Melbourne artist BATTS, real name, Tanya Batt, has returned with the gorgeous new single ‘Blue’.
Featuring American veteran, Sharon Van Etten, the track is simply a dream. There are flecks of early ’70s psychedelia, as well as of BATTS’ fellow Australian, Julia Jacklin. Her voice is as warming as a soft blanket on a cold winter’s day, and it has us excited for what else she has in store for us this year.
The new track is BATTS’s first official release since her critically acclaimed debut album, The Grand Tour, which dropped back in 2019. Notably, her debut record saw her collaborate with the US Space agency, NASA, using samples they’d collected from their monumental Voyager Mission so far. This kind of innovation originally endeared BATTS to fans, and now, her decision to bring in one of her idols, Sharon Van Etten for ‘Blue’, has also proven to be a genius one. Their voices dovetail perfectly.
The two first met in 2019, after they toured Australia together, creating “a beautiful bond”, per the press release. This led them to want to collaborate, and if ‘Blue’ is anything to go by, this bond is of the most celestial quality.
Batt explained: “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.”
She continued: “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”
2022 is set to be a colossal year for BATTS. She recently signed with Australia and New Zealand based label, Mistletone, as well as launching her own, I Feel Fine Records. As the press release lucidly states, “‘Blue’ ft Sharon Van Etten is just the beginning of much more to come.”
Listen to ‘Blue’ below.
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