Fazerdaze's Amelia Murray talks new album 'Soft Power' • Interview • DIY Magazine

For the better part of a decade now, New Zealand-based singer, songwriter and producer Fazerdaze - also known as Amelia Murray - has worked tirelessly to build an immersive sonic landscape, sharing offerings that manage to feel both intensely personal yet grand in scope. Never has that been more true than on her most recent release - her second full-length ‘Soft Power’ - which feels intricate and expansive all at once.

Currently in the midst of a hefty tour across North America, we caught up with Amelia en route to her show in Washington DC to talk through the lessons she learned through making her 2022 EP ‘Break!’, why she wanted to return to (mostly) self-producing, and what she hopes listeners will take away from the record.

Your brand new album ‘Soft Power’ is officially out in the world! How does it feel to finally have it out in the open?

I feel relieved. Happy, proud. Exhausted. Making this record has been a massive personal journey.

Winding back the clock a little, what sort of headspace did you find yourself in ahead of making ‘Soft Power’? How were you feeling musically and personally after the release of 2022’s ‘Break!’ EP?

The funny thing is, I started working on ’Soft Power’ long before ’Break!’ existed as an idea. ’Break!’ was almost like a distraction - something rough and raw to work on when ’Soft Power’ felt heavy and hard and not flowing. But once ’Break!’ was done, I came back to the record with a new freeness and flow. ’Break!’ was creatively liberating, something about it being an unplanned EP reminded me to have fun while making music.

‘Break!’ in itself came to represent just that in a few senses - last year you told us it was you “literally having a breakdown”, it came after a decent-sized break after releasing your 2017 debut etc… but it’s also been called a moment of liberation. As difficult as that period sounds like it was for you, with hindsight, do you think you learned a lot from that time?

Absolutely. That period taught me a lot about my boundaries and self-worth. I no longer tolerate the same bullshit or unhealthy behaviours I once did. I’ve stopped trying to fix other people. Now, I’m much more comfortable walking away from situations that don’t feel healthy. And in turn, I have so much more brain space and energy to write and be creative.

The album has also seen you return to producing most of the tracks (with some help from Simon Gooding and Emily Wheatcroft-Snape); why was it important for you to return to that way of working? How do you think that helped to shape the sound and feel of the record?

I tried working with a bunch of different producers, spent a ton of money going back and forth from Los Angeles and each time returning to New Zealand feeling more broke, defeated and underwhelmed with the results. Over there, I felt like a drop in the ocean, where maybe the people I worked with were more interested in the pay check than in me as a human. Eventually, I realised no one was coming to save me or this record, and I just needed to get to work and finish it the only way I knew how. This was by recording as much as possible at home and then working with people I have known for a long time. Emily is a dear friend of mine, I have known her for a long time. She gets me, she knows I doubt myself in the studio but cultivates the kind of space for me to work through it and overcome that. Then there’s Simon, [who is] insanely talented, we’ve been friends a long time and we like a lot of the same music. He has an intuitive way of interpreting my mix notes, which can be as technical as “use this plugin, side chain it, then distort the bus channel” or as vague as “make it feel blue, hazy, underwater.” I also worked with my friend Aaron Short on everything in between. Sometimes if I got stuck on a song structure or needed to recreate a synth sound, or just struggling with hard drive space, he was always right there helping me.

“I no longer tolerate the same bullshit or unhealthy behaviours I once did. I’ve stopped trying to fix other people.”

This record really pushes into some epic sonic territory and you yourself said you wanted the album to sound massive; what do you think drove that desire?

I was feeling small both personally and professionally, so this record became a way to take up the kind of space I dreamed of taking up but was too afraid of. It was very much my outlet when I was feeling trapped. After ’Morningside’ and feeling boxed in as a bedroom producer, I wanted to see if I could push the confines of that label and go for a more sonically big, cinematic sound.

Was there any song in particular that became the lynchpin, or provided a bit of a eureka moment, when you were making the record?

This whole record was slow to take shape and evolve but there were various moments along the way where I’d get this wave of excitement. I definitely felt it when Simon and I started mixing the live drums, he really understood my vision of getting them to sound modern and effected while still retaining a live performance feel.

Lyrically, what did you find yourself drawn to exploring? Themes of the female experience, self-discovery and identity are very much woven into the fabric of the record; do you think that was more because of where you are in your life right now or were there other driving factors too?

I feel like I sing about pretty classic themes like love and devotion (‘Bigger’, ‘In Blue’), the passing of time (‘Cherry Pie’, ‘Dancing Years’) and dreaming (‘Sleeper’, ‘Bigger’). But as I neared the finish line, I got bolder about what I really wanted to say. For example on ’Purple_02’ and ’A Thousand Years’, I start to dig deeper into my actual psyche and the internal dialogue I’ve experienced as a woman.

‘City Glitter’ feels like a very evocative, intimate note to end the record on; why did you want to conclude the album on that note?

To me, ‘City Glitter’ represents leaving Auckland and moving to Christchurch, which is what I needed to do to finish this record and move into the next chapter of my life. It’s about leaving behind the big city and the person who defined that chapter of my life. This record marks the end of a very long and transformational personal era, and that song feels like gently, lovingly closing the door on it.

What do you think you’ve taken away from this record as an artist? And what would you hope listeners can take away from it?

I have learned so many lessons. The main one being about power within myself and removing myself from power structures that were constructed in ways I could never win. ‘Soft Power’ and making this record has changed me. I hope ‘Soft Power’ inspires people to look deep within themselves.

‘Soft Power’ is out now via section1.

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