Pastor & Purcell

Pastor & Purcell

CREATIVE PRACTICE

Music

Helena Pastor and Chris Purcell are a songwriting duo from Armidale and Uralla who love to create emotionally engaging songs that illuminate sensitive aspects of human life. The pair have been performing and writing together for the past six years and have an eclectic collection of songs. Before COVID-19, they regularly performed in Armidale, but they are now sharing their songs through online platforms to develop new audiences and broaden community engagement with the arts. Helena and Chris each bring specialised skills to their songwriting partnership. Helena’s background as a published author and postgraduate Creative Nonfiction scholar enables her to create quality lyrics that highlight the diversity and complexity of Regional lives; Chris’s experience in writing symphonic music (ballet scores/operas) and incidental music for theatre productions enables him to score for a variety of instrumental textures and voices. They are currently recording their catalogue of songs for an Arts project called ‘Stories in Song’ (funded by Arts North West and Regional Arts NSW).

CONTACT

0447 334 665
helenapastor2@gmail.com
chris.purcell@outlook.com
https://soundcloud.com/pastor_purcell

Fovndlings

Fovndlings

CREATIVE PRACTICE

Music

ARTIST STATEMENT

Fovndlings—who first formed in the gorge country east of Walcha NSW—have been working on their own lyrical form of cowpunk for the past five years. The band consists of Hugh Cook (drums), Steve Tafra (guitar and piano accordion), Tom Walsh (bass), Brendan Passey (guitar) and Adrian Walsh (guitar and vocals). Fovndlings write original music that explores themes of friendship, loss, landscape as lived on the ragged edges of our cities and provincial towns – reminiscent of the Australia evoked by bands like the Triffids. Their debut album, which was released late in 2019 and was produced in Norway by the Australian musician and producer Mark Axiak, showcases nine songs that merge poetry with driving beats. The album highlights the diverse influences on their musicianship and songwriting and includes anthemic songs such as Bitumen Roads, Old Mate, Hank Williams’ Funeral Sonnet and The Quiet Room, as well as the song with which they began their journey Going Home (The Great Dividing Range). They are currently working on new material with the songs One Road In, Her Son the Arsonist, The Epic and Talking Like a Coin. A video for The Arsonist is currently being finished by Sydney film-maker and musician Matt Syres. Look out for it when it hits the waves.

BIO

Fovndlings have been playing as a live band for over four years. We have played live in Melbourne, Sydney, festivals and, of course locally in Armidale, Uralla and Walcha. At the beginning of 2020—before the onset of the restrictions imposed by COVID—we played extensively, including a successful tour of Melbourne in which we played in the heart of the city at a range of venues., During that time, our album was featured on RRR and we were interviewed by Neil Rogers on his Australian Mood program. Songs from the debut album have been on rotation in various radio stations, most notably in Melbourne and Canberra. We are currently working on a new album which will build on the body of work created so far.

CONTACT

0429 686 285
fovndlings@gmail.com
https://fovndlings.bandcamp.com/