09 September 2022 - 0 Comments

SJD is the musical project of Sean Donnelly (he/him), a musician and songwriter from Tāmaki Makaurau (Auckland), and currently based in Ōtepoti (Dunedin), under the Mozart Fellowship at Otago University.

SJD takes a piecemeal approach to genre, thoughtfully employing electronics, strings and sounds to subvert the traditional 3 minute pop song structure. A quiet overachiever, SJD is one of Aotearoa’s most lauded songwriters, winning two Aotearoa Music Awards, the Taite Music Prize (in 2013 for Elastic Wasteland), and was shorlisted for for the APRA Silver Scroll in 2007 for his song Beautiful Haze.

Today SJD announces his ninth album Sweetheart (released independently on October 28), and shares the new single You Are The Movement.

STREAM YOU ARE THE MOVEMENT SPOTIFY APPLE MUSIC YOUTUBE

In true SJD fashion, You Are The Movement will be pleasing to those who enjoy a mixed musical palate. The song resides at the intersection of synth pop and blue-eyed-soul with just a pinch of psychedelia for good measure.

"For me, You Are The Movement is a song in praise of creativity and the love and care that goes into making things and putting them out into the world," says Donnelly.

"While I wanted to express the feelings of self-doubt and uncertainty that occur during the creative process, ultimately I needed it to be a loving and positive expression both musically and lyrically."

"The sounds I was looking for were obviously electronic but also warm and colourful and flaunting their imperfections much like the lead vocal does. I pitched my vocals up a little and enjoyed hearing a slightly younger and more energetic version of myself. I had a little bit of help and advice lyrically from Don McGlashan and Anika Moa and Julia Deans provided some backing vocals too."

"I love this song and feel like it’s one of the highlights of Sweetheart. A sweet, slightly gooey centre to the big pink bun which is my album."

Next: NZ Blues and BBQ Festival Side Shows

Prev: Tāmaki Makaurau's Princess Chelsea shares new single and video 'Forever Is A Charm'

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