16 May 2018 - 0 Comments

Monsters and Fairies is an empowering and poignant song which addresses mental illness. Co-written with Kiwi artist Possum Plows from Openside, it dances effortlessly between dark and light, and contains the lyric "Make your mind your safe place", which Savannah wrote when she was 14 as a way of dealing with her own struggles.

Several years later, and Savannah’s ‘note to herself’ has found its way onto Monsters and Fairies, serving as a powerful message. Savannah says it also serves as a personal reminder that even when times get tough, she does have inner strength. So important is the lyric to the 18-year-old Auckland-based artist, she has had it tattooed on her leg.

Monsters and Fairies is accompanied by a lyric video made by critically acclaimed photographer, and film and documentary maker Amber Beaton. 

To celebrate New Zealand Music Month, Savannah will also be releasing two acoustic tracks recorded and captured on film also by Beaton. Savannah will release a video of the acoustic version of Monsters and Fairies on Wednesday, May 25, followed by Final Goodbye on Wednesday, May 31.

Final Goodbye is a new song, which Savannah plans to record in a studio in the near future.

“We wanted to strip the songs back to basics, which is how I wrote them. So, it’s just me playing a piano in an empty church. The songs were recorded in one take. I wanted to keep the authenticity and for me it was important that I too was stripped bare. So for instance I’m wearing minimal makeup and it’s just me - I’m dressed how I look if you ran into me on the street,” says Savannah.

Savannah released her debut EP OXYGEN late last year. The five-track record is her ‘breath’ of fresh air - “an escape from reality”. Listen here.

As part of New Zealand Music Month, Savannah will be performing at NZ Musician and SAE’s ‘20 Bands in 2 Hours’ event on Friday, May 18 at Galatos in Auckland. It will be streamed live via www.nzmusician.co.nz.

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