Renée is a self-confessed nomad: Sydney-born and raised, she has lived in Melbourne, rural NSW and a Japanese backwater before moving to New Plymouth. Her most recent adventures took her to northern China.
Along the way were solo travel adventures, the first through rugged Bolivian mountain ranges in 2008. It was there she found her one constant traveling companion: the beloved acoustic guitar that features heavily throughout her second EP titled In The World.
But since arriving in New Plymouth it’s the creative journey that has most absorbed Renée.
“Choosing to live as an artist pushes you into places that can be devastatingly uncomfortable,” Renée explains. “I’m so often forced to confront my own fragilities that I can’t help noticing fragility in others. Sometimes there’s nothing more I can do with that than tell a story. It feels like I owe it to myself, and to everyone who’s struggled with love, and doubt, and meaning, to tell those stories with absolute vulnerability.”
It’s that vulnerability that makes her songs so relatable. However deeply personal they are, they all touch on themes that are universal and inescapable. Who hasn’t struggled with doubt, and the search for meaning?
Renée’s reflections on these themes are delivered with an honesty that’s sometimes agonizing. Yet the musical journey In The World takes us on is far from grim and certainly not one-dimensional; along with stellar musicianship there’s a scrupulous attention to production value that elevates this new album to an exhilarating level.
Moving between Taranaki, Sydney and Melbourne music circuits regularly, Renée has performed at Sofar Sounds, Auckland, Taranaki's Festival of Lights, The Seddon Festival, Melbourne, Devonport Folk Club, Auckland, The Rogue Stage, Rotorua, and The Inland Sea of Sound in NSW. In 2019, she supported Graeme James and The Frank Burkitt Band on their NZ national tours.
Renée continues to build her profile in both markets, through touring and with a steady focus on writing and recording new material.
Dan Thurston-Crow
Along the way were solo travel adventures, the first through rugged Bolivian mountain ranges in 2008. It was there she found her one constant traveling companion: the beloved acoustic guitar that features heavily throughout her second EP titled In The World.
But since arriving in New Plymouth it’s the creative journey that has most absorbed Renée.
“Choosing to live as an artist pushes you into places that can be devastatingly uncomfortable,” Renée explains. “I’m so often forced to confront my own fragilities that I can’t help noticing fragility in others. Sometimes there’s nothing more I can do with that than tell a story. It feels like I owe it to myself, and to everyone who’s struggled with love, and doubt, and meaning, to tell those stories with absolute vulnerability.”
It’s that vulnerability that makes her songs so relatable. However deeply personal they are, they all touch on themes that are universal and inescapable. Who hasn’t struggled with doubt, and the search for meaning?
Renée’s reflections on these themes are delivered with an honesty that’s sometimes agonizing. Yet the musical journey In The World takes us on is far from grim and certainly not one-dimensional; along with stellar musicianship there’s a scrupulous attention to production value that elevates this new album to an exhilarating level.
Moving between Taranaki, Sydney and Melbourne music circuits regularly, Renée has performed at Sofar Sounds, Auckland, Taranaki's Festival of Lights, The Seddon Festival, Melbourne, Devonport Folk Club, Auckland, The Rogue Stage, Rotorua, and The Inland Sea of Sound in NSW. In 2019, she supported Graeme James and The Frank Burkitt Band on their NZ national tours.
Renée continues to build her profile in both markets, through touring and with a steady focus on writing and recording new material.
Dan Thurston-Crow