Gretta Ziller

Gretta Ziller is undoubtedly one of Australia’s brightest new talents, who is fast establishing herself in the very lucrative and competitive Country Music Industry. - Keith Melbourne CNR Satellite Service

I first came across this Melbourne singer-songwriter via a Reverbation Discovery competition we ran on the Rhythms website. I was immediately struck by the maturity of her voice and her approach to Americana country, all of which is showcased on this new five track recording with producer Matt Fell. With the assistance of Fell, guitarist Glen Hannah, pedal steel player Sam Hawksley and drummer Josh Schuberth, Ziller presents songs both robust and elegant in a vein reminiscent of local artists like The Yearlings and Sara Tindley.
Opening song ‘Hunt for Love’ represents the most melodic, commercial cusp of Ziller’s writing - a cantering, light-hearted pop song that is echoed later in the EP in ‘Some Kind Of Habit’. Things take a decidedly darker turn on ‘Hell’s Half Acre’ and ‘Unforgiven Sins’ and it’s an impressive contrast. - RHYTHMS MAGAZINE, Martin Jones

While it can be a wonderful thing, modern technology mixed with the modern age in the world of music is sometimes a mixed blessing. Anyone can record a song and release it to the world. Performances can be enhanced and sometimes drastically improved. One thing that can’t be manufactured though is real talent, real songs and real, honest performances. Gretta Ziller has all those in spades and is one of those artists you’ll be telling your friends that YOU heard first before everyone else caught on. - Matt Fell

Oakleigh resident Gretta Ziller has made a name for herself of late as one of the most exciting new singer-songwriters on the Melbourne scene.
Her EP Hell’s Half Acre was recorded with renowned producer Matt Fell (Josh Pyke) and features the fantastic first cut Hunt for Love, as well equally compelling new single Some Kind of Habit (both songs have been accompanied by tasty music videos).
Gretta’s voice and guitar playing are impressive – there’s a slight smokiness to her vocals and she treads a very neutral line between an Australian accent and the twang that is usually necessary to get noticed in the Americana genre.
But it’s really the quality of her songs that really sets Ziller apart. Her lyrics are never obvious – always erring on the side of clever, thought-provoking or mischievous – and her melodies are quite lovely.
Ziller spends plenty of time on the road, playing shows in Victoria and NSW and even turning up on the occasional festival bill (in fact I suspect there’ll be a lot more of those to come). And as if the singing and songwriting wasn’t enough, Gretta is a more than handy cellist, violinist and upright-bass player!
Look out for Gretta Ziller on the Mornington peninsula later this year! - MINT MAGAZINE, Lachlan Bryan

Gretta Ziller has already generated a great deal of critical and industry acclaim in the 2013 Telstra Road to Discovery Grand Finals at the Tamworth Country Music Festival, as well as her 2013 TSA/ APRA New Songwriter of the Year award. Now she has released her debut EP Hell’s Half
Acre which captures the essence and graceful Americana beauty of her songwriting and voice. Hell’s Half Acre finds that balance between melody, mood and melancholy, the backbone for so much great country music from Hank Williams, Townes Van Zandt, Lucinda Williams through to Ryan Adams Jason Isbell and Gillian Welch. The opening pair of songs – ‘Hunt For Love’ and ‘Hell’s Half Acre’ are near perfect with sighing pedal steel and textural dancing rhythms framing Ziller’s soaring, sweet ache of a voice.
Her subject matter is nothing new but she imbues it with just the right amount of gentle ache and whipsmart, economical lyrics like “We got high down in the low country”. Always the sign of a great writer and singer, her songs sound effortless. They float with a compositional ease, whether it is the weightier title track or the country-pop filtered ‘Some Kind of Habit’ that serves to lightens the mood of the EP.
Ziller leaves us with ‘Rust & Bones’, a period piece of old-timey bluesy folk with added vocal grit and intent. It features an outlaw on the run, bodies on the ground, and a doomed soul and it shows how effectively she blends the traditional and contemporary worlds on this impressive debut release. - POST TO WIRE, Chris Familton