Butterfly 9
When classic pop songwriting, beautiful vocals and scintillating production combine, the magical result is butterfly 9. The Sydney duo of Suzy Connolly and Matt Fell revitalize and reassure with their beautifully crafted music, not afraid to keep it real as they unconditionally sing their way into our hearts.
In their short career to date, butterfly 9 have signed
with Mushroom Music Publishing worldwide,
achieved widespread Australian radio-play, featured in a string of international hit TV
shows and have been hand-picked by the Counting Crows as support for their 2003
Australian national tour.
Now Suzy and Matt have emerged with their confident and vibrant second album,
‘one for the birds’, set for release in Australia via Craving
Records/Reverberation in October 2005.
The new album, ‘one for the birds’ is the culmination of a year of intense recording.
"We initially planned to go into the studio and bang out 10 songs in a couple of
weeks," says Matt, "but we just kept writing and recording more and more songs as
we went along. I had so much fun producing this record and I think it just sounds
more confident." With almost 30 songs completed butterfly 9 had the luxury of
putting together what might be called a definitive 'best of' for the new album.
Says Suzy, "‘one for the birds’ feels like a great leap forward artistically. In the
process of making it, we discovered more about who we are and exactly what kind of
music we want to create. Matt’s production has brought out a greater musical range
and band dynamic compared with the first record. In writing these songs, I took time
to let the stories unravel and take the direction they needed to take. As a result, they
really resonate personally for me. Some are observational, some personal, but all of
them aim to be honest reflections of this crazy experience called life."
As a teenager Suzy performed regularly as a jazz vocalist, but struggled with the
shyness of youth, yet to find her own voice. Much like two of her heroes, Chrissie
Hynde (Pretenders) and Andy Partridge (XTC), who also overcame introversion, Suzy
ironically found a way forward by satisfying an urgent desire to write songs and
express herself musically and artistically. Luckily for us, she hasn’t looked back since.
The butterfly 9 creative union began in 2000 when Suzy Connolly, then a solo
performer and songwriter invited her partner, musician and producer Matt Fell to join
her on a music business outing to LA. Suzy would spend a year deciding exactly what
to take and respectively leave from the music industry’s global capital. Importantly,
the pair realised romantic chemistry wasn’t the only kind of alchemy shared between
them.
A batch of songs was swiftly co-written which would form the basis of their first
album. Suzy and Matt found themselves creating music that drew on their shared
influences; from Elliot Smith, Amy Mann and The Fountains of Wayne through to the
immortal B’s (that’s Byrds, Bacharach, Beatles and Beach Boys).
butterfly 9’s refreshingly direct and natural sounding debut
album (self-titled, ABC/Universal) led to wide Australian
exposure on national radio stations NOVA and ABC Radio,
plus television video shows Music Max and Rage. As they
developing a keen live following, the pair performed live-toair
on Australian TV institutions Sunrise, Mornings with
Kerri-Anne, and The Secret Life of Us. The album’s first
single, ‘another perfect day’, was featured on Aaron
Spelling’s TV sensation ‘Summerland’. Back home in
Australia their songs have repeatedly graced hit shows
‘Home and Away’, ‘Blue Water High’ and ‘Crash Burn’.
The latest album ‘one for the birds’ features an irresistible wealth of brand new
quality pop songs. The album veers effortlessly from expertly produced up-tempo
tracks like ‘hey girl’ and ‘i love the summertime’ to the heart-stopping, beautiful
quieter moments found in ‘someday when you’re gone’ and ‘dorothy’ which are
content to shine in their simplicity. This is music to drive to, wake up to, live and love
to. Resplendent, vital and true.
"You’ll spend the weekend uncovering shimmering pop music that has strong echoes of Aimee Mann and underground pop maven Matthew Sweet." Bernard Zuel, Sydney Morning Herald.
"Music fans know the delicious pleasure that comes from discovering a new act".This Sydney duo are a major discovery." Kathy McCabe, Daily Telegraph.
"One For the Birds" is released November 7 through Craving Records / Reverberation
www.butterfly9.com
www.musicbiz.com.au
