Elizabeth Hughes, probably known best for her brilliant guitar work with Phantastic Ferniture, has set out on her own of late to explore a sound and aesthetic that is both brooding and beautiful.
Her debut single Video Shoot, as well as the accompanying film short, is utterly breathtaking and reveals a side to Hughes’ musicality that is far moodier than her previous works.
Released today, the single is taken from her debut LP set for release in 2017 – a tantalising glimpse at what’s to come.
Elizabeth Hughes is starting her solo career with a bang. Video Shoot is sombre poetry, a lyrical tour de force and a music video that will stop you in your tracks.
“I wrote Video Shoot for a project called Video Set which I started a few years back. I stopped playing it for a few years but always had it in the back of mind that I’d like to record it one day,” Hughes says on the initiation of the track and project.
Set to inspire and invite listeners to revel in the beauty of introspection and melancholia, the lyricism for Video Shoot is concise and thought-provoking.
“It’s about someone giving you what you want and finding out that it’s conditional,” says Hughes on the message of the track, an emotionally brutal experience most of us have gone through at one time or another that is perfectly encapsulated here.
The song itself is an intricate exploration of Hughes’ songwriting ability and collaboration with others. From delicate guitar pieces and choppy drumming to layered melodies and harmonies that will stay with you, Video Shoot is musically complex and absolutely wonderful.
“I really decided I wanted to make an album under my own name last year. I took a trip to the mountains with my friends Ryan and Tom who helped me record an EP at my parent’s house.
“The songs sounded good and I had enough material for an album so I decided to make an album instead.
“The musicians I worked with really fleshed it [Video Shoot] out into what it is. Tom Stephens played drums, Josh Spolc played bass and Ryan Brennan produced it – it wouldn’t sound the way it does without their contributions.”
Video Shoot is the sort of debut that sets high expectations for a musician and we have very little doubt in our mind that she’ll be able to deliver. Make sure you keep up on all things Elizabeth Hughes because this is one artist that we’re tipping to go places over the next few years around Australia and further abroad.
