nadene pita

**** Nadene Pita is a rare bird – a creature seemingly free of artistic hesitation and a blissfully unusual composer, she possesses a plaintive and free-flowing alto which catches the ear immediately. This is her first full-length record and it is a strange and pretty one – for those interested in the freak-folk revival, you would do well to recognize shades of the godmother of experimental folk Linda Perhacs – particularly in the wildly dispersed instrumentation and distinctly earthen vocal stylings. Pita’s direct and un-showy lyrics work to her advantage too – the songs have a childlike innocence about them (particularly apparent with a very special guest vocalist in Ferris Wheel) whilst daring to musically mess things up just enough to keep the listener on edge. She has some pretty luminous guests here – including piano wizard Chris Abrahams and drummer Hamish Stuart – and their warped genius is most apparent in the weird and funky Red Shoes, while strings, pianos and percussion sprinkle like acid rain in Revolution. This is quality, challenging stuff which deftly avoids pigeon-holing opportunities, and really is quite a poignant expose on the character of this enigmatic Sydney singer.
Aidan Roberts
September 15, 2009 - Aidan Roberts

**** Rarely does a new voice of such originality and unusual approach appear. Perhaps this is due, in part, to Nadene Pita’s mixed heritage. She was born in New Zealand and grew up in Queensland, from a Maori and Irish background with a dash of Portuguese on her father’s side. Pita trained as a viola player in jazz and classical music, and adds the viola here to several of her Zen-like originals here.

The instrumentation is minimalist – somewhere between electro-acoustic and chamber jazz – and features some highly talented Sydney players including bassist Alex Hewetson, Hamish Stewart on drums and guitarist Rick Falkiner. The track Tango also incorporates Kate Adams’s pizzicato cello and features Tony Dupe on a dreamy bass clarinet.

Pita’s voice is plaintive, ethereal and evocative of misty dawns on Asian Temples. But Red Shoes has a funkier beat with street swagger. A deceptively simple nursery rhyme suffuses the subtle meanings in Ferris Wheel, while Fire and Burn are atmospheric instrumentals with wordless vocal effects. Drums and percussion in Pacific Island style are the only accompaniments on Revolution, which ends with a Maori chant.

The Buddhist teachings of Pema Chodron are the inspiration behind this unique collection.


- John McBeath, The Weekend Australian
- John Mcbeath

"Based in Bondi, Sydney, Nadene Pita has assembled a veritable who’s who of appropriate collaborators for her debut album, Turning Arrows Into Flowers. Between the recordings and her live sets some of Australia’s best in the fields of jazz (Chris Abrahams, Hamish Stuart), electro-acoustic (Abel Cross) and electronic improv (Claire Herbert), not to mention eclectic producer Tony Dupe, have lent their collective expertise. The album takes in all these points, harnessing them into a laid back, at times abstract, and ever engaging whole.

...some subtle electronic molecular processing hinting at the fullness of the album’s scope. ‘Red Shoes’ is the most overtly jazz, both musically and lyrically as Pita ironically states ‘Why don’t you straighten your hair?/Why don’t you fit in?/Why don’t you straighten your clothes and your attitude?/’Cause it’s what you’re supposed to do” with all the throaty growl of a diva. ‘Newborn’ is mostly layers of Pita’s own voice and gives an idea of the range of sounds she can utilize, from regular singing to operatic choir to gutteral groans, and brief sample snatches of baby laughter.

‘Fire’ heads into abstract jazz territory and is where the album really gets interesting. Pita’s wailing, wordless vocals (both forwards and played backwards) are interspersed with drum shuffles, sax blurts and cello groans. Gentle but erratic it sets up the final half of the album which steers away from the straightforward to more improvised, psychedelic terrain. ‘Revolution’ is joyous polyrhythm under Polynesian chants and ‘Parachute Man’ finishes the album with a 7 minute summary of electro-acoustic improv, glitchy processing and vocal swoon.

Turning Arrows Into Flowers has been growing on me quietly... when Pita and her assorted musicians really let fly, can head off into the stratosphere."

Adrian Elmer
Cyclic Defrost. September 15, 2009 - Adrian Elmer