Underwards
“Deeply sensitive, intellectually inquisitive, modern and of today. Underwards is breaking the jazz coma.”
- Eric Pozza, Canberra Jazz Blog
“Beauty blended with visceral excitement” - John Shand and Annabel Ross, Sydney Morning Herald
The full moon through trees and mist. Towering majestic cliffs above a quiet rural valley. A calm river winding through a rocky landscape. A swim in a tidal ocean pool. A muddy swamp, teeming with life. The effects that being in nature has upon our senses and our minds, and the stories and memories that places hold. This is what Underwards makes music about.
Led by award-winning trumpeter and composer Ellen Kirkwood, Underwards features some of Sydney’s most exciting, versatile and characterful musicians. Their music, like nature, combines beauty, mystery, colour and rhythm, but also leans in to the ways humans experience nature; sometimes with wonder and joy, sometimes with awe or bewilderment, sometimes with melancholy.
Delve is Underwards’ characterful and eclectic debut album, released on the Earshift Music label. Across ten original and contrasting tracks, Kirkwood and her talented band mates Hilary Geddes (guitar), Nick Henderson (bass, synths, effects) and Alex Inman-Hislop (drums) show off their abundance of musical versatility, wit and expressivity. Moods range between fiery drum and bass on the title track Delve, the ambient luminous Night Hymn and The Cliffs Beheld, curious and weird group improvisations on Swampy and Gather… and the hypnotic off-kilter groove of In Ganguddy.
Kirkwood’s compositions for Underwards draw on her love of the natural world, and a desire to strengthen listeners’ bond with it through music, as a form of “soft” climate activism. Her composition methods often involve immersion in places in nature, letting inspiration arrive through the impact of the surroundings upon herself. Tracks 5-10 were penned as part of the APRA Art Music Fund commission Kirkwood received in 2021. These works were inspired by places in Dabee country near Kandos in NSW, and informed by conversations she had with Indigenous locals to whom this area is their ancestral home.
About the name Underwards
Ellen says:
The name Underwards was probably the first thing I was sure about when conceptualising this project. At the time I was (and I still am now) feeling very concerned about climate change, and with political issues having been a recurring theme in my music and music- related practices, I had the desire to make new works that related to this issue. The name Underwards was initially about a feeling of figuratively (and maybe also literally – underwater as sea levels rise, for instance) “going under” - a feeling of being overwhelmed, as the effects of climate change slowly increase and become harder to cope with. It was also about looking within, emotionally, as I looked to how I, and others, were feeling about our future - Underwards into the deeper layers of my psyche, and the collective unease I was sensing in my community.
Now, the name Underwards has developed even greater meaning for me. In addition to the above meanings, I see it as being descriptive of my compositional processes, which involve a conscious effort to delve beneath worldly worries and distractions, to find a headspace that is calmer and more able to observe, contemplate, imagine, and create. It’s also about looking down, to the earth, and reconnecting with the planet that provides for us.
Watch and Listen…
“Delve” (studio recorded video)
“Heartbeat” featuring Uncle Peter Swain, at Kandos Museum
“Dig Up” performed at Kandos Museum
Earthwards suite performance 2020 (Honours submission)
Reviews of Underwards
Review by Des Cowley in Rhythms Magazine:
“Ellen Kirkwood first came to widespread attention as a composer, penning the hour-long four-part suite [A]part for Sirens Big Band, which premiered at the 2018 Wangaratta Jazz Festival. Since then she has advanced her reputation as a trumpet player and improvisor, playing with Mister Ott, On The Stoop, and Pharos. Her newest recording, Delve, consolidates these achievements, presenting ten new compositions for her quartet Underwards, featuring award-winning guitarist Hilary Geddes, bassist Nick Henderson, and drummer Alex Inman-Hislop.
