Adalita Srsen Explained

Adalita
Birth Name:Adalita Srsen
Birth Date:1971 2, df=y
Birth Place:Geelong, Victoria, Australia
Instrument:Vocals, guitar
Genre:Rock, Alternative rock
Occupation:Songwriter, singer, guitarist
Years Active:1989–present
Associated Acts:Deer Bubbles
Magic Dirt
Website:http://www.magicdirt.com
http://www.adalita.com

Adalita Srsen (born 25 February 1971), known simply as Adalita, is an Australian rock musician who is a founding member of the rock band Magic Dirt and a solo artist. She released her first solo album, Adalita in 2011 and her second solo album, All Day Venus, in September 2013.[1]

Early life

Adalita was born in Geelong, Victoria on 25 February 1971.

She told Triple J's Richard Kingsmill in 2000 that she made her first guitar out of cardboard and wool, before she bought her first acoustic guitar. "I learnt a few chord progressions from a "how to" guitar book and then started writing and recording my own compositions, using two tape decks and layering guitar parts and vocal harmonies."[2]

Adalita told Australian Guitar magazine (when she became the first female to grace the magazine's cover) in 2005 that she "was 18 or 19 when I bought my first A$90 acoustic (guitar) for whatever strange reason I bought it for, on a whim. Then I got an electric maybe six months later and started on that – what was that – in like 1989, 1990."

In the early 1990s, she formed a band, Deer Bubbles, with Dean Turner.[3] While, this band didn't last long, by 1992, Adalita and Turner, as well as guitarist Daniel Herring, had formed The Jim Jims.[2] Adalita and Turner then formed Magic Dirt following the addition of drummer Adam Robertson.

Solo work

2006–2008: "Double Dare"

In 2006, Adalita released her first material as a solo performer. She performed on two cover versions for the Mick Harvey-produced soundtrack of the Australian film Suburban Mayhem: "Double Dare" (originally by Hoyt Axton) and "Sex Beat" (Gun Club).[4] [5] along with Harvey, Dean Turner and Rowland S. Howard who also played on the tracks.[5] A promotional video was made for the single "Double Dare", featuring Adalita and Suburban Mayhem star Emily Barclay.[6] At the time, such solo work were side projects and Adalita soon resumed work with Magic Dirt.

2009–2012:Adalita

Initially, Adalita harboured no intention to release her own music as a solo artist, but was enthusiastically encouraged by her Magic Dirt bandmate and mentor, Dean Turner, to undertake the production of her debut album. Production of the solo album commenced in 2009, with Turner responsible for production duties; however, in August 2009, due to a rare form of tissue cancer, Turner passed away. The album was then completed in 2010, while Magic Dirt was on hiatus following Turner's death.

To coincide with her support slot on the Blondie and Pretenders double-headline Australian tour, Adalita released the 'Hot Air' EP on 26 November 2010.The eponymous debut album was released on 4 March 2011, through Liberation Music and debuted at No. 23 on the ARIA Album Chart.

2013:All Day Venus

On 28 April 2013, Adalita announced on her Facebook fan page that she had started work on her second album at Birdland Studios, with long-time producer Lindsay Gravina.[7] She informed her Facebook fans on 24 May 2013 that Jim White from Dirty Three recorded drums for the album over two days.[8]

Adalita appeared on Australian television program RocKwiz in June 2013 and performed a new track, entitled 'I Want Your Love'.[9] In July 2013, she previewed the track "All Day Venus" and announced a small run of Australian east coast shows to preview the new material.[10]

On 8 August 2013, music website mess+noise announced that All Day Venus would be released on 20 September 2013, and revealed the album artwork and track listing. The website also featured a link to the album's first single, 'Warm Like You', which premiered on Triple J the same day. 'Warm Like You' was released on iTunes on 12 August 2013.

In an October 2013 interview, Adalita described the experience of recording the album with Gravina and a new band:

I thought initially I should get a new producer, but in the end there were so many other new things going on—new sound, new band. I figured I needed something more stable. He knows what he can extract from me.[11]

Adalita also explained that the album is about a transformative experience in her life that resulted in a learning process. During the creation process for the album, she was influenced by American academic Joseph Campbell and mythology.[12] She also revealed that she is most comfortable in "bare" aesthetic surroundings and, in relation to the writing period for 'All Day Venus': "I like a lot of space and calm."[13]

The album was voted into the third position in the 2013 readers poll of mess + noise, an Australian music website, in which readers selected their favourite albums of the year.[14]

2022: Inland

In September 2022, Adalita released "Dazzling", and announced the release of her third studio album, Inland, scheduled for release in December 2022.[15]

In June 2023, Adalita released a cover of Michael Hutchence's "Rooms for the Memory" as a benefit record for Ollie Olsen.[16]

