IT took an afternoon trip to a gin distillery to unleash a fiery new side to emerging Newcastle electro-pop artist Anna Buckingham, aka BOI.
After several hours of drinking with producer Liam Quinn, Buckingham returned to the studio channelling the "sassy, fierce, powerful boss bitch" of Nicky Minaj over a hip-hop beat for her most gritty and aggressive vocal to date.
The result was Look At Me Now, the title track off her debut solo five-track EP, released last Friday.
With provocative lyrics like, "Look at me now cos you know I'm the baddest/ Look at me now bitch," it's far removed from the sweet indie-folk melodies she once sang with her older brother James Buckingham in the band Nova and The Experience.
"I love the cheekiness of the lyrics and the dirty, gritty production," Buckingham said.
"I hope it encourages people to know that they don't need anyone else to make it happen, and that you are your own force, a weapon of greatness and reclaiming your inner warrior.
"In some ways it is also my way of sticking my middle finger up to anyone who ever said I wouldn't make it this far or thought I didn't have the guts to try."
The EP also features the already-released singles Imaginary Boys, Sick Of Loving You, Beast and Beauty - which has surpassed 1.2 million streams on Spotify - and Fairytale.
BOI also teamed up last month with non-binary Sydney singer-songwriter Imbi The Girl and electronic artist Alice Ivy to release the track Don't Sleep.
READ MORE:Rising electro-pop artist BOI lifts the lid on her bold transformation
POOL RE-EMERGES
IT'S difficult to find many positives in the music world since coronavirus literally slammed the brakes on the entire live performance industry.
However, the rise of live-streaming shows like Isol-Aid has given some artists the opportunity to emerge from their seclusion in magnificent fashion. One example being Kurri Kurri's folk songstress Melody Pool.
Pool has given only a handful of local performances since announcing a break from the music industry in her 2017 appearance on ABC TV's Australian Story and hasn't released any new material since her second album Deep Dark Savage Heart in 2016.
During her Lounge Room Sessions and Isol-Aid shows from her rented 'tractor shed" studio home, Pool performed a host of songs from her upcoming third album.
Songs like Listen For The Sound and the ferocious and expletive-laden Things Must Change point to a more political direction.
Others like I Feel Everything, Of Loving and Without You continued Pool's knack for capturing raw emotion.
AKERS KICKING ON
COVID-19 might have cancelled Kirsty Lee Akers' Nashville songwriting trip, but it hasn't prevented the Kurri Kurri country star from penning new tunes.
Akers has been collaborating with Nashville-based Australian songwriter Phil Barton and American Bruce Wallace over video conference app Zoom to produce tracks for the follow-up to her 2018 album Under My Skin.
"The great thing about being isolated is my inner bogan can shine, I can wear my tracky dacks and slippers while working for the first time in my life," Akers said.
