Melbourne artist BATTS shares video "Blue" for Sharon Van Etten collaboration.
Melbourne artist BATTS recently returned with her brand new single "Blue" (feat. Sharon Van Etten). Today, she releases the song's music video.
"I first saw this footage as a part of my dear and talented friend Melanie Scammell's short film 'Rare Birds' and it stayed with me ever since.
I wanted something in water because I feel it symbolises the difficulty of moving through grief, the constant energy it takes and how you can just as quickly go from treading water to drowning.
The whole process is so far from linear and I think the slow movement throughout this really reflects some of the feelings felt."
Tanya Batt on "Blue" music video.
The project of Melbourne-based Tanya Batt, "Blue" surfaced two weeks ago to global acclaim; featured by Lauren Laverne as the While You Were Sleeping track on BBC 6 Music, as well as enjoying coverage from the likes of international media outlets.
It's BATTS' first official release since her AMP-nominated album The Grand Tour in 2019. Her debut album saw her collaborate with US Space agency NASA using samples collected from their Voyager Mission throughout its journey in Space so far.
"Blue" now sees her moving away from space collaborations and onto collaborating with one of her songwriting idols - Sharon Van Etten. After touring Australia together in 2019 and creating a beautiful bond, it led to them wanting to create something together.
"It's a huge honour to write and create with Sharon - someone who has carved such a powerful path in this industry and remains so kind and humble, a truly special human.
I started writing Blue when I was staying with my Mother-in-Law and watching a lot of Antiques Roadshow".
"I picked up my guitar to try and write a song that would feel like if Shaz or I played it solo it would feel authentically either of ours - I was in the depths of grief at the time and when Blue started to write itself, it clearly reflected how I was feeling.
Sharon sent her verse over and the first time I listened to it was such a moment. She just got it, her lyrics were perfectly in keeping with it all. She absolutely completed it. It holds a very special
place in my heart"
- BATTS
"I got to meet Tanya before I ever got to see her perform live, and she was a bright huge light who wanted to let everyone in and it only let her light shine even more.
When I actually got to hear her sing, I was taken to another time, another place that she coloured for me. Helping me step out of myself and feel another soul’s journey".
"I felt quite grounded and comforted in her essence and all who surrounded her. So it felt quite natural to want to feel included in this group hug that I could tell she was nurturing with everyone around her.
She asked me to be a part of this beautiful song and there was no way I was going to say no. To be able to write in real time a response to what she was feeling from the other side of the world felt important and her delivery made it even more so. The blue isn’t so blue when her blue runs into your own."
- Sharon Van Etten
BATTS has spent a large portion of her career building up an impressive touring resume supporting the likes of Sharon Van Etten, Nilüfer Yanya, Lucius, The Teskey Brothers, and Cub Sport (to name just a few). To launch The Grand Tour, Batt worked with the team at Scienceworks to build a dazzling visual experience for three sold out shows in the Melbourne Planetarium. 2022 marks a new chapter of music for BATTS, signing with Mistletone in AUS/NZ and launching her own label I Feel Fine Records for the rest of the world. "Blue" (feat. Sharon Van Etten) is just the beginning of much more to come.