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Same Skin

by Amy Vee

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1.
Same Skin 03:34
Dusty cover, widely read Tapestry’s all tattered threads Ghosts that wander through my halls are just echoes Remnants of lightning bolts Weather-worn and all at sea I cut my sailcloth accordingly Not as bright-eyed as once I was Still my hope-filled heartbeat is holding strong I’m in the same skin but the walls are closing in The same skin I took my first breath in Same skin, it’s a different time but it’s the same skin And every line is a beginning So protect and cover me Multi-layered anatomy Cut me bruise me, I’ll wear the scars A walking canvas for stories past I’m trying to avoid your gaze Hope you don’t remember me this way Just a shadow of my former face My song still plays in the same skin My heart beats in the same skin My mind aches in the same skin It’s a different time but it’s the same skin And every line is a beginning Every line is a beginning Every line is a beginning
2.
Ten Years 03:40
This reminds me of one of your stories You always loved a sinister tale Your eyes would grow wild, your voice soften to a purr But this time there’ll be no uplifting crescendo The curtain’s fallen for the last time And I wish I could erase these troubled times And I know all things must end, but I’m confused ‘Cause I know you meant to me what I meant to you Ten years a ghost, ten years a shadow Thrown to the wind, caught in the crossfire When all’s said and done I’ve nothing left to say or do Ten years a ghost, ten years a shadow I’m just a blow-in, a figure quotidian You were a giant who walked among men You filled a room and yet your heart was heavy as the sea And time doesn’t wait for the burdened to offload She’ll take you down without cause for concern And I wish I could foresee these uneasy times You stepped into the dark just I could see You made my burden light, yeah you carried me
3.
It was only yesterday, they said it was the best she’d played Game of her 14 years and 15 days Algebra and debate, Spanish - top of her grade Every day a milestone, today was much the same But no amount of stead and savoir faire Saved from a fate as dark and delicate as her wintery hair He’d been up and down these halls since they seemed 50 feet tall Funny how perspective is everything Though he’d had them at their worst, he’d always seen their futures first He took the lost and broken of them underwing And it’s an impotent legacy that the kids they didn’t wanna hear they now refuse to see Don’t wanna talk about this now, but if not now, when? Don’t wanna hear about it now, but if not now, when? Can’t make their minds up about this now, but if not now, when? We can’t change anything now, but if not now, then when? Flowers left upon the stair presumably by mother’s hand An anniversary gift, but not the kind she planned Now he’s frightened to his core, up here on the third floor All the one-word answers, he wished he’d told them more Now there’s a quiet resolve that wills them on No longer will they let you stifle the voice of reason We bring you this breaking news The white noise will be continued So don’t adjust your mindset Don’t wanna talk about this now, but if not now, when? We just can’t face anything now, but if not now, when? It hurts to think about it now, but if not now, when? Never be the same as it is now, now we’re left to wonder when.
4.
A love kept on ice is stronger than a love that keeps us on the rocks A heart in a cage is freer than a heart that’s had its wings torn off In the right light, we are still life that moves between the lines This is not how I pictured us Who’d have known we could come so far But here we are No one knows what’s ahead of us All I know is I want to end where you start So we begin with a question interrupted like we sleep Little tremors that disrupt the inner pieces This release isn’t guaranteed to last Stealing spaces between the seconds to make the hours ours We love in overtime We see with borrowed eyes But it’s feeding our desire to climb beyond the high
5.
Slow Burn 04:02
Tell us, what’s your best asset? (In 20 words or less) Who would be your desert island companion? Could you dial the darkness down? They just wanna sing along And it’s a bridge too far to the chorus Slow burn, slow burn Stamp it out Your existence will consummate in 40 business days But before you go, spare a minute to rate us Tell us your fake history in a way that’s self-deprecating Aim it at the lowest common denominator Slow burn, slow burn Breathe it out, count it down Overcome, rise above, stay your hand He seemed such a stand-up guy He shouldn’t have to do the time For such a momentary transgression You were so very distant then I just needed to feel something Stop this behaviour, you’re making something out of nothing Slow burn, slow burn, slow burn
6.
There’s a place I long to go where you turn on the radio and get nothing but static Where the roads are narrow veins coursing toward a red desert heart And you allow yourself to cry, ‘cause out here tears dry before they hit the ground And this endless open space is the perfect hiding place from whatever gets you down And you can give yourself permission to let go Stand up to your mind, sit with your demons Getting lost is your one way ticket to home Take off, we will find a way to land Take off, we’ve horizons in our hands Take off, if you’ve got fire in your soul Take off, crash and burn, never learn until you let go And you allow your bonds to break, surrender aching to the acres of nihility It’s an eviction; a release An absolution from the feeling you’re not worthy to just be And you can let the chips fall wherever they may Submit to your fear, hand out your hang ups Follow smoke and you might just burst into flames
7.
You came like rolling thunder over the hills Before I knew it suddenly you’d landed here And I barely had a chance to think this through This wasn’t a predictable incident I’m vulnerable at best of times and you got me good So throw down your weight, but don’t ever underestimate my heart I am not drowning, I am the ocean I am not falling, I’m the horizon I am not sinking, I am the anchor I am not burning, ‘cause I am the fire Forget the tea and sympathy and pour me some wine I won’t be the best of company but you got my time And I’ll tell you straight - don’t underestimate my strength of mind
8.
For hours if not days I’ve been staring at this space For love nor money, it’s a void I cannot change I’m almost done sucking marbles through a straw I’m almost gone if I could only find the door Then out of the dark, that elusive little spark Flickers and falls. Was it ever here at all? I’d burst into flames if I wasn’t watered down But I’m losing patience; I’m painfully calm No time to rest, it’s down to the wire This tempting fate; playing with fire Cataclysm for the common good For mountains made of paper and wood Against my will I went in for the kill Against the current I was only standing still Words disappear in a cloud ubiquitous You’re barely here - just enough to make this worse We’re setting suns; throwing stars We take the sky and make it ours But we’ll never part with the clouds
9.
Unify 04:52
Sinners cast your stones, make some rubble and dust Keep up the distractions like you know you must The subtext is crystal but the surface is blurred Don’t let the static divide your attention, you know what you heard It’s more than a numbers game Though we may fracture we sum up the same Unify You and I, we are ever strong if we exist as one Unify No divide we won’t overcome if we resist as one Children under heel find their ground underfoot The blood of their fathers was spilled for a straw man far less understood The future is fluid and the present is hope Hold your momentum, this ship hasn’t sailed but it keeps us afloat Stripped of our false pretence, we all come into this world innocent
10.
Ghosts 03:21
When the room is quiet The daylight’s almost gone It seems there's something I should know Well I ought to leave but the rain it never stops And I've no particular place to go Just when I think I'm winning When I've broken every door The ghosts of my life blow wilder than before Just when I thought I could not be stopped When my chance came to be king The ghosts of my life blew wilder than the wind Well I'm feeling nervous Now I find myself alone The simple life's no longer there Once I was so sure Now the doubt inside my mind Comes and goes but leads nowhere