Collaborations

In addition to the various collaborations that were undertaken with Magic Dirt, Adalita has appeared as a guest vocalist on songs by other Australian bands. In 1992, she appeared on Velvet (Down) Underground, a tribute album for The Velvet Underground, providing vocals to The Clowns Smiling Backwards' rendition of 'The Black Angel's Death Song'.[17]

In 2002, Adalita collaborated with Bodyjar on the 'Too Drunk To Drive' single and also appeared in the song's music video.[18]

In 2003, Adalita appeared on The Calculators' song 'Cellophane' that was included on The Secret Life Of Us 3 soundtrack album. Also in 2003, she was one of many guest vocalists during an edition of Triple J's Live at the Wireless segment, in which You Am I performed 'Jewels And Bullets' and 'Damage'.[19] Also in 2003, Adalita attended the 'Mushroom Music Writers Bloc', a songwriting workshop for Australian artists—she and 78 Saab's Ben Nash penned the track, 'Too Much Is Not Enough'. The track was featured as a b-side on Magic Dirt's "Plastic Loveless Letter".[20]

During the 2006 Big Day Out tour, Adalita appeared on stage with The Beasts Of Bourbon and Magic Dirt supported the band on a 2007 Australian tour.[21] Also in 2006, she appeared in the Australian short film The Desert by Glendyn Ivin.[4]

In 2007, Adalita collaborated with Katalyst (Ashley Anderson) on the track 'Bladewalker', from the band's album What's Happening; the track was released on 25 August 2007.[22] She also joined Katalyst on a national Australian tour in November of that year.

On 24 January 2009, Adalita appeared on an episode of RocKwiz and performed a duet with Gareth Liddiard (The Drones), as the pair covered The Saints' 'Messin' with the Kid'.[4] [23] [24] Adalita also appeared on the 2009 RocKwiz Christmas special, which was broadcast on 19 December 2009, performing a cover of The Pretenders' '2,000 Miles'.[4] [25]

During December 2011, in the period leading up to the Christmas holiday, Adalita embarked on a tour of the east coast of Australia with fellow Australian musician Kevin Mitchell[26] (the pair had also toured together with their bands, Jebediah and Magic Dirt). Entitled "Good Evans it's Xmas" (Mitchell was performing in the guise of Bob Evans), the tour featured the pair performing a rendition of 'Must Be Santa',[27] a song that had also been covered by Bob Dylan in 2009.[28]

In 2013, Adalita recorded bass for fellow Melbourne musicians Dark Fair, as well as performances with the band at live shows.[29] [30] 2013 also saw her reprise as guest on Rockwiz, where she performed a duet (with J Mascis) of 'Stop Draggin' My Heart Around'.Alongside Kevin Mitchell, Adalita was selected by Australia's Double J radio station for the August 2014 "Artist in Residence" role. Adalita and Mitchell presented two Sunday episodes individually throughout August 2014, and co-presented the final episode, 'Unforgettable Opening Lines', on 31 August. Adalita's individual episodes were titled 'Heartache & Pain' and 'The Dark Side'.[31]

Personal life

Adalita is a conservationist, a keen advocate of animal rights[32] and is also a vegan.[33] Adalita adopted a vegetarian diet around the age of 18 and then became a vegan around the age of 29 after researching the exploitative factory farming practices in dairy production, explaining, "It was a very easy decision to make and I never went back."[34] During the promotional period of All Day Venus in September 2013, Adalita stated that she is a keen photographer.

Discography

Studio albums

Title! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:21em;"
DetailsPeak chart positions
AUS
[35]
Adalita 23
All Day Venus
  • Released: 20 September 2013
  • Label: Liberation Music (LMCD0233)
  • Formats: CD, LP, digital download
30
Inland
  • Released: 2 December 2022
  • Label: Liberation Records (LRCD0035)
  • Formats: CD, LP, digital download, streaming
29
[37]

Singles

Title! scope="col" rowspan="1" style="width:1em;"
YearAlbum
"Double Dare"2006Suburban Mayhem soundtrack
"That's What I Heard" 2010
"Hot Air"Adalita
"The Repairer"[38] 2011
"Fool Around"[39]
"Warm Like You"[40] 2013All Day Venus
"Dazzling"2022Inland
"Savage Heart"[41]
"Hit Me"[42]
"Rooms for the Memory"2023

Awards and nominations

AIR Awards

The Australian Independent Record Awards (commonly known informally as AIR Awards) is an annual awards night to recognise, promote and celebrate the success of Australia's Independent Music sector.|-| rowspan="4" | 2011[43] [44] | herself| Best Independent Artist| |-| herself| Breakthrough Artist of the Year| |-| Adalita| Best Independent Album| |-| "Hot Air"| Best Independent Single/EP| |-

ARIA Music Awards

The ARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of Australian music.[45]

|-| 2011| Adalita| Best Female Artist| |-| 2014| All Day Venus| Best Female Artist| |-

Australian Music Prize

The Australian Music Prize (the AMP) is an annual award of $30,000 given to an Australian band or solo artist in recognition of the merit of an album released during the year of award. |-| 2012| Adalita| Australian Music Prize| |-

Music Victoria Awards

The Music Victoria Awards (previously known as The Age EG Awards and The Age Music Victoria Awards) are an annual awards night celebrating Victorian music.

