couldn’t be more proud.
Milly Moon performs in Whangārei as part of the Fringe Festival.
Why would you encourage people to come and see your show Walking Songs?
I would encourage anyone to join me on this journey as an opportunity to get comfortable with the uncomfortable, to see a reflection of your own story within these tales, to generously allow vulnerability and authenticity and to lose yourself in melody inspired by our incredible landscape here in Aotearoa.
My hope is for people to feel seen and to feel joy, to feel a part of the story.
What are the main ideas you are exploring in this piece of work?
While the piece covers a handful of universal ideas, I think the most important exploration is the vulnerability that happens in this show. I have discovered, and am so grateful, for an incredibly authentic connection to the audience and to the themes of the show by allowing complete vulnerability in my performance style.
Walking Songs explores an incredibly personal experience, my own story of leaving my marriage, returning to Aotearoa and redefining myself after traumatic loss. While the stories I tell are my own, the themes are universal. I speak and sing of grief, old and new, of abuse and love, of naming and the sense of identity tied to our titles. I explore the intensity of emotional and physical exertion and exhaustion that happen in times of great change and the courage it takes to choose a life for yourself.
What are the main influences on your artistic work?
Nature is my muse. Particularly in this piece, but I think always. There is nothing more moving creatively to me than being out in the trees, or atop a mountain.
I am greatly influenced by the works of poets and writers I have surrounded myself with including Janet Frame, Candy Royale, Mary Oliver, Padraig O Tuama, Sharon Blackie and Steven Batchelor. And my musical influences are hugely diverse. While harbouring a great love for classic jazz and blues, I’m also obsessed with Aotearoa dub, 70s rock and meditation melodies. My favourite artists include Tori Amos, Nick Cave, Ladi6 and Pink Floyd and perhaps because of such a broad exposure to and love of all music, I don’t strive to create a particular genre myself and engage in projects of very different musical directions.
Is there anything you are looking forward to checking out in the Fringe or while you are in Whangārei?
It’s a surprisingly diverse line-up of events for what I would consider a small town (compared to Melbourne or Edinburgh festivals) and I’m keen to get a taste of as much variety as possible. Cult Chur looks potentially hilarious and an interesting insight into a world unknown. Manage Your Expectations I saw at NZ Fringe and it is an exceptional piece of work, moving, funny, challenging and highly original - I would definitely see it again. I’d love to see Leonard Powell, he’s a beautiful songwriter, and the dance production Ukaipo sounds beautiful. There’s so much to see, I’ll definitely be getting along to lots of the roving and free static exhibitions all over the place too.
Walking Songs is performed at Octagon Theatre on Saturday.
