Deborah Conway and Willy Zygier are thrilled to announce the release of their 10th studio album, The Words of Men, featuring songs of personal, cultural & political observation, coming out on February 15, 2019.
In what is already proving to be a landmark year for the remarkable duo, 2019 also marks the 25th anniversary of their hit album and first musical collaboration Bitch Epic featuring the single Alive & Brilliant, now a part of Australian sonic history.
To celebrate the new alongside the much loved, Deborah, Willy and their band will embark on a national tour of concert theatres in May, performing Bitch Epic & The Words of Men in their entirety.
The tour is aptly titled EPIC.
Recorded live to capture the vitality and beauty of the chemistry Deborah and Willy share with their band, The Words of Men reflects one of the most creative bursts in their renowned 27-year collaboration, traversing a wide range of themes, from songs about relationships, and their break down, to songs about the mysteries and joys of ageing set against the strange circumstances we find ourselves in as the 21st century progresses.
“We have very human concerns & we wanted to make a record that sounds human, with creaks and breaths and joy and passion,” says Deborah.
“A serious record made with fun or a fun record made seriously… Sometimes a very spare arrangement with the tiniest bit of flesh to cover the barest bones of a tune, other times a veritable pile on, an acoustic maelstrom of joyous chaos brought to order by our collective spirit.”
The Words Of Men is a line from one of the songs Deborah and Willy wrote for the album – “The words of men/Haunt me again and again.”
As a title, the line conjures gravitas and irony.
It represents the conflicts that are plaguing our digitally connected communities and highlights the way in which we make sense of the world and always have.
The words of men can be a call to arms, a plea for peace, the sound of truth or the sly whisper of falsehood, the words of the collective or the words of the oppressor, a question or an answer. A reminder that we are all capable of the full gamut of provocation and conciliation.
Performing all tracks from The Words of Men, the EPIC tour also provides an opportunity for Conway and Zygier to revisit their highest charting album, the Aria winning Bitch Epic, featuring the much loved song Alive & Brilliant.
Written on a stormy afternoon overlooking Coogee Beach, and first performed on
a similarly stormy day at The Sydney Barracks in 1992, Conway recalls the crowd crazily dancing in white plastic ponchos to what would become an unconventional radio hit.
“I still love playing this song, it has a compelling urgency & fury to it that remains undiminished 26 years after we wrote it.”
A special highlight of some of these shows will be the Zygier girls, Syd, Hettie and Alma on backing vocals, talents in their own right.
Deborah Conway and Willy Zygier play The Tanks Arts Centre on Friday the 28th June 2019
Tickets available through Ticketlink
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