Opener ‘Slow Wade’ acts like a curtain-raiser, fine minutes of minimalist voice, trumpet, and synths, that mirror the gentle in-out of breathing. Geddes wades into this mix, doling out clean guitar lines that smoulder with intensity, opening the terrain for Kirkwood’s mushrooming solo, her sporadic notes dark and brooding. The title track springs to life with a buoyant bass riff, mimicked by Geddes’ dancing guitar hook, and powered by catchy drum’n bass. It steams ahead like a runaway train, crispy and snappy, with Geddes relishing the change to free-style across rapid-fire percussion. ‘Swampy’ lives up to its name, a brooding, slow-mired, minimalist piece that finds Kirkwood exploring shadows and spectres, her trumpet moving through an increasingly dense underbelly of drums, bass, and effects.
For the most part, Kirkwood adopts a less-is-more approach, her playing closer in character to the dark tones and shaded textures of European trumpeters such as Mathias Elk, or Avishai Cohen. Delve roams far and wide, cementing Kirkwood’s manifold talents. It doubles as a mature statement, and propitious signpost of where she’s headed.”
“Delve” also reviewed in Dingo Australian Jazz Journal - Spring 2023
‘Delve,’ the Album: About the Tracks
In the composer’s words…
Track 1: Slow Wade
In late 2017 I had my driver’s license suspended for 3 months because at about 1am on a weeknight didn’t see the temporary speed limit of 40kph in a tunnel that’s normally 80kph. During this non-driving period I had been going a bit stir crazy so caught a train down to Ge=rringong a couple of hours south of Sydney, for a day trip. I walked to the windy beach north of town and then around the rocks southward where I found an ocean pool in the rocks.
Trips like these out of Sydney (usually taken in the car) are good for getting me out of my head and focused on my surroundings and the affect the experience is having on my mind and body. As I waded through the pool I noticed the unhurried rhythm of my steps and began whistling along with them. The notes I whistled later became the curious cycle of notes that underpins this piece.
Track 2: Delve (album title track)
Unlike most of the tracks on the album, this isn’t about a place or experience in nature - it’s about process and intent. The bassline that repeats throughout the piece popped into my head late one night in 2017 close to the time my [A]part suite had its premiere gig. Knowing I didn’t have time to develop it then, but wanting to hold onto it in case I could make something of it, I sang it into voice memos. In 2020 at one of our earliest rehearsals we did some improvising on the riff, and that became what we do in the final section of the track, however it wasn’t until late 2021 that I fleshed out the whole structure of the piece.
When good ideas come along I try to go deep into them, to follow them where they want to lead my imagination, and let them unfurl, and that’s how it was with this tune, so I called it Delve. This process also relates to why I named the band Underwards. Yes, our name is about earthiness and the idea of ‘going under’ that relates to climate change, but it’s also about paying attention and giving voice to deeper rumblings under the surface of mundane life.
Track 3: Night Hymn
Not about a particular time or place, this piece is an homage to the otherworldliness of scenes in nature drenched by moonlight. I’m always filled with a sense of awe, and a desire to just be still and quiet, soaking up these moments as much as I can because they’re rare.
I called it Night Hymn to give it a sense of this reverence. It’s also a chorale, which leans into the hymnal theme, but it’s not your typical chorale; it’s a bit more ethereal and meandering, and is coloured by the rumblings and shimmerings of Alex’s drums.
Track 5: The Cliffs Beheld
This is the first track of the Rocks and Rivers suite which was written about locations in Dabee Country, near Kandos, which is the northeast corner of the Wiradjuri Nation.
I wrote this in response to being in a place where the devastating, horrific Dabee massacre happened. I had learned where the site was from Dabee woman Emma Syme, and had also read about it at the Northeast Wiradjuri Cultural Centre and online, and heard more later from Uncle Peter Swain. In short, this massacre at the hands of settlers on horseback with guns, wiped out most of the Dabee clan, with only two survivors. Emma and Uncle Peter are descendants of one of the survivors of the Dabee Massacre, Jimmy Lambert, and I am immensely grateful for their generosity in sharing this history with me, and supporting me in the creation of the Rocks and Rivers suite pieces.