about

By Nick Milligan

The name of Amy Vee’s beguiling new album might suggest music concerned with the surface of things, but Same Skin cuts far deeper. It’s a seductive and sumptuous exploration of both the ever-changing and constant elements of the soul.

Vee’s 2013 debut record Fits and Starts emitted pop radiance, was steeped in folk conventions and built around her acoustic guitar and the stinging purity of her voice. But a momentary listen to the opening title track of Vee’s new record conveys the shift in direction and the expansion of sound.

Same Skin is a mature musical evolution, both sonically and in subject matter. If the warmth of Fits and Starts gave it a sunny disposition, this successor is the creeping shadow of dusk. Vee’s voice is pure and purposeful, iridescent as it floats through the spacious, minimal production of openers ‘Same Skin’ and ‘Ten Years’. Haunted textures echo in the distance, weightless over kinetic experimental beats and electronic accoutrement.

These ten new tracks are visited by ghosts of the past and present, as Vee peers into her reflection and ruminates on the artist and person she has become.

“There is a general theme about being able to move on from or accept the past,” says the Hunter-based songwriter. “There are a lot of references to ghosts… things that haunt us or hold us back. The track ‘Same Skin’ came from my feelings about age… that the outside changes but the same feelings, beliefs, motivations, ideas, desires still exist.”

Aside from her introspection, Vee’s most potent new track is ‘If Not Now, When’, a song inspired by the student accounts of the Stoneman Douglas High School massacre in Florida in February 2018.

“I had read a bunch of stories about the victims and the verses in the song are vignettes based on those stories,” Vee explains. “I usually write in more abstract form, with the lyrics moving around particular themes or feelings but this was more narrative. It’s difficult for me to accept how complacent we seem to have become about events like these. I was so inspired by the way the students responded - their strength and wisdom.”

