From the Porch explores memory and association to sound and sonic sites. A soft and quiet anchor-space woven from sounds heard, remembered, dreamt, imagined and re-presented.
“I absolutely love the sound design of this album. The forest never leaves your side but it never takes over the recordings either. Instead, it allows movements of harp, guitar, voice and melodic percussion to drift around like wandering beasts in the forest itself. Like the warm touch of a familiar friend’s hand to reassure you, this album is like a comfort blanket for the majority of its hour runtime. I recommend listening to it where you can appreciate stereo sound too. You’ll feel like you are on the porch with Tasha Zappala, enjoying nature and her folk songs too. Truly a special album.”
Recorded live in the Waratah Cottage in Queenstown, lutruwita/Tasmania. Waratah Sessions features soundscapes and field recordings captured across the island of lutruwita, played live on a rainy afternoon in the shelter of Mt Lyell. The recordings feature harp improvisation by Tiff Norchick.
An independent release written in nipaluna/Hobart, lutruwita/Tasmania with field recordings captured from around the state.
“Listening to Tash Zappala’s new album All at Once is like taking a deep dive into a dreamy world of birdsong and warm sunshine. A place where contemporary retro ambient folk meets field recordings of the natural environment around Southern Tasmania where Tash spends her time. Languid songs combine with the sounds of birds and running water to conjure up images of lazy afternoons filled with dappled light in leafy places. The sonic quality of the recordings adds to this atmosphere with its many layers and ambient and sometimes dissonant approach. The songs are about places and connections, but the message seems to be more about the sound of the work as a whole and where this transports the listener. Tash’s songs and her vocal and guitar gently anchor everything down allowing the other instruments to meander and explore, adding colour and depth to each song. All at Once is the perfect album for a quite winter afternoon or a lazy summer one…. I think she has definitely succeeded.”
Tiffany Eckhardt
Album Information:
Written and recorded by Tash Zappala
Mastered by William Bowden at King Willy Sound, Launceston.
Performers:
Tash Zappala: Vocals, Acoustic Guitar, Accordion, Piano and Percussion.
Andrew Legg: Bass (Track One).
Dave Steel: Accordion and Slide Guitar (Track Five).
Jacqueline Collyer: Backing Vocals (Track Two, Seven).
Tiff Smith: Harp and Backing Vocals (Track Two, Three, Seven, Eight).
Rest Stop Rooibos – Recorded in nipaluna/Hobart, Tasmania.
“I love how organic these songs are, I feel like I’m sitting where you wrote them.”
Dom Allessio, Triple J Unearthed
The Drawing Trees EP, recorded at Jive Mother Studios by Bryan Beattie features five live tracks, each a raw and swirling soundscape of time captured.
“With a certain raspy-innocence to her vocals, Australian singer-songwriter Tasha Zappala warms our Monday afternoon with the song Bluebird off of her solo EP Drawing Trees! Recorded live at Jive Mother Studios, Zappala’s latest release strikes deep into a vein of delicious trills & powerful guitar riffs. Combining elements of Fiona Apple, Regina Spektor, and Little Miss Higgins & The Winnipeg Five, Bluebird unlocks a raw mixture of post-folk blues that synthesizes the atmosphere of a local coffee shop where the lighting is warm & the ambiance is nothing short of enticing.”
Beatforest Music Blog
Collaborations with Tiff Norchick
Sunglasses in the Dark from Tasha Zappala on Vimeo.
A sonic and visual collaboration with Tiff Norchick (Harp, Animations), and Rowan Hudson (Spoken Word). Written and recorded using field recordings and footage captured across lutruwita/Tasmania, Victoria, and New Zealand.
About Tiff Norchick:
tiff is a gentle person who loves trees.
she writes beautiful songs and outrageous fantasy novels.
she lives in nipaluna where she plays harp in the royal hospital.
she is currently working on her first opera.
Animations by Tiff Norchick
My Son the Whale – Animation by Tiff Norchick