We sat down with Darcy Fox, who’s just released her new single “Ashamed”, available to stream now.
Where are you currently based?
I’m living on Wurundjeri land, in the inner-north of Melbourne.
How did you first start playing music?
My mum is a musician and I watched her perform my whole life. When I was a teenager, I decided I wanted to give it a go. I taught myself how to play Taylor Swift on guitar and channelled my inner showpony.
My first gig was actually at a country music club in my hometown. From there, I went around scouting any local gig I could.
What’s been happening recently?
I’ve mainly been working on my new music!
Apart from that, I’ve been fostering a greyhound with my fiance. Her name is Molly and we’re obsessed with her.
Your latest single ‘Ashamed’ will be out on the 14th of October, what influenced the sound and songwriting?
My songwriting is always influenced by my favourite lyricists – like Passenger and Brandi Carlile. For me, lyrics carry the song. We can always change the production and overall vibe, but the storytelling has to hold up.
“Ashamed” took on many different sounds, but ultimately, we ended up with a soft indie-rock track. It really helps to drive home those key moments in the song – like the swirling, repetitive bridge and the angsty pre-chorus.
How did you go about writing Ashamed?
Honestly, it was fully formed in about 30 minutes! The hook came to me in the middle of the night – I grabbed my guitar and wrote the song as quietly as possible so I didn’t wake up my housemates.
It was one of those really easy songs to write.
What message do you hope the audience takes away from Ashamed?
I hope people are reminded that the person you choose to be with should be proud of who you are – whether that’s your sexuality, gender or anything else. You deserve to be loved loudly.
No matter how people relate to the message, I hope they feel seen, heard and empowered.
Where and when did you record/produce/master and who did you work with?
I had an absolute dream team for this track (and the rest of the record!).
I worked super closely with Curtis Hatton of Studio Truth, who mixed and produced “Ashamed” – he completely saw my vision and the key moments I wanted to create in the song. Then he took that and made it better than I could have imagined.
We also had the very talented Cory Jach and Marcus Ryan lay down some guitars and drums for us, to really perfect the sound.
Greg Calbi and Steve Fallone of Sterling Sound mastered the track, which is mind blowing because they’ve worked with some of my favourite artists – like Taylor Swift and Kacey Musgraves.
How did you approach the recording process?
Over what felt like the longest time! I started recording in March 2020, which really was a bad time to start anything. Anytime restrictions lifted, Curtis