On Same Skin Vee again worked with producer Gareth Hudson, but wanted to push their creative partnership. The singer-songwriter left room in the studio process to develop the tracks and see what they could conjure.

“Usually I come in with almost fully-formed ideas but I left a bit of space this time so Gareth and I could experiment and play,” says Vee. “He’s excellent at that – I’m still learning!”

Allowing ideas to develop on their own terms remains a key facet of Vee’s approach. “I try not to pre-empt the sound too much and just let it happen organically,” Vee explains. “If I try to write in a particular genre or style it feels too forced. It’s probably a cliché but I try to just be a vessel for the songs… let them come through me however they may. Then when I’m in the studio we play with sounds and find what gives the songs the most potency.”

Same Skin closes with a cover of the Japan song ‘Ghosts’, written by their frontman and New Romantic icon David Sylvian.

“I only heard it a couple of years ago for the first time and I just loved the whole feeling of the song and instantly connected with it,” Vee says. “I also thought it tied in nicely with the themes and sounds of the album so I decided to include it. I also learned that it charted in the UK when it was released, which for its time I thought was really unusual, for something so ambient and obscure - I think it’s just one of those songs that vibrates on a common frequency. It really gets you and you don’t know why.”

It’s a stirring and stark finale, speaking to and evoking the ghosts that permeate this atmospheric album.

credits

released July 26, 2019

All music and lyrics by Amy Vee, except Track 8 by Amy Vee & Gareth Hudson; and Track 10 ‘Ghosts’ by David Sylvian, Copyright Music Sales Corporation o/b/o Samadhi Sound Publishing.

Amy Vee: vocals, guitars, drums (track 1), percussion (tracks 1 & 2), synth (tracks 4, 6 & 10), bass (track 7), piano (track 8), vocal arrangements (track 6), violin (track 10).

Gareth Hudson: Beats, samples, beatbox (track 1), keys, (tracks 1, 2, 4, 7, 8, 9 & 10), piano (track 6 & 9), prepared piano (track 3), bass (tracks 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8 & 9), guitar (tracks 1, 3, 6 & 9), Hammond organ (track 5), additional vocals (track 1, 3 & 6), orchestral arrangements (track 6).

Rachel Pogson: Cello (track 3)

Andy Lindsay: Bass (track 3)

Nic Cecire: Drums (track 3 & 6)

Ensemble Apex: Orchestral ensemble (track 6), featuring Natalya Bing: Violin; Henry Justo: Viola; Rachel Pogson: Cello; Max Harris: Clarinet; Tiger Chou: Bassoon; & Eve McEwen: French Horn.

Vocal ensemble (track 6) featuring: Alison Hodge, Bec Kynaston, Daniel Wilson, Dave Geise, Elliott Walker, Kacie Bourke, Luke Baker, Marissa Saroca, Marty Worral, Tyler Chapman.

All recordings ℗ 2019 A. Vee, except Track 2, re-master of Ten Years ℗ 2016, A Vee; Track 6, re-master of Red Desert Heart ℗ 2018, A. Vee; and Track 7, re-master of I Am The Fire ℗ 2017, A. Vee.

All tracks recorded, mixed and produced by Gareth Hudson at Hazy Cosmic Jive Studio, Newcastle NSW, Australia; except tracks 3 and 6, produced by Gareth Hudson, engineered by Owen Butcher at Studios 301, Sydney NSW Australia.

All album tracks mastered by Joe Carra at Crystal Mastering, Melbourne VIC, Australia.

Art by Nancy Liang. Design by Heath Killen.

For their contributions, special thanks to: Tim Freedman, Daniel Visser, Ann Visser, Paul Candian, Nicole de Morton, John Hudson, Debbie Leaney, Athena Makris, Mark Richardson, Michael Gadd, Dan Wilson, Richie Cirillo, Louise Savage, Studios 301, Rachel Pogson, Nic Cecire, Andy Lindsay, Ensemble Apex, Natalya Bing, Heath Killen and Elliott Walker.

Extra special and personal thanks to:

My extraordinary producer Gareth Hudson, without whom this dream could not have been fully realised. No-one worked harder on this record and I am grateful for every ounce of energy, vision, creativity and skill that you brought to this project.

My beloved Marc – my sounding board, my rock, my greatest and most unconditional supporter. Thank you for not letting me give up.

All my family, friends, and supporters who, after all this time, continue to believe in me.

For MA and H

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Amy Vee Newcastle, Australia

Novocastrian singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Dark, dreamy, melancholic.

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