! |-| rowspan="2" | 2013| Adalita Srsen| Best Female| | rowspan="2" | [46] |-| All Day Venus| Best Album| |-| 2023| Adalita Srsen| Best Solo Artist| |[47] |-

National Live Music Awards

The National Live Music Awards (NLMAs) are a broad recognition of Australia's diverse live industry, celebrating the success of the Australian live scene. The awards commenced in 2016.|-| 2017[48] [49] | Adalita| Live Guitarist of the Year| |-

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Tragedy entwined with Adalita award nod. news.com.au. 5 March 2013. Ross Purdie. 3 February 2012.
  2. Web site: J Files: Magic Dirt. Triple J. Kingsmill. Richard. 23 November 2000. 25 January 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20100117193435/http://www.abc.net.au/triplej/music_specials/s1402505.htm. 17 January 2010. dead.
  3. News: Magic circles. 1 September 2012. The Age. 9 September 2005. Emma Miller. The Age Company Ltd.
  4. Web site: Adalita Srsen. Internet Movie Database. Amazon.com. 25 January 2010.
  5. Web site: Magic Dirt – Adalita Srsen . https://web.archive.org/web/20070904074242/http://rockus.com.au/common/archives/interviews/magicdirtnov06.html . dead . 4 September 2007 . Rockus magazine . 8 November 2008 . Ducey . Liam . 25 January 2010 .
  6. News: Just Adalita, no more. The Newcastle Herald. 2 July 2009. 25 January 2010. McDermott. Lauren.
  7. Web site: Update. 28 April 2013. Adalita on Facebook. Facebook. 9 August 2013. Adalita.
  8. Web site: Update. 24 May 2013. Adalita on Facebook. Facebook. 9 August 2013. Adalita.
  9. Web site: RocKwiz S11 Ep146 Adalita Solo Performance. SBS On Demand. SBS. 9 August 2013. SBS ONE. Video upload. 29 June 2013.
  10. Web site: Adalita Unveils New Single 'All Day Venus', Announces East Coast Tour Dates. Music Feeds. 9 August 2013. Mike Hohnen. 8 July 2013.
  11. News: Adalita's journey of rediscovery is pushing to rekindle the magic. 10 October 2013. The Australian. 11 October 2013. Iain Sheddon.
  12. Web site: Adalita: All Day Venus . Time Out Melbourne . Time Out Group Ltd . 6 November 2013 . Jenny Valentish . 14 October 2013 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20130913101915/http://www.au.timeout.com/melbourne/music/events/8534/adalita-all-day-venus . 13 September 2013 .
  13. Web site: Two Minutes with Adalita Magic Dirt. TheUrbanList.com. Urban List Pty Ltd. 6 November 2013. Kate Morgan. 17 September 2013.
  14. Web site: M+N Readers Poll 2013. mess + noise. mess + noise Proprietary Limited. 20 December 2013. 20 December 2013.
  15. Web site: Adalita Announces New Solo Album Inland, Shares New Single. Music Feeds. 21 September 2022. 22 September 2022.
  16. Web site: Adalita, Mick Harvey and Andrew Duffield Cover Michael Hutchence 'Room for the Memory' for Ollie Olsen. Noise11. 16 June 2023. 18 June 2023.
  17. Web site: Various Artists/Sampler. Musik Sammler. 5 March 2013. 2013.
  18. Web site: Bodyjar – Too Drunk To Drive. https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211215/GMxhjMZxzuk . 2021-12-15 . live. YouTube. Google, Inc. 5 March 2013. soinmaster. Video upload. 21 June 2007.
  19. Web site: You Am I and Friends: Live at the Wireless. Last.fm. CBS Interactive. 5 March 2013. 15 January 2013.
  20. Web site: Plastic Loveless Letter – single. iTunes Preview. Apple, Inc. 5 March 2013. 25 November 2003.
  21. Web site: Magic Dirt – at the Metro, 22/9/07. https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211215/Segm9hM01xc . 2021-12-15 . live. YouTube. Google, Inc. 5 March 2013. yeahproductions. Video upload. 23 September 2007.
  22. Web site: Bladewalker (ft. Adalita). bandcamp. 5 March 2013. 25 August 2007.
  23. Web site: Adalita & Gareth Liddard. 24 January 2009. SBS TV. 25 January 2010.
  24. Web site: Adalita vs Gareth Liddiard on RocKwiz . https://web.archive.org/web/20091016002752/http://blog.remotecontrolrecords.com.au/2009/01/adalita-vs-gareth-liddiard-on-rockwiz.html . dead . 16 October 2009 . 28 January 2009 . Remote Control Records . 25 January 2010 .
