New Buffalo

Clearing away the dreamy cinematic haze of her previous records, singer-songwriter New Buffalo [Sally Seltmann] returns with a second album that’s as crisp as ocean air. The songs on Somewhere, anywhere. were written on a century-old piano by the sea, and convey a newfound directness to her music that is as frank as it is beguiling.

“I love the piano. It's a solitary instrument where you can turn your back on the world, and it's just you and the piano - very comforting,” says Sally. “I have a Thurmer piano. It has been in the Seltmann family for nearly 100 years. It's old, and very beautiful. I use this for writing and recording.”

Somewhere, anywhere. is the follow up album to New Buffalo’s acclaimed 2004 debut The Last Beautiful Day. Featuring guest vocals from Beth Orton, and drums from Dirty Three’s Jim White, the album captivated both fans and critics alike. Soon after the Australian release, New Buffalo signed a deal with US indie Arts & Crafts [Broken Social Scene, Feist, Stars] for North America, paving the way for a series of deals that would also see the album released in the UK & Europe [on Kooky] as well as in Japan [P-Vine].

After a nine week tour across the USA and Canada in late 2005, Sally returned to Melbourne, where she began to write songs for her second album. Two months later after a move to a sleepy coastal town near the Great Ocean Road, it was decided that Sally would once again record and produce her own album. Somewhere, anywhere. was recorded in a flower-flanked tool-shed in Sally’s backyard. When she first saw the room, she went in, ripped out shelves, painted walls, brought in her family piano and trusty instruments and turned it into a studio-worthy space. As she shaped her new album, she listened to songs from the Andes, Minnie Ripperton and The White Noise and hoped her record would bring these eclectic sounds together.

However, what binds the entire album together is Sally’s desire to make a simple, stripped-back record. Compared to her internationally acclaimed The Last Beautiful Day, which had intricate layers of sepia-warm samples and strings - she wanted Somewhere, anywhere. to be “very emotional, and home style, like a home cooked meal”.

The theme is all about opposites.

On one hand, Sally wanted Somewhere, anywhere. to “sound like the soundtrack to a children's story book, [think The Wizard of Oz or Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory]. I'm here telling the story, and suddenly the flowers and trees come alive, and birds and mermaids out at sea provide the backing vocals.” That hyper-vivid, magical feel is obvious in songs such as “Versary”, where the protagonist carries diamonds in her pockets and dances on rooftops, and “It’s Got To Be Jean”, which unfolds like a number from an old-style musical.

On the other hand, Sally also wanted to create songs that were shadowy, exposing, beautiful and honest. Songs like the stark, unadorned “Misery and Mountains, Arrows and Bows”, or the emotionally unshielded “I’m The Drunk and You’re The Star”. But the song that really captures Sally's obsession with highlighting the opposite elements in life, is "It's True". High, floaty feminine vocals are later bombarded with blown out Phil Spector style drums and craziness, "like a violent storm crashing down on a rose garden.”

“I see the album as embracing the concept of opposite experiences, and contrasting moods: the innocent, naive and colourful, versus the dark, intimate and secret-like,” she says. “The yin and yang in life. The highs and lows. The ego and the shadow. The masculine and feminine.”

While Sally recorded most of the instruments on Somewhere, anywhere., a few crucial guests joined her for the ride. They include her husband Darren Seltmann [THE AVALANCHES], who sings on “Stay With Us” [which he co-wrote] and drums on “It’s True”; Kellie Sutherland [ARCHITECTURE IN HELSINKI] who provides backing vocals on “Misery and Mountains, Arrows and Bows”; Dale Packard [GROUND COMPONENTS] who plays saxophone on “Emotional Champ”, clarinet on “Misery and Mountains, Arrows and Bows” and clarinet and flute on “It’s Got To Be Jean”’; and John Lee [MOUNTAINS IN THE SKY], who plays additional synth on “It’s True”.

“I didn't really think in terms of ‘era’ for this album,” concludes Sally. “Perhaps because my last album [The Last Beautiful Day] conjured up images of standing in an old theatre with red curtains, it was very nostalgic and sentimental. Whereas this new album is more like walking down a huge open highway, feeling lost and uncertain, but the more you listen to yourself and your inner most thoughts, the more you start to notice the wild flowers, and the beauty within the imagination, within the contrasting elements of all things.”

Releases:
Somewhere, anywhere. - CD (DASH007CD)
New Buffalo - CD (DOT004CD)
The Last Beautiful Day - CD (DASH002CD)

News:
Sep 29 200 - ARIAs – EVERYONE’S DOING IT...NOW WE ARE TOO
Sep 24 200 - New Buffalo: New Album
Sep 21 200 - NEW BUFFALO MAKES A SAMPLE EXAMPLE
Sep 3 200 - ON TOUR
Oct 15 200 - NEW BUFFALO’S SONG FOR FEIST Top 10 in UK and USA
Oct 3 200 - NEW BUFFALO AUSTRALIA UPDATE
Nov 25 200 - ARCHITECTURE IN HELSINKI - WHIRLWIND TOUR
Nov 22 200 - NEW BUFFALO ON THE ROAD AGAIN
May 27 200 - NEW BUFFALO NOMINATED FOR FEISTY AWARD
Mar 22 200 - NEW BUFFALO - NEW ALBUM + TOUR
Mar 15 200 - NEW BUFFALO IS SOMEWHERE, ANYWHERE.
Jun 25 200 - NEW BUFFALO BREAKS THROUGH AT APRA AWARDS
Jun 22 200 - NEW BUFFALO - NEW EP, NEW TOUR
Jun 10 200 - NEW BUFFALO PLUS OTHER BROADS
Jul 19 200 - NEW BUFFALO TO TOUR WITH PAUL KELLY
Jan 25 200 - NEW BUFFALO – NEW SINGLE, NEW TOUR
Jan 17 200 - NEW BUFFALO ON TOUR FEBRUARY/MARCH 2008
Jan 13 200 - NEW BUFFALO NATIONAL TOUR
Jan 13 200 - ON TOUR
Feb 20 200 - NEW BUFFALO ON TOUR - FEB/MARCH 2008 *Supports Announced*
Feb 18 200 - ON TOUR
Feb 11 200 - NEW BUFFALO - HOME AGAIN
Dec 11 200 - 1, 2, 3, 4 NOMINATIONS
Aug 22 200 - NEW BUFFALO REVIEWED BY NEW YORK TIMES
Aug 16 200 - NEW BUFFALO TOURING WITH PAUL KELLY, MISSY HIGGINS AND MORE
Apr 30 200 - NEW BUFFALO WINS AMP MYSPACE PRIZE
Apr 19 200 - NEW BUFFALO WRITES SONG FOR FEIST...And on tour next week
Apr 15 200 - ON TOUR
Apr 8 200 - NEW BUFFALO LIVE
Apr 7 200 - ON TOUR

Links:
New Buffalo