Women In Docs: Boot Camp.

Women In Docs launch Crown Street at The Tivoli on Saturday.

“Coming from a regional area, we were quite isolated, and we believed that Melbourne was where it was at,” laughs Women In Docs co-conspirator Roz. “They do have Secret Life Of Us. We could be extras, slip them some CDs.”

As it was, Women In Docs never located themselves to Melbourne on a permanent basis. Their regular touring commitments regularly find them South of the border, but with their arrival in town a couple of years back, Brisbane was blessed with one hell of an act.

This weekend, the duo launches their first single, Crown Street, offering a taste of what’s to come with the forthcoming Under A Different Sky long player. While Crown Street comes straight from Women In Docs’ folk canon, its backing track Noise Pollution offers a different, punkier take.

“There was a moment of silence after we heard it played on Triple Zed last night,” Roz laughs. “That was… Women In Docs… Was that Women In Docs?”

Chanel: “The studio is a chance for us to have a bit of an experiment, so we decided to go hard on Noise Pollution and pretend we were a punk band. We had a bit of trouble talking the producers into that one, but eventually they got into it. It’s probably not really indicative of the whole album.”

During the production of their new disc, Women In Docs spent time overseas, not only in the US but also in Germany.

“There was a conference we were asked to attend called NEMO (North Eastern Musical Association) which was based in Boston,” explains Chanel. “We actually sent an application in along with thousands of other applicants, and they accepted us. You perform in front of music industry professionals from all over America and Canada. We played another show in Boston with The Waifs.”

“We were a bit of a novelty,” Roz continues. “We made a lot of really good contacts for next year. We did a bit of New York stuff. It was fantastic.”

Chanel: “In New York we played a gig at a venue between the two bridges The Brooklyn Bridge and the Manhattan Bridge. It was like being in a movie. Walking under the Brooklyn Bridge with our guitars, it was awesome.”

Roz: “It was like Sex & The City. We walked around Central Park, visited Strawberry Fields.”

Chanel: “Hung out with John Lennon’s memory for a while… Hopefully we’ll be back there next year.”

Their opportunity to head to Germany came from the ABC. Women In Docs association with ABC radio goes back to their debut release, when the track Tin Roof was picked up for the Music From The Far North compilation.

“We were in Germany in June,” Chanel confirms. “Radio National took us across. They asked us to be a representative of what the ABC does, to a certain extent. They took us to shake the tree a little bit.”

“We had to promise not to say shit on stage,” Roz laughs. “Which we did, because it’s in one of our songs.”

Chanel: “There were a lot of other acts, more traditional, quieter sounding acts, representing their countries. All these different bands and a radio producer from each country came and represented their country. We made it into the local paper.”

“That’s right. The mayor came up and told us we were in the local paper on the front cover. In colour,” Roz enthuses

Chanel: “We’ve got a copy. But we can’t read it. I’m sure it’s good.”