Magpie Diaries Go Anywhere

Go Anywhere, the new single from Hunter Valley soul country outfit Magpie Diaries, is an epic ethereal tune that enters into a world of emotion, where the overwhelming desire to relax and live the moment, feels perpetually impossible.  The feeling that time powers along, through a wasteland of vague emotion, where we never really have enough of a chance to feel that moment, to connect, to respond, to embrace.

The song is a sojourn, a moment of reflection, an escape into a world of beauty and longing. Making you want to be right here, right now.    It was recorded in January 2020, up in the foothills of Kamilaroi country with Leigh Ivan at Vale Studios, co-produced/mixed by Damien Charles and mastered by Lachlan Garrick.

Whilst the song was written pre COVID throughout 2019 and initially written from the perspective of a touring artist, it's become uncanny as to the relevance of the lyric matter to the current times. Says Magpie, "Like it was a moment of unforeseen foresight into this somewhat predictable future we're rolling into", stressing "the song has many faces, and you can make of it what you want, bend your understanding so you can feel what I feel every time I hear the song."

Travelling back from Victoria in March, just as the lockdown was coming into force, it was apparent that the song was hitting a deeper relevance. "We wanted to release it then and there but we had bigger issues to contend with, a lot of people were freaking out, our festival was being cancelled and there was a lot to deal with. Oh, and amongst all that we also just found out that Jess (drumming wife) was 8 weeks pregnant."

The main hook "don't want to go anywhere" was originally written around mid 2019, from the context of Magpie and a hefty self-imposed touring schedule for the debut record 'Sanctuary'.

For a small-time independent country(ish) band, Magpie Diaries did a lot of touring in 2019, and Magpie will be the first to suggest touring is a lot of fun, but it's also a lot of taxing hard work and energy. A lot of shared space, forced connection and forced disconnection. "We travelled to all ends of Australia, even notching up over 30000ks on one of the 3-week legs, mostly as a family of 5-6 via the slightly luxurious Dashville tour bus.
 

With touring in 2020 pretty much a distant possibility, Magpie converted what would normally be a live venue out at Dashville, into his own little studio and has been working on a bunch of songs for a new album.

Winter can really be a tough period, when it gets cold and the days are short, darkness is all around. But with my only true certainty being our impending first child, I feel like I've been able to enjoy this forced shut down for what it really means. Subsequently, I feel like I've hit a bit of a purple patch with songwriting."