Jessica O’Donoghue’s new record, Rise Up – an elegant record of emotive and mysterious avant-pop compositions.
Combining industrial electronics, rich vocal harmonies, warm synths and operatic influences, Rise Up is without a doubt O’Donoghue’s most ambitious release to date. With production from Alyx Dennison (of Kyü) and engineer David Trumpanis (Sarah Blasko, Seeker Lover Keeper, The Voice), O’Donoghue continues to haunt audiences and critics alike – putting her as a pioneer of her own brand of post-baroque dramatic pop.
“This album is really about a woman’s journey,” begins O’Donoghue. “It goes from hopes, dreams and promises to dark times, challenges, sacrifices and doubting/questioning to acceptance, nurturing and healing, to celebrating and honouring the feminine story and experience. It is a journey of drawing from darkness to drawing from light, a letting go and a rising up that brings with it immense depth and knowledge from past experiences. It is about honouring and celebrating all that the woman is and represents; softness, beauty, fierce power and the ability to hold and nurture the world and everyone in it. It is deep and mysterious, yet illuminous and uplifting.”
Opening with hammering drums and deep synth, Rise Up takes lyricism from the traditional Greek song Dance of Zalongo and fuses it with O’Donoghue’s multitude of talents. Rich vocal ranges and anthemic composition helps to tell a chilling tale of mass suicide by the women of Souli after their capture at the hands of the Ottoman Empire. All the while, the song’s elements meet in a delicate balance between empowerment and grief.
“While ‘Dance of Zalongu’ is a pretty morbid story,” begins O’Donoghue, “My song Rise Up is meant to celebrate the strength of not only the women of Souli, but all women (and people who have been suppressed over time) who have made sacrifices over the centuries to fight for freedom. It serves as a voice as well as to make a call to action to continue the movement against oppression for future generations. It is a powerful anthem which holds light and dark, strength and vulnerability, acceptance of the past while using that knowledge and experience to fuel a future awakening.
Serene in some moments, relentless in others – Rise Up crafts a strange beauty through otherworldly composition. O’Donoghue’s use of languages, vocalisations and vocal production allows her to create microcosms of emotion – all the while telling women’s stories and celebrating femininity through her music.
As a recipient of the Top Performance Award at 2021’s APRA/AMCOS AMC Art Music Awards and an Australian Institute of Music Fellowship, O’Donoghue’s undeniable talent is only reinforced by her prestige, all of which culminates in the rich musicianship on display in Rise Up. Here marks the next big step in O’Donoghue’s unstoppable career – a truly outstanding piece of Australian music.
Jessica O’Donoghue’s new single, Rise Up, is available now on all platforms.
