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For Bitch Magazine article:Electro Feminisms: Ladyhawke

One of the worst traditions we Australians have is claiming the most talented New Zealanders for ourselves. As an Aussie woman blogging about electronic music, I wish I could claim the wonderful Pip Brown for my native land. With her music swiping a big chunk of the 1980s, Brown fittingly named herself Ladyhawke after the 1980s Michelle Pfieffer movie. Her music is evocative retrofuturistic electropop, nostalgia without a loss. She released her first self-titled album on Australian label Modular (aha OURS!) in 2008, and it spawned several hits in Australia and the UK.

There's a lot to like about Ladyhawke; not only is her album great from start to finish, but she played four instruments on it and wrote and arranged the whole thing. Like I said in an earlier post, this isn't the only way to judge authorship and authenticity, but it's definitely impressive for a singer/songwriter
to take control of such a stylised project. In an interview an interview with The Guardian, she attributed some of her songwriting chops to her Asperger's and a childhood spent obsessively listening to The Beatles and The Pretenders.

MORE including lovely videos here

On her Myspace she describes herself thusly:

I am Ladyhawke. I'm from New Zealand. I'm a lady who loves to play. I love my guitars. Synths. Making noise. Pressing buttons. Wires. Cables. Solitude. Staring at screens. Movies. Collecting stuff.. mostly games. I love video games.MORE

One of my favourite songs by her is this, specifically for the heavy guitar-sound and the later synth sounds at the break:


Ladyhawke - Love Don't Live Here
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This one is definite 80's inspired:

Ladyhawke - Another Runaway
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And someone really likes Stevie Nicks. Also, the beginning reminds me of the very beginning of "The Celts by Enya:

LadyHawke Morning Dreams
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