”The Cliffs Beheld” is not a retelling of the massacre. Instead, it’s a response to being in the place where it happened, considering the devastation then, and the beauty and quiet now. I also saw eagles and heard frogs while I was there, so elements of these are in the music too. I think of it as a kind of bittersweet meditation considering the past and present of this place, Brymair valley, within the Capertee Valley. It’s called The Cliffs Beheld because the cliffs bore witness, then and now. When we performed at Kandos Museum, Uncle Peter Swain, a descendant of one of the survivors, recited his poem about the massacre, with us accompanying him. It was a powerful and special performance.
Non-Indigenous folks like ourselves need to be part of Truth-Telling. We need to face up to the full significance of the violence and theft that colonisers inflicted upon the original peoples of this land, if we want to make amends and reconcile with Aboriginal people.
Track 4: Swampy
Not much needs to be said about this one, as I think the name and the piece match pretty well! It’s really an exploration of the idea of swampiness, particularly in its improvised sections, but also in its grounded groove that’s catchy and a bit dirty. Swampy has a lot of space for the musicians to stretch out, take their time and have fun with sound and rhythm.
Track 6: Caution
This track is about a lot of things. It’s a reminder to myself to ‘tread lightly’ when asking questions about Indigenous cultural stuff. This is a sensitive area, and there is also a lot that, due to cultural protocols, non-Indigenous folks like me are not allowed to know. This boundary exists for good reason - knowledge is very precious and needs to be treated with respect, and handled by the wrong people it can have bad consequences. In our western culture I think we often don’t respect and value knowledge as we should.
So, this is a reminder to myself that that barrier exists, and to be grateful for the things that are shared with me (and lately that’s been a whole lot!) and that are out there recorded or written down already, that we have access to.
On the first full day of my residency, after a conversation that reminded me of this barrier, I drove out to Capertee Valley for the second time. By contrast to my first visit on a bright Summer day, low clouds shrouded the tops of the cliffs and mountains, like the hidden knowledge I was thinking about.
Later that day I had car trouble and was caught in a storm, sitting in my car for nearly 2 hours waiting for the NRMA. As I drove home in the dark, wind and rain I had to drive with caution, as kangaroos and potholes were numerous. I came up with the melody of this song during that drive.
Track 7: Mountain Magic
The shapes of the melodies and bassline of Mountain Magic are all based off the outlines of a particular mountain in the Capertee Valley, seen from different angles. Looking at the mountain this way is like what I’m trying to do in learning about Indigenous culture and belonging to Country - to see things from different perspectives and get a more complete picture.
This track is also about how much I love mountains and the delight it brings me to gaze up at them. I love synths too, so Mountain Magic is an expression of my dorky side!
Track 8: Gather…
In this improvised introduction to track 9, Underwards imagines the rocky landscape, and the gathering of wind, water, clouds, animals and people, at beautiful and unique Ganguddy, in Dabee Country.
Track 9: In Ganguddy
The remarkable Ganguddy, with stocky stone pagodas, angular horizons and the serene Cudgegong River flowing through, is the inspiration for this piece. It’s also called Dunn’s Swamp, and is a popular camping spot on the Western side of the Wollemi National Park.
In this piece, jaunty rhythms are juxtaposed against flowing guitar and trumpet, and an overarching sense of anticipation and curiosity characterise this piece. I feel it gives an essence of both the unique and incredible rock formations and shapes of the hills on the horizon, but also has watery elements; a nod to the beautiful Cudgegong.
Track 10: Hands and Feet
Track 10, the final track of the album, is called Hands and Feet. There is a place in Dabee Country where the Old People, Indigenous folks who lived there before European colonisation, made hand and feet stencil paintings on the rock under an overhang. It’s colloquially known as the baby feet cave because among the stencils is a pair of baby feet, but many of the hand prints also look like kids’ hands.
As I sat quietly here I thought about the people who would’ve visited this place, and the scenes as these paintings were made. Thinking about this gave me a feelings of joy and peace, and as I often do when I have profound experiences, I listen for musical rumblings in my imagination that echo what I’m feeling and perceiving. That’s where this music came from.
Ganguddy, Dabee Country, seen from the Pagoda Lookout. Photo by Ellen Kirkwood