Bidjara singer-songwriter Jessica Wishart is set to launch her debut EP, My Black Boy, this weekend, and theMusic.com.au is humbled to be premiering the five-track release ahead of its landing today.
The socially minded muso has poured her heart and soul into the EP, drawing on her own history, culture and experiences as an Indigenous woman, daughter and mother, fusing together elements of country, folk, soul and jazz to craft her sublime sounds.
"Words can't explain the feelings I have about releasing this EP," she said in a statement. "The songs are so personal to me and hold a lot of meaning, especially My Black Boy and A Mother's Cry.
"I am so very excited to see how other people relate to my music. I am grateful to have had the opportunity to work with the likes of John Baker and Chris Parkinson; they have done an exceptional job and I am so proud of this CD. It was more than I could have ever imagined."
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Wishart also flexes her formidable narrative imagination on the record, as in the particularly jazzy lead single, Forbidden Love, which she describes as being "about lust and a woman's desire for another man".
"When I wrote this song, I imagined a 1940s theme, soulful feels and a woman putting herself in danger by falling for another man — very alluring and fantasy-like."
The EP was recorded at My Sweet Mule Studios with Parkinson (The Yearlings) and Baker, with additional vocal support from Nancy Bates.
It ably demonstrates why the young muso has been turning heads of late, having performed at both Tandanya's Survival Day concert and the Adelaide Fringe Festival, as well as being one of two artists selected for Nexus Arts' Creative Pathways development program for ATSI contemporary musicians, among other recent accomplishments.
Jessica Wishart will launch My Black Boy at The Wheatsheaf Hotel tomorrow, 14 October, with support from John Baker, Nancy Bates and Vonda Last.
