Ruth Hazleton

DAISYWHEEL

The daisy wheel (also known as a 'hexafoil') is a compass-drawn circle with six petals within it. The symbol seems to have originated as a solar icon which was believed to dispel darkness. 

Daisywheels have been found etched into mantle pieces, door frames, window frames and furniture for centuries in Britain and more recently, in Australia. A folk superstition without any recorded written or oral explanation, scholars now agree it served the purpose of bringing good fortune to a household by warding away bad spirits and dark forces.

This collection of songs explores these themes; history, folklore, struggle and resilience through traditional and original songs.

For many years I've pondered the idea of a solo album and it's very exciting to see it FINALLY come into fruition. This is also my first solo project after twenty-five years working as a musician in the folk & roots community & 'industry'. (Please see my bio profile if you aren't familiar with my work).

I have chosen ten songs for this album. Four are original, five are traditional (English, American & Swedish in origin) and one is a Henry Lawson poem I composed the music for. The stories are varied, political and strident; whether wrangling with matters of the heart, dealing with themes of injustice, conflict, displacement or straight-up in-your-face defiance. I see this very much as a work relevant to the times in which we live. 

Songwriting is a less familiar process for me and I've very much enjoyed honing these skills for the purposes of this album. The art of shapeshifting and re-interpreting traditional songs is a process I still thoroughly enjoy. Each traditional song has been researched, pondered, stretched, translated, re-written, embellished or simply left to tell its own story if that's what was called for. Amongst the traditional lyrics are original tunes, original lyrics, references to poetry, literature and fragments of folkloric children's rhymes and chants.

Musically, this album is quite an adventure, and possibly one that might surprise. 

In an attempt to incorporate all of the influences that have shaped my musicianship over the years, I have created an album that in many ways escapes strict boundaries of genre (in a purist sense). There are flavours of Eastern European music, Middle Eastern music, Celtic music, old-time American music, straight up rock & roll, folk rock (frock music?!), washes of electronic programming, ambience and a salute to one of my great genre loves; British trip hop and downbeat.

After tracking has been completed, the album will be mixed and mastered by Mattie Foulds (caribourecording.com) in Scotland, UK. I'm very excited to be working with Mattie for the first time. Highly acclaimed for his musicianship and technical ability, he has worked for some of the biggest names in the folk and experimental folk genres including Karine Polwart, Lau, Eliza Carthy & Norma Waterson, Shooglenifty, Rachel Newton, Kathryn Tickell, The Unthanks and Bella Hardy.

I'm delighted to have been joined by the following musicians in realising this crazy dream:

Ruth Hazleton: Vocals, Compositions, Arrangements, Electric Guitar (twangy Tele sound), Clawhammer 5-string Banjo, Acoustic Guitar, Piano & Shruti Box

Luke Plumb: Producer, Engineer, Mixes, Arrangements, Electronic Programming, odd bits of Fiddle, Piano and an Acoustic Guitar riff

Oscar Neyland: Double Bass & Bass ambience trippiness

Justin Olsson: Drums & Percussion

Tim Meyen: Cimbalom

Paddy Montgomery: Oud & Yayli Tambur

Now I just need YOUR SUPPORT to get this over the line. Can you help? 

Rewards include basic album pre-sales, the option of hearing demo recordings made in my loungeroom in preparation for the studio, the chance to have your name listed as a valued contributor on the album artwork or take the plunge and sponsor one of the ten tracks. 

Two very generous rewards (double weekend tickets) have been offered by Cobargo Folk Festival and the Majors Creek Festivals. Both of these events have played an enormous role in my musical career and were among the first festivals to book me all those years ago. I am extremely grateful for their support.

Enormous thanks also to all of those musicians; friends and respected peers, who have contributed to my 'Indie Music' packages and offered their music in exchange for my own. These packages will make fantastic rewards for music lovers and supporters of Australian independent musicians. Packages will be released in intervals throughout the campaign, cover a range of genres and hopefully allow you to discover something unexpected! 

** SCROLL DOWN (UNDER FINACIALS) TO SEE THE INDIE MUSIC PACKS AVAILABLE AND FIND OUT HOW TO ORDER **.

Enormous thanks too, to all who have encouraged, consoled and put up with me throughout this journey. I am excited, humbled, terrified, brave and extremely proud all at the same time. 

