Azure Ryder emerged as a significant new talent in 2020, her first two EPs ‘Running With The Wolves’ and ‘Crazy With The Light’ earning major airplay and mainstream media attention in her homeland of Australia as well as a wealth of tastemaker tips in the UK. Since her third set, ‘Ladder To The Moon’, was released in 2021, Azure has released her take on the Nina Simone classic ‘Feeling Good’ (which saw her perform on Sydney Harbour Bridge, the first time the location was used in a music video) and has since focused all attention on crafting a new body of work, a potion brewed from“gritty stardust.”

Who were your musical influences growing up?

I have always found myself most drawn to music ahead of my time and it was definitely the music that flowed through my home growing up. The artists you consider classic, timeless, pure. Stevie Nicks, Carole King, and Norah Jones.

Tell us about your new single Angel and the creative process behind it…

Just as any song of mine starts, it was sparked by life consumed, and this particular wound was all consuming, especially for Woman. We are born with rules to follow, how to love, when to love, how much to give, how little to take. As I began to write, it’s as if it drew in a wave of the same story from each Woman I spoke to, the only difference was the name of the boy. So as the narrative became all that surrounded me I knew I needed to speak up, for myself, for Woman, for Witches. This song started with another boy who held the power, and ended with them missing out on a God Damn Angel.   

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?

We are taught to tame the heart we were born with, especially as Woman, the wild one, the instinctive, the inner fires they say is something to fear instead of embrace. But your first instinct is your heart talking, beyond that is your head, listen for the one who speaks first, whether it’s as gentle as a whisper or deep as a howl.

Describe your music in 3 words  

Gritty Stardust 

If you could collaborate with any other artist – who would that be? 

Stevie Nicks, forever and beyond, she holds the biggest impact on my heart and how I hope to exist as an artist. She’s the unapologetic wild woman and if I could be in the presence of even a twinkle of her mystic, my soul would defy gravity. 

Where do you get your inspiration from when writing songs and did growing up in a small coastal town in Sydney influence your songwriting? 

Life worn in, hearts broken and mended. I grew up by the ocean, nature was my best friend, and most definitely played a significant part in how I grew to hold my body, and raise my voice. Our outer surroundings directly seep into our inner world whether we are aware of it or not, she’s called mother nature for a reason, she nurtures us, mirror us, teaches us, so my song writingconsciously contains the blessings of Nature, we are one and the same. 

If you had to be remembered for one thing apart from your music what would you want it to be?

No matter in what way, I would love to be remembered by how I left someone feeling, hopefully less alone, and more whole, finding a small place in people’s hearts is all I could hope for.

What do you hope to achieve in 2023?

I hope to reintroduce myself in the way that is the truest and closest to me, to nurture the connections existing and new through my music, and once connected by soundwaves, my biggest hope is to be connecting live in person, with as many humans as possible across the world with eyes, heart and soul locked on each other, my insides are burning just thinking about it !!!

By Siân Parker

Advertisement