Composer and pianist Sophie Hutchings has announced the release of her eight album ‘Scattered On The Wind’, out April 17 through Mercury KX/Universal Music Australia.
‘Scattered On The Wind’ – Hutchings’ first release with Mercury KX [April 2020] – is a spellbinding affair, an elegant and transcendental meditation on “surrendering to the unknown, trusting that things will align.” A blend of revamped archival compositions stored away on a cherished hard drive, and newer, original pieces written expressly for this record, it was recorded at Sydney’s Trackdown Studios in 2019.
Tim Whitten was on hand to engineer, while long-time collaborators Peter Hollo and Jay Kong guested, adding cello and violin accents respectively. New players Bree Baxter and Vera Marcu added violins to ‘Your Heart’, ‘Scattered on the Wind’ and the album’s first single, ‘Two Flames’, while soprano singers Sandra Liu and Josephine Stark joined Hutchings in adding subtle, choral-inspired vocal accents throughout. Lee Hutchings also guests on the album, playing flute and alto flute.
Speaking of the new music, Hutchings says, “I pour so much emotional energy into my music; I think that’s why I was so desperately shy about performing it when I was a teen. But I have confidence in my vision now – partly through experience, and partly through the relationship I have with my audience. They’ve taught me to trust and believe in what I’m doing.”
She describes herself as gregarious child, part of a “big, noisy, active” household, her father’s jazz records competing against her two older brothers’ heavy indie rock collection. And though performing runs in her blood, Hutchings found she was “painfully shy” when it came to playing in front of others, preferring instead to cloister herself away, where she could enjoy the dream-like state that came over her when in congress with the keys.
“That’s the beauty of instrumental music: it’s felt, not spoken, and sometimes the things we feel can’t always be articulated through spoken language.”
Having been named one of MOJO’s ‘Top 5 Independent Albums’ of the year with her debut album ‘Becalmed’ [2010], it was her solo piano album ‘White Light’ [2015], that marked her first buzz release, proving a hit on streaming platforms and earning her a wider, more global fan base.
A decade on from her debut, with a growing, global fan base and new continents beckoning, Hutchings is a star in undeniable ascension, and she is ready to unleash her new record upon the world.