[Friday Feature] Dianne Swann: Interview + New Album ‘The War on Peace of Mind’

16 Apr

KATIE BROWN - 16 APR 2021

If you’ve ever seen the legendary Dianne Swann performing live, you’ll know how rare her gift of holding her audience captive is. I’ve been lucky enough to see her perform several times as part of Auckland duo The Bads, and each show is a rollicking, foot-stomping good time. Alongside her bandmate Brett Adams, Dianne, with her magnetic personality, tempers these high-voltage, high-energy tracks with more contemplative pieces, conveying messages from the heart with depth and sincerity. It comes as no surprise, then, that her debut full-length solo offering, The War On Peace Of Mind, out today, is tightly packed with tracks of a similar ilk: from the rousing “Rare Good Feeling” to the gentler, slower-paced “Show Your Heart” with its message of kindness (released during the first lockdown in 2020), the album showcases Dianne’s masterful finesse in her ability to understand, capture and convey the depths and experiences of the human mind and its struggles.

Engineered by Tom Broome, mixed by Steve Power and mastered by Pete Maher, The War On Peace Of Mind was produced by Dianne herself, and features long-standing contributors and collaborators Chris O’Connor (drums), Ben King (bass, guitars, vocals), Dave Khan (strings, keys, vocals), Sandy Mill (vocals) and Brett Adams (guitar).

It serves as something of a landmark in a remarkably prolific career: beginning her musical journey in the 80s fronting the band Everything That Flies and singing with local supergroup When The Cat’s Away, Dianne then moved to London in the 90s, forming new group The Julie Dolphin with ex-Mocker Brett Adams, during which time the pair gained critical acclaim with the release of their EP Roses and following debut album Lit. They embarked on their own headline tours and accompanied Radiohead on a two-month tour as main support, which led to Dianne providing backing vocals for Radiohead’s “How Can You Be Sure”, the b-side to “Fake Plastic Trees”.

With all of this under her belt, Dianne still maintains a unique kindness, sincerity and generosity of spirit in the way that she approaches life, whether within her unfailing championing of Aotearoa's musicians, the beauty she takes the time to notice in unlikely things, or in her day-to-day dealings with the people she comes across. And that’s where the real and relational beauty of the album is held: with all of these same elements directly infused into it, The War On Peace Of Mind is a timeless treasure to find encouragement and reassurance in.

Catch Dianne with band on tour - details below. Tickets available via Undertheradar.co.nz.

Saturday 8 May: The Wine Cellar | Auckland, NZ

With special guest Sandy Mill (DJ Set)

Friday 14 May: ONEONESIX | Whangarei, NZ

With special guest Farandicus

Saturday 15 May: Russell Boating Club | Russell, NZ

With special guest Dylan Storey

Stream the album and read the May Magazine interview with Dianne below.

Find Dianne on Instagram | Facebook | Bandcamp | Spotify

The War On Peace Of Mind Album Cover.jpg

MANY OF THE SONGS FROM ‘THE WAR ON PEACE OF MIND’ HAD EXISTED AS SCRAPS OR COMPLETE ENTITIES BEFORE YOU EVEN THOUGHT ABOUT MAKING AN ALBUM: WHAT WAS IT LIKE TO WRAP AN IDENTITY LIKE THAT AROUND THEM, AND TO HAVE AN ALBUM TO WORK TOWARDS?

I think the only completed song that made it to the list was “Reel You In” – that has been kicking around in completed form for about 3 years. The rest were either written completely from scratch for this record, or had a melody and a few lyrics. “Losing The War On Peace of Mind” had the verse chord structure and first few lines for a long time, but once I set the intention to do the album I honed away at finishing that one. I find it very interesting how whenever I say – right album time, inspiration pops out from all corners and ideas grab a hold quite quickly. “Please Leave a Message” - I had the melody and chord structure for a long time, and had a different lyric, but I re-wrote the lyric and structure.

I have a lot of songs that have never been recorded, but I wanted the songs to all fit together to work as an album rather than just individual songs in a list, so that is why the ones on the album made the cut.

YOU BEGAN INTENTIONALLY WORKING ON THE ALBUM IN THE WINTER OF 2019. SO MUCH HAS TRANSPIRED IN THE WORLD ON SO MANY LEVELS SINCE THEN: DID WHAT THE ALBUM BECAME SURPRISE YOU?

Strangely, by the time the summer arrived in late 2019 I had a feeling that we were in for a hell of a ride. I remember working on songs like “Everything’s New” and “Losing The War On Peace of Mind” in the winter of 2019, and those songs are more personal, the following ones like “These Are The Days”, and “Rare Good Feeling” were triggered by that feeling, particularly with weather events and bushfires raging in so many countries and continents on the planet.

IN THE MIDST OF ALL THE TURMOIL, DID YOU FIND SONGWRITING AND RECORDING CATHARTIC?

Songwriting is therapy. Stopping, getting lost in a melody, figuring out where it should go, how it should go, ruminating on a lyric. These things all make you stop for a moment and get to the point – that is healthy I think. I guess what I can say here is there is always chaos, there is always turmoil, or at least it seems that way to me when I look back.

DO YOU BELIEVE THAT CREATIVITY THRIVES IN TOUGH SPACES?

If not in tough spaces, it can often thrive after the tough space. I don’t believe there are any rules. I often take a long time to process events or situations and write about them a long time afterwards.

Strangely, I did not do a lot of writing through the pandemic lockdown. I felt like it was all too much and I just needed to ride the wave. That I was half way through an uncompleted album. That time seemed so overwhelming with world news that I felt like I just needed to be still and process it all. I guess everyone has their own ways of coping, I know a lot of people used the time really well.