Please take a moment to visit my website and subscribe for news and bits & pieces (ruthhazleton.com.au)

You can also find me on the socials, of course. Pop by and say hello!

~ Ruth x

I need to cover the following costs as a minimum requirement to complete this project:

Pozible charges: $300 (approximate)

Mix/Master by Mattie Foulds in Scotland, UK:  $3,400 (AUD)

CD Manufacture (Implant Media): $2,300

Photography & Artwork: $2,000

TOTAL needed from Pozible: $8,000

~ All other costs have been covered by myself (including production, engineering, studio hire, musician fees & chocolate supplies). 

~ If I reach my target before the deadline, any additional funding within a stretch target will go into promotion, publicity and funding rehearsals to get this album on the road live. 

STRETCH TARGET:

Publicity (Stuart Coupe): $1500 

Video Film & Production (Pegleg Productions) $2000

~~~~~~~~  INTRODUCING THE INDIE MUSIC PACKS!  ~~~~~~~~

~ ALL PACKS (EXCEPT FOLK FESTIVAL SING ARE $75 (+$10 P&H), and include a complimentary download of DAISYWHEEL

~ To pledge for a pack you MUST note the NAME & NUMBER of the pack you want and enter it when you place your pledge.

I have decided not to offer all of these separately in the rewards section as it would get too confusing. Thanks for your patience and understanding. There are some great packs here, so check them out!!

For a full listing of packs that have been made available for this project, check my website HERE.

2) A PACK OF BLUES SKY 

Paul Gioia – Blue Sky

Marni Sheehan & Mark Smith – A Crazy Dream

McSherry O'Brien – Country

Tracey Roberts – Shades of Blue

9) THE CANDELO PACK (NSW)

Pete Wild – Calm

Melanie Horsnell - Songs to Sing on a Saturday Night

Heath Cullen and the 45 – A Storm Was Coming But I Didn’t Feel Nothing

Michael Menager – Clean Exit

10) THE JAZZ PACK

Julien Wilson Quartet – This Narrow Isthmus

Julien Wilson Trio – Swailing

Flap! - A Great Day for the Race

Ricochet - Pendulum

11) A PACK OF FURPHIES (the Frank Jones Collection)

Frank Jones – Where in the World

Frank Jones

Whirling Furphies – Lizard Tree

Big Folk – Small Ball

14) A PACK OF BLOKES

Michael Waugh – What We Might Be

Nigel Wearne – Black Crow

Tony Eardley – Desire Lines

Heath Cullen – The Still and the Steep

17) FESTIVAL IN YOUR KITCHEN PACK

The Ugly Uncles – A Hatful of Uncles

Martin Pearson – Too Close For Comfort

Christina Mimmocchi – Rumours of Summer

Bruce Watson – Balance

18) WORLD, TRAD, WRITER FESTIVAL PACK

Saoirse – Music Evermore

Mandy Breeze & Doug Kelly – Simple Folk

Steve Tyson – Wrong Train, Right Station

Helen Rivero & Ian Blake – Luminous

19) FESTIVAL CIDER PACK 

Martin Pearson – The Dark Side of the Farce

RAPT 

1917: STRIKE (Stories & Songs from One of Australia’s Greatest Class Struggles) 

PP Cranney, Christina Mimmocchi

Mandy Breeze & Doug Kelly – Simple Folk

20) FESTIVAL CHAI PACK

Martin Pearson – Live at the National Folk Festival

RAPT

The Ugly Uncles – The Good, The Bad & The Uncles

Steve Tyson – Temple Dog

21) FESTIVAL EVENING PACK 

Genni Kane – Selfies

Saoirse - Music Evermore

Paul Gioia – Blue Sky

Sheehan, Smith & Sheehan – Down in the Valley

22) FESTIVAL VIBE PACK 

Bruce Watson – Mosaic

Ian Dearden – What Took You So Long?

Tony Eardley – Desire Lines

Steve Tyson - Green Side Up

23) WORDS OF MEN PACK

Michael Waugh – The Aphalt & The Oval

Nigel Wearne – Drawing Circles

Michael Menager – Not the Express

The McSherry Theory – Eye of the Storm