By Parker McKenzie
Composer Edward Willoughby’s debut album Moving Mountains aims to capture the surrounds of the Dandenong Ranges, where the album was recorded, through sweeping piano melodies and vibrant aesthetics.
Willoughby said the album was written and recorded over ten years.
“I spent about five years living on a goat farm in Cockatoo overlooking the Dandenong Ranges and surrounds, and that’s where the bulk of the album ended up being composed,” Willoughby said.
“It was just about a connection to place and how that place made me feel. It was quite a magical view to kind of wake up to every morning, so that really kind of set the tone for where I was kind of situating myself creatively at the time.”
Willoughby has performed supporting sets at venues throughout the region, including Burrinja Cultural Centre, The Skylark Room, Dandenong Ranges Music Council, Emerald Summer Sounds Festival and hillsceneLIVE.
Willoughby said the album was a different experience from their previous projects in film and dance scoring.
“The main difference with those kinds of forms is just the structural limitations and I found for myself, that structure was a big element in my storytelling through soul,” they said.
“Having the freedom to be able to allow melodies to kind of go where they naturally want to go, rather than where, you know, a particular scene or a time fragment might allow was was much better for me to allow that sense of sprawling freedom.”
The album reflects a deeply personal journey for Willoughby, who is a proud queer-feminine musician.
They have previously contributed to a 48-hour film project titled The Immortal Game and scored the live dance work Excavate, which won the best dance award at Adelaide Fringe.
Willoughby hopes the event is an opportunity to share their music more openly.
“I’ve been notoriously secretive about my music for a number of years, being a very shy performer,” Willoughby said.
“So for a lot of people, including some of my close friends and family, this will be the first time that they’ve heard any of any of the songs on the album.”
A first listening of the album will be held at The JazzLab in Brunswick on Tuesday 19 April. More information regarding the event can be found at www.thejazzlab.com.au/event/edwardwilloughby/