YOU HAVE HAD AN ESPECIALLY PROLIFIC MUSICAL CAREER THUS FAR: WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR PERSONAL HIGHLIGHT TO DATE?

I find that question hard to answer. Really, I think rather than events and wins etc., it is the relationships formed throughout my musical life that are the highlights.

HOW HAS IT BEEN TO MOVE IN A DIFFERENT DIRECTION AND APPROACH THE WAR ON PEACE OF MIND AS A SOLO PROJECT?

I don’t really feel as though it has been much of a change in direction. Just not making so many decisions musically or practically by committee.

WHAT WAS IT LIKE TO PRODUCE THE EIGHT TRACKS, COVERING A WIDE RANGE OF EMOTIONAL COMPLEXITY, YOURSELF? WHAT WAS MOST CHALLENGING, AND WHAT WAS MOST REWARDING?

I felt like a natural thing to do. With the exception of one project, the album by Boom Boom Mancini, produced by Steve Power, Brett and I have pretty much always produced our own music. We have produced music for TV as well as our own albums.

The role of a producer can mean many different things. It can be the bedroom producer who produces and engineers everything themselves, or it can be the old school meaning of a producer who gathers the right people around the project. That is how I look at it. Make sure you have the players for each song who are going to help you realise the ideas you have for the song in your head. Obviously you articulate to them the ideas you have, but you know that they are the ones who can deliver those things, or who will help shape the songs in the way you picture it. Music is very seldom just about one person.

Tom Broome engineered the album and was great to work with, we spent quite a bit of time chopping and changing things having fun and re-inventing a few songs after the lockdown and looking and hearing the songs with fresh ears. I also think it can be a great idea to get someone else to mix the tracks who hasn’t been in the recording sessions. Not always of course but it can work a treat – we were very lucky to have Steve Power mixing these tracks – all these decisions go under the banner of being a producer.

DO YOU HAVE A FAVOURITE TRACK?

No.

IN “EVERYTHING’S NEW” YOU SING ABOUT BEING “IN A NEW TRANSITION, NOT WAITING FOR PERMISSION.” WHAT DOES THIS LOOK LIKE FOR YOU, AND WHAT’S IT LIKE TO MOVE INTO THE NEW?

I guess it could seem as though that song is talking to myself about this record and saying “you go girl!” haha, but no that isn’t what it is about. I don’t really feel as though I am moving into the new, just making another record, this time it just happens to have my name on it.

This song is about a time in my twenties where everything turned very chaotic, and a lot of things happened that I still look back at and go – woah!!

I guess I was trying to articulate that time, that must happen to a lot of people in that decade – because you haven’t done this before, you are still learning and making mistakes that seem out of character- “still learning – the power you hold.” It is also about coping with things that people have done to you, or situations you have gotten yourself into. It is my way of saying sorry and also just writing about that time.

TALKING ABOUT THE MEANING BEHIND THE ALBUM TITLE, YOU SAY THAT IT SOMETIMES “FEELS LIKE A COMPLETE BATTLE TO RETAIN ANY EQUILIBRIUM, SOMETIMES YOU WIN, SOMETIMES YOU LOSE. WE ALL HAVE OUR TRICKS AND TECHNIQUES TO STAY ON THE LEVEL.” WHAT ARE YOUR TIPS AND TRICKS?

Mmmmm, not saying I am an expert at this, but I guess trying to find the love in a situation. Nature can make you feel small and feel awe. Hide from the news (ha!). Read books. Watch films that make you feel. Remember where you come from, and how far you have come. Relationships – that can just mean striking up a conversation with a stranger, a child or a dog! I know dogs can’t talk, but they can with their eyes. Ask people how they are and really listen. That can take you away from the constant me, me me. Not sure if I have answered the question very well.

IN “RARE GOOD FEELING”, I LOVE THE LINE “I GOT A RARE GOOD FEELING, A PURE MOMENT OF BLISS…I’M GONNA SHINE ON THE PEOPLE, SHINE ON THE PEOPLE.” DID THE “REAL RARE GOOD FEELING” COME FROM A PARTICULAR MOMENT YOU EXPERIENCED, OR IS IT MORE ABOUT A VALUE AND A WAY OF LIVING THAT YOU’RE LEANING INTO?

I wrote “Rare Good Feeling” around the time, I think in late 2019 or early 2020, there were worldwide climate change protests. Seeing so many people get out into the streets and saying we have to do something. A lot of young people, focused and articulate. I wanted a song to open a solo set that was straight forward and solid. I didn’t want to feel nervous and introspective so wrote about shining and beaming these good feelings on the audience as well as out to the world. I wrote “Rare” Good Feeling because when I was maybe about 11 years of age, I realised that a lot of the time you aren’t necessarily happy or unhappy and then sometimes you kind of just have this surge of joy, it can be just from feeling the sun for a second in the springtime, or smelling cut grass – a fleeting blissful feeling. All those things, believe it or not are in that song.

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST HOPE FOR THE NEW ZEALAND MUSIC INDUSTRY, AND WHAT WOULD YOU LOVE TO SEE HAPPENING WITHIN IT?

For it to keep evolving to become way more inclusive, accepting and celebrate the art of music. For musicians worldwide to be paid fairly for producing their art for others to enjoy.

WHAT ARE YOU CURRENTLY LISTENING TO? READING? WATCHING?

Watching The Gulf – not reading, finding it hard to concentrate but looking forward to reading Haruki Murakami’s latest book when this album release is done.

WHAT’S NEXT WITH YOUR VARIOUS PROJECTS?

Playing some shows in Auckland and Northland with the band I have put together, playing some solo supports for the Greg Johnson tour and then hopefully pandemic permitting, taking the Live Rust show to Australia in September.

Find Dianne on Instagram | Facebook | Bandcamp | Spotify