Julia Deans performs 'Six-String Heart' live on radio for first time
The song, which the Kiwi singer has already performed at live shows, will feature on her upcoming album.
New Zealand artist Julia Deans, of rock band Fur Patrol and The Adults fame, has performed one of her new songs on her upcoming album for the first time on radio to celebrate 20 years of NZ live.
Deans has already played ‘Six-String Heart’ at her live shows, which recently included the Atomic 2.0 tour.
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On the tour, the singer led Boh Runga, Dianne Swann, Vera Ellen, Jazmine Mary, Karen Hu, Rebel Reid, Mareea Paterson and Ilayda Tunali to pay homage to female pioneers of rock’n’roll.
“It’s a vibe, it’s like there’s no ego within the group and we’re all just really supportive of each other.”
In line with paying respects to women, she performed ‘Walking in the Sun’ – a song about not treating others as slightly lesser because they’re different.
Her new album has been mostly recorded, she says.
“It is exciting, it’s just taking a very expletively long time,” Deans tells Afternoons’ host Jesse Mulligan.
“I won’t go into the gory details, but it’s a deeply personal album and it’s a concept album as well so it tells a whole story from start to finish.
“It’s all well and good writing albums … but you also have to, in between, pay rent and things like that so I take on other jobs to do that, other projects. And I’m not a good multi-tasker. I mean, I can sing and play guitar at the same time but that’s about the extent of it.”
She recalls her teenage years and how she would take her guitar to play sets at bars, whilst lying to her parents that she was going to study at the library.
Deans joined Celtic rock band Banshee Reel at the start of her career before going on to form Fur Patrol with guitarist Steve Wells in 1996. Two years later, they released their EP Starlifter which featured ‘Dominoes’.
“If I don’t hit all the high notes, it’s because I’m not 21 anymore,” Deans jokes before performing the song.
The band also opened up for former Split Enz/Crowded House singer Neil Finn in Australia. Deans gives a nod to Finn by playing one of her favourite songs by Split Enz, ‘I Hope I Never’.
“I think this is one of the most beautiful break-up songs in the New Zealand music vernacular and the vocal performance on it is exquisite and the piano playing is just divine, so I’m going to butcher that by playing it on guitar.”
To celebrate New Zealand music month, Deans will be playing alongside Hollie Smith at SkyCity on 22 May.
