Songwriting is something Beth Torrance uses to articulate and understand her feelings.
“Often, it’s only once I’ve written a song that I’m able to fully express what I’m feeling.”
The artist, who spent many summers on the Thames Coast as a child, and then shifted to Thames as a teen, was preparing to go on a mini tour of Te Ika-a-Maui, the North Island, to celebrate her sophomore EP Tiny Flowers, which was released last week.
People in the Thames Valley will be in for a treat on November 2 as the music maker was set to “pay tribute to her home” with a performance at the Kauaeranga Hall.
“I’m very excited to be hitting the road,” she said.
But Beth was no stranger to performing at her old stomping ground.
She’d played at the Back Room at the Lotus Realm, headlined a show at The Green Room and even played at the opening of Garden Music, she said.
“I also busked regularly on weekends outside Coco Coffee Bar.”
Thames was also where Beth said she wrote most of the songs for Tiny Flowers. The six-track EP features the following tunes: Tiny Flowers, Ankle Socks, Angeline, Danby Fields, Corridor and Oh, Isn’t It So Beautiful, This Life.
Beth said the EP explored “enduring heartache” and the struggle to reconcile reality with desire – particularly when being present in the place where it all happened.
“I hope the EP resonates with people and that they find a connection to the songs and the rich visual world that accompanies them.”
Her tour kicked off in Auckland on October 18, and will take her to Raglan on November 1, Kauaeranga on November 2 and Wellington on November 8.
But Beth was looking forward to heading back home for a show.
“It was important to me to play a show in Thames,” she said.
“It really feels like a homecoming to me.”
DETAILS: Beth Torrance, Kauaeranga Hall, November 2, tickets: www.undertheradar.co.nz and search for: Beth Torrance. Exclusive merchandise will also be available on the tour, including CDs and prints which feature the artwork of renowned political cartoonist Chris Riddell.
