Songs of the Southern Skies
Classical guitarist Karin Schaupp and I are in the middle of recording our first full length album together – Songs of the Southern Skies. The album explores music close to home and very close to our hearts, featuring some of Australia and New Zealand’s best classical, folk, jazz and pop songs – from the Finn Brothers, Cold Chisel, Nick Cave, Icehouse, Bic Runga, Gurrumul, The Easybeats, Vince Jones and Gotye, through to traditional folk songs, a piece by Richard Charlton and a World Premiere composition by Elena Kats-Chernin - written especially for us!
We are recording the album in Brisbane, with special guest collaborations being added around the country. Special guests on the recording include Iva Davies, Gurrumul, Maori diva Whirimako Black, Sydney Symphony oboist Diana Doherty, young members of Brisbane’s Voices of Birralee and The Living End’s Chris Cheney. Each one has stepped outside their usual musical territory to collaborate on this unique project.
‘Katie and I had a HUGE shortlist and it’s been very hard to whittle it down to just one programme! We really are spoilt for choice in our own musical backyard’ explains Schaupp. ‘We have spent most of our professional lives in very different musical worlds, but we also share a lot of common ground, an unspoken intuitive understanding of the substance of the music, regardless of its style. Our collaboration allows us both to expand our musical worlds, but it also means we put a new spin on this music, while remaining respectful of its origin’ Schaupp says.
Katie explains ‘this project brings together my two main musical loves – classical and pop music. As an artist I love blurring the boundaries of genre and hearing musical worlds collide. This project is a wonderful opportunity for Karin and I to do exactly that! Karin is a wonderful, virtuosic and sensitive player and combined with our fantastic arrangers and some of Australia’s leading composers, it is really great to hear these songs we know and love come to life in a new and exciting way!’
‘Songs of the Southern Skies’ is out now!
‘I believe it’s the huge dose of heart which is key to moving this album from ‘just a compilation’ to something else entirely – perhaps I even dare say slightly spiritual. Noonan and Schaupp are masters of their craft; together they create magic’ - Arts Hub
‘Katie Noonan has a voice like warm honey being decanted into melting snow. It is such a thing of beauty that finding a vessel to hold it can be difficult…Happily, in the music of acclaimed German-born classical guitarist Karin Schaupp, Noonan has found the perfect companion’ – The Australian
‘This pairing of two like-minded musicians is fortunately a union made in recording heaven on this collaboration…These songs were obviously chosen for their intimacy and melodic depth, as there isn’t one weak moment on the album’ – themusic.com.au
Katie and Karin are currently travelling around the country to bring their music to you.
Tour dates here.
Songs from the British Isles – 2011
In Mid 2011 I shared the stage with master classical guitarist Karin Schaupp in 20 sold out shows across Australia. It was great fun touring with a fellow working musician mum and exploring the great composers of the British Isles in such an intimate setting. We made an 8 track ep for the tour which we will be re-releasing in 2012.
Karin Schaupp
Here is a sample from our 2011 EP
