Artist info
Genre
Electronic, Indie, Pop
Sounds like
Maggie Rogers, Phoebe Bridgers
band members
Olivia Gavranich
Influences
Clairo, Frank Ocean, Julia Jacklin, Caroline Polacheck, Sharon Van Etten, Big Thief, Daniel Caeser, Sylvan Esso, Elijah Who
Unearthed artists we like
N.Y.C.K. , Angie McMahon, Ainslie Wills, Mallrat, Thelma Plum, Nick Ward, Julia Jacklin, Dulcie
Website
Bio
As a songwriter, singer, and producer, St. South has worked tirelessly on the skills required to make the kind of nuanced and soulful electro she’s known for. But her sound is not just a study in technical self-reliance; it is an intimate portrait of an artist who lives life on her own terms.
Her latest single, “Does Your Brain Ever Get This Loud,” is sprinkled with chillwave fuzz and a warm layered sample of St. South’s voice. Softly pulsing forth, she recounts the crisis that hits in your mid 20s. “I’m often riddled with self-doubt. But this song is the process of accepting that, while learning that it’s completely ok to feel lost and purposeless.”
St. South is the moniker for Fremantle-based singer-songwriter-producer-multi-instrumentalist Olivia Gavranich. She self-released her debut EP Nervous Energy in 2016, which garnered millions of streams, as well as TV placements with The Vampire Diaries and The Fosters. She followed that up with 2017’s Inure, and is now preparing to release her debut full length album later this year.
St. South is the electrofolk project of young Perth-based singer/songwriter Olivia Gavranich. Lose yourself in the warmth and layers of her delicate, soothing tunes.
Tell us about your music - how did you develop your sound?
The electronic world is still very, very new to me! Up until quite recently I’d been focusing on writing acoustic folky stuff, which I guess is now more of a side project. After producing ‘We Washed Texas’ for the Bon Iver Stems Project, I developed this newfound appreciation for dry beats and clicks. I couldn’t get enough of it, and I slowly started turning my acoustic songs into something more ‘glitchy’ and electronic. Everything came together really quickly after that; I’ve collaborated online with some great friends from all corners of the world, and together we’re working on my first EP.
What’s a St. South live show like?
Believe it or not I’m yet to play a live show! It’s really important to me that when I start gigging, I’m completely happy with my material and live set-up. Once my EP is complete, I’ll start wrapping my head around putting together a live show, with an electronic band and a full set list of original tracks. I think I’d get lonely up there with just my laptop!
Tell us about growing up in Denmark, WA. What are your strongest memories of that time?
Denmark has to be one of the best places to be a kid: my brother and I would spend our spare time going feral on the ‘back tracks’ of the bush, we’d take our bikes out for the day, build cubbies, and come back looking like little grubs. Music was definitely a huge part of my childhood. I remember dancing around the kitchen bench to The Pogues with my dad, and singing along to an old Tracy Chapman cassette with my Mum on the way to school. My earliest memory of seeing live music is packing a picnic and heading to Albany with my family to see the Waifs and Paul Kelly - all us kids would take off our shoes and run wild. No-one does live music like Denmark hippies.
What are some of the biggest influences on your music and why?
My biggest influences were the music my parents raised me on, because no matter where I am I’ll always feel a sense of nostalgia when I hear it, and I guess that’s one of those associations that builds your creative ‘personality’ the most. Nina Simone, Elvis Costello, The Waifs, Leonard Cohen: it’s an eclectic mix but they all inspire me for different reasons. As for my more current influences, I’m loving acts like Daughter, Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, Tiny Ruins, Frank Ocean, and Mama Kin, and am constantly finding new obsessions here on Unearthed. And it probably goes without saying that Justin Vernon can falsetto my socks off any day.
What’s coming up for you in 2013?
I’m working really hard to finish off my EP, which involves a couple of collaborations that I’m super excited about. But I guess my main goal is just to learn as much as I can. Rather than setting deadlines for myself, I think its important that I just take my time and enjoy the process!
Australian music is…?
…Koala-tea, not quantity.
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Always so unbelievably touching St. South. Blows me away.
Always so unbelievably touching St. South. Blows me away.
Review
i wanted this to go for another 3 minutes. it remains serene and angelic among the frustration and is the perfect use of a swear word for impact.
i wanted this to go for another 3 minutes. it remains serene and angelic among the frustration and is the perfect use of a swear word for impact.
Review
you've truly mastered the art of capturing serenity in a totally authentic, simple way. that gentle build around the 2min 30sec mark adds a whole new weight to the perfectly worded chorus.
you've truly mastered the art of capturing serenity in a totally authentic, simple way. that gentle build around the 2min 30sec mark adds a whole new weight to the perfectly worded chorus.