  25. Web site: RocKwiz Christmas Special 09 – Adalita Srsen. 24 January 2010. SBS TV. 25 January 2010.
  26. Web site: Bob Evans and Adalita – Good Evans it's Xmas . Time Out Sydney . Time Out Group Ltd . 5 March 2013 . 17 December 2011 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20111231074117/http://www.au.timeout.com/sydney/music/events/27882/bob-evans-and-adalita-good-evans-its-xmas . 31 December 2011 .
  27. Web site: Bob Evans & Adalita: Good Evans It's Xmas! soundcheck. https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211215/Duyorrhfpc0 . 2021-12-15 . live. YouTube. Google, Inc. 5 March 2013. BobEvansMusic. Video upload. 18 December 2011.
  28. Web site: Bob Dylan – It Must Be Santa. https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211215/a8qE6WQmNus . 2021-12-15 . live. YouTube. Google, Inc. 5 March 2013. BobDylanVEVO. Video upload. 24 November 2009.
  29. Web site: Let Yourself Be Free. Dark Fair at Bandcamp. Bandcamp. 25 December 2013. Dark Fair. 23 October 2013.
  30. Web site: DARK FAIR – BASS DUTIES – Tonight!!. Adalita on Facebook. Facebook. 25 December 2013. Adalita. 22 November 2013.
  31. Web site: Introducing Adalita and Kevin Mitchell: Double J's Artists In Residence. Double J. ABC. 30 July 2014. 30 July 2014.
  32. Web site: Magic Dirt: Tough Love. Animal Liberation Youth. 25 January 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20100113235933/http://www.animalliberationyouth.org.au/articles/wh_adalita.htm. 13 January 2010. dead.
  33. Web site: Adalita. VeganEasy.org. 25 January 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20100127084334/http://veganeasy.org/Adalita. 27 January 2010. dead.
  34. Web site: Guest Post: Adalita Gives us the Dirt on Why She Went Veg . https://web.archive.org/web/20110715065934/http://blog.petaasiapacific.com/vegetarianism/guest-post-adalita-gives-us-the-dirt-on-why-she-went-veg . dead . 15 July 2011 . Hot & Sour Scoop . PETA Asia-Pacific . 1 September 2012 . Adalita . 26 May 2010 .
  35. Web site: Discography Adalita. Australian Charts Portal. Hung Medien. 27 January 2020.
  36. Web site: Adalita. Liberation Music. Liberation Music Pty. Ltd. 1 September 2012. Liberation Music. 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120627211120/http://www.liberation.com.au/artists/297/adalita. 27 June 2012. dead.
  37. Web site: ARIA Top 50 Albums Chart. Australian Recording Industry Association. 12 December 2022. 9 December 2022.
  38. Web site: ADALITA . https://web.archive.org/web/20110717202959/http://www.passportlabel.com/artists/254:adalita . dead . 17 July 2011 . THE PASSPORT LABEL . 1 September 2012 . THE PASSPORT LABEL . 2012 .
  39. Web site: Adalita – Fool Around (Alternate Edit) . iTunes Store .
  40. Web site: Adalita – Warm Like You . iTunes Store .
  41. Web site: Adalita Released Evocative Second Single "Savage Heart" from Inland . Back Seat Mafia. 21 October 2022. 8 November 2022.
  42. Web site: Very excited to present Hit Me, the third single from my upcoming new album, INLAND. . Facebook. 18 November 2022. 22 November 2022.
  43. Web site: Independent Music Awards Nominees Announced. tonedeaf. 13 September 2011. 19 August 2020.
  44. Web site: History Wins. Australian Independent Record Labels Association. 18 August 2020.
  45. Web site: Adalita ARIA Search. ARIA AWards. 22 August 2020.
  46. News: Renee Geyer inducted into Hall of Fame at Age Music Victoria Awards. 25 December 2013. The Age. 21 November 2013. Martin Boulton.
  47. Web site: Nominees, Hall of Fame Inductees Announced for 2023 Music Victoria Awards. Music Feeds. 14 September 2023. 14 September 2023.
  48. Web site: NLMA reveal 2017 Nominees. NLMA. 9 October 2017. 5 September 2020.
  49. Web site: Winners 2017. NLMA. December 2016. 5 September 2020.