Country Starlet Chelsea Basham Outlines Plans For Future
Basham is one of six APRA PDA nominated country artists
Perth-based Chelsea Basham is emerging as one of Australia's new young country stars, following an accolade-fuelled start to the year.
After winning the Golden Guitar for Best New Talent, earlier this month she was named as a finalist for an APRA Professional Development Award. The PDAs, to be announced next week, identify artists in the early-to-mid part of their career and are awarded to those who have a strong vision and plan for not only their music, but how'll they'll approach the industry as well.
Speaking to theMusic.com.au backstage at the recent CMC Rocks The Hunter festival, Basham admitted that she's more in the 'early' spectrum of her career arc.
“It's really only the beginning,” she said. “I feel like I've been doing it for a long time but having said that this is my first album, so I'm hoping that there's gonna be a lot more to come. It's only early dates yet and Tamworth really kicked it off… so if that's a sign of things to come it's a very positive sign.”
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Basham's debut I Make My Own Sunshine was released last year, but it has been in 2013 that listeners outside the 'country circle' have taken notice. Whoever wins the PDA in the country category (there are six finalists including Basham) will also be on the industry's watch-list. Fittingly, she's looking firmly at a new album.
“My plan, and if I won that grant, is going back to Nashville in June/July to write the next album,” she said. “I love writing, it's a big part of what I do and so it would just be progressing and writing as much as I can, pitching them to other people, recording them for myself. I do love performing but I love being able to connect with a song and [have] other people be able to connect with them too.”
Particularly in hubs like Nashville, co-writing credits and encouraging other songwriters to write songs for your album is more prominent (and accepted) in country than even on mainstream pop records.
“I personally love collaborating and I love bringing other songwriters in on the [process], it just broadens you a little bit more and you don't become stagnant as well. Kudos to people who can write 100 percent of their own album, that's pretty cool too, but yeah over in Nashville I love writing with as many people as I can. [But I'm] looking forward to my next album having a lot more of my songs on there as well.”
Joining Basham as finalists in the PDA country category are Lachlan Bryan, Brad Butcher, Peter Denahy, Morgan Evans (who also delivered an impressive set at CMC Rocks) and Matt Scullion. The category has six finalists, rather than five, because votes were tied. APRA values the award, which is made up of cash and industry opportunities, at $30,000.
Basham will play West Australian 'homecoming dates' starting late April. Dates are as follows:
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