It’s a feeling that emerges when listening to Wise’s music and it’s a style that will help guide participants at the Shared Sky Songwriting Workshops in the last weekend of May.
“I really hope that ... I can help others in developing the skills to be creative, to have an outlet for creative expression, because it's been such an important part of my life,” Wise says of the workshops.
The free workshops have been funded by Strathbogie Shire Council to develop a song that will serve as an “anthem” for the region.
Wise thinks the focus of the Nagambie and Moglonemby workshops will mean that “it's not as confronting as writing about yourself”.
She’s also excited by the opportunity to collaborate with Strathbogie residents.
“There's a shared intention in the room and that's a really beautiful thing to witness,” she says.
In facilitating the workshops, Wise will be drawing upon her own experiences of moving to central Victoria in late 2019. She and her partner are enjoying Malmsbury life after a stuttered start at the onset of the pandemic.
“As things start to open up again, it's been really, really beautiful to participate in the local events like the farmers’ market and the Macedon Ranges autumn festival,” she says.
“I think the lockdowns were an opportunity to really connect with our little patch here and get to know the area by its nature and via places to walk. But there is another dimension to getting to know a place and that’s through its people.”
The connection between song and place is well and truly on the mind of Wise as she edges towards the launch of her fourth studio album.
She says listeners can expect a mixture of songs about mental health, friendship, body image, community, romance and broad beans.
“The shelling of broad beans … felt like an important process to go through, to learn how to connect to this new place. So that'll be on there,” she says.
Wise has teamed up with producer Luke Plumb and she’s excited about the different sound she hopes will come through on the new album.
“We have this really broad interest in traditional music from different parts of the world, traditional folk music, and also lots of contemporary folk music as well,” she says.
“We're bringing all sorts of really interesting instrumentation into the album and the soundscapes are going to be really different to anything I've done before.”
With her album, Wise wants to explore “how coming through hard times can give us greater capacity for love and empathy”.
It is the perfect tonic for challenging times.
The first Shared Sky Songwriting Workshop will be held on Saturday, May 28, at Nagambie Lakes Community House from 2pm to 5pm. Afternoon tea will be provided. To book, visit tinyurl.com/SongNagambie
A second workshop will be held on Sunday, May 29, at Moglonemby Memorial Hall, Moglonemby, from 10am to 1pm. Morning tea will be provided. To book, visit tinyurl.com/SongMogHall
If you would like to support Lucy’s fourth album, a crowd-funding page has been set-up at tinyurl.com/lucywisecrowdfund
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