Julitha Ryan - A stunning cabaret

We caught up with Julitha Ryan during her Italian tour and on the occasion of the recent release of her album: “The Winter Journey“. A musician, singer and performer from Melbourne, Ryan has a long résumé behind her, rich in collaborations and illustrious shared projects; she was a key member of the instrumental trio Silver Ray, with whom she released four albums acclaimed by critics and the Australian public alike, and she toured with Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds across the UK; she has also played on records by Mick Harvey, Hugo Race (both with the Fatalists project and with True Spirit), and Andrew McCubbin, and has recently recorded cello for the soundtrack of Australian artist George Gittoes’ film “Snow Monkey”. After releasing her debut solo album in 2012, titled “Lucky Girl”, for her second effort this beguiling and energetic Aussie priestess decided to lay herself bare once again, amid dark omens, harsh reckonings and an unstoppable emotional tension, generated by vibrant electric guitars, dusty pedal steel, vaguely dreamy synths, strings, brass, all-male choirs, the whole thing enriched by an entirely Italian production.

“Nothing between me and death/ There’s only the cold empty air”: these are the words that stand out the most when listening to the opening track “Bonfire”. Is this your way of introducing yourself to listeners, to set things straight, or is it simply a way of saying “I'm not afraid of death, so I face life without any fear”?

Nothing between me and death is establishing the raw, naked truth of my life. Without children, without parents, I feel suspended in mid-air, and it's a strange feeling, and it's…

The album was recorded in Milan and features a lot of Italian musicians. Tell us a bit about this special bond you have with Italy.

A series of unlikely events led me to collaborate with Italian musicians. I wrote to guitarist and composer Henry Hugo (who was born Argentine, but is a citizen of the world) in 2013 – I “met” him through MySpace – to tell him I'd love to try playing in Europe in 2014. He had already played with Pier Adduce and Enrico Berton and suggested I put together a band for a small tour. There's a photo from the day we met in Milan. As a girl I studied classical singing at the Melbourne Conservatorium, and naturally Italian. Italy had often been a dream of color and light in my mind, but I never imagined I'd actually play here. Well, the first time I liked it so much that I went back again, and again! In 2015 I then decided to make an album thanks to this international collaboration. So Pier introduced me to producer Giovanni Calella. Giovanni has a perfect ear, and immediately showed remarkable imagination and sensitivity, as well as experience with the kind of electronics I wanted to bring into my songs. I've only now realized that Australia isn't very passionate, whereas I am. Italy answered the desire and passion within me! It was my destiny. I'm glad I answered the call.

What did Silver Ray leave you with? Do you have any regrets?

With Silver Ray I lived through ten years of fantastic music, from 1998 to 2008. Most of the compositions were by guitarist Cam Butler, all instrumental and monumental (guitar, keyboards and drums). We made four records, toured Australia and the UK. Cam has produced seven or eight solo albums and has also collaborated with Marta Collica on her new album. Drummer Brett Poliness has just toured Europe twice with Hugo Race & True Spirit and worked on their music. We all mutually decided it was time to work individually on our own dreams. I loved every single second I lived and played together with Silver Ray!

What do you mean by “Milano grooves”?

“Milano grooves” is the term I used to describe the work Giovanni did with the bass and the electronic shimmer he brought to my music, as well as a description of the feeling I had while playing with Pier, Enrico and Henry. The groove is fundamental to me and it can only be created with love and with the right people.

The album is conceived as a suite of eight tracks inspired “by impotence and sadness in the post-romance of our dystopian present”. Could you tell us a bit more about that?

We live in a post-romantic world: selfies and nude images now constitute “romance”. And it's hard not to feel powerless in the face of the kind of hatred, aggression and greed running rampant across the face of the Earth. As a single human entity, without the prism of children and the legacy of seeing the world through them, I'm often overwhelmed by grief. For me, the sad future is already here.

Lines like “I’m losing years like a jail”, or “the times they are a changing as the candle fades away” show an incurable pessimism, or is it simply a reckoning to come to terms with in order to face this world with renewed energy and rediscovered optimism? In short: is there light at the end of the tunnel?

It could be seen as pessimism, but for me it's reality. As Yeats said, “cast a cold eye, on life, on death”. And that's exactly how the world looks through my eyes. I'm not sure people have really begun to grasp the gravity of the environmental crisis we're facing. We've reached the endgame.

What have you been listening to lately? Who are your favorite musicians?

I may be unusual, but total silence is my favorite state (I live alone, so it's easy to achieve). I always try to keep my ears open to music, the sound circulating in my head matters a great deal to me. That said, I'm a huge fan of Bob Dylan, Neil Young and Nina Simone, Aphex Twin and Brian Eno, as well as twentieth-century composers, Greek music, Miles Davis, Sixties soul: it's really a long list. Lately I've grown quite close to recent electronic music. I'm not sure who my absolute favorites are, but Hugo Race's music gets a lot of play at my place, and that says a lot. But if God is perfection, then Elvis is God.

What are the places that have most inspired your songs?

The act of travelling itself can be more stimulating than the destination. The land itself, rivers, coastlines, mountains and deserts are all sources of music. Yes, nature is the sweetest inspiration.

Will there ever be room for a summer journey on Julitha Ryan's agenda?

There are always rainbows, even in the depths of winter. And there are always new lessons to learn. Maybe I'm having my summer journey right now!

The impossibility of turning back is one of the album's recurring themes. To what extent is it right to look back?

As it turns out, there's no going back for the environment. I try not to look back; I like to imagine the future while also being fully present in today's experience, in this very moment.

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