Vocalist and trumpeter Audrey Powne takes a classical detour on new album

Australian musician Audrey Powne has for years been known as a jazz and soul vocalist and trumpeter. When the pandemic shut down performance halls in 2020 and forced her to move back to Melbourne, she decided to try her hand at a new venture: a self-produced debut album.

Powne released From the Fire in April. It’s soul, it’s jazz but it’s also — surprisingly — classically infused.

The album is striking not only because of its lush and dreamy soundscape. It’s a breath of fresh air in an industry that doesn’t often see artists producing their own records, especially by female producers. That representation gap is part of why Powne felt it was important to enter that role herself.

In a recent interview, Powne elaborated on how the album came together, revealing the passion and joy she brings to studying music and method.

Even from a young age, she was interested in becoming a professional performer. And she didn’t start out in jazz. She first came to music performance through classical piano.

The album plays with themes of rebirth, regeneration and renewal. That’s no mistake. For live performers, the year 2020 was not just one of medical peril. COVID decimated the live performance circuit. The lucky and the well-to-do managed a transition to virtual gigs or living off record sales. Those who relied on live performance spaces, such as jazz vocalists, were usually out of luck.

Powne was forced to move back home, 10,000 miles away from New York City. Oh, and remember those Australian bush fires from a few years ago? The ones considered among the worst fire seasons in modern Australian history? That’s where she was moving back to.

And yet, she found a glimmer of hope that planted the seed for her album.

It’s clear, then, why Powne felt drawn to the idea of rebirth from fire — a phoenixlike rise from the ashes. But that process would require her to jump into the arena of record producing.

She has strong feelings about the lack of gender parity in the record producing industry. 

She’s also an advocate for taking control of one’s own sound, to be entrepreneurial, to take the leap of faith (and trust in YouTube tutorials) to create a record that matches one’s inner vision.

When it came time to put together her jazz-soul album, Powne found herself drawn to strings. It was the perfect opportunity to try her hand at string arranging.

Part of what built the orchestral sound on From the Fire, however, was Powne’s approach to recording. She used a network of distinct mics, dubbing and rotating chair arrangements to generate a large sound from a single string quartet. The process required careful attention to room tone and used some tricks she’d learned from studying production techniques used for the Beatles’ recordings.

She shared a snippet of the process behind the magic.

Behind the string arrangements, of course, was Powne’s specific interest in classical music. She’s definitely a fan of some big names in the classical world.

She also shared a bit about her jazz and soul influences and the nuances of authentically engaging with Black American musical forms that she holds dear as a white Australian musician.

One major influence Powne mentioned regularly is Marvin Gaye’s stand-out album What’s Going On from 1971. In many ways, it’s her ideal record (also her favorite album of all time). She’s listened to it innumerable times and always does so from start to finish. Part of that is because Gaye’s album is seamless, symphonic even, in its transitions from track to track.

Powne channeled Gaye’s use of orchestral sensibility in making a cohesive soul album with the backing and power of strings. She’s also revived her classical training and interest in film scoring to stake a bold, creative claim outside expected genre palettes.

The album follows an intense narrative arc, opening with a cool breeze “Overture” with strings and jazz lines before launching into sharp lyricism and growing heat with “Feed the Fire.” The flames begin to grow and we are sweated out, perspiring with each additional track. Some are gentle, like “Sleep.” Some are driving, like “Interlude 2.”

Stand outs include “Interlude 1” and the final track, “Souled Out.”

Powne finished the interview with a few comments on other interests and gave a few recommendations.

Turns out, she’s a big reader. Particularly, she’s a fan of Zadie Smith and E.M. Forster. And, yes, the literature speaks through the album.

Also, she enjoys the music of film composer Nicholas Britell, whom she calls “the new, big guy” in particular praising his score for If Beale Street Could Talk.

Listen to From the Fire and pay attention to what’s next from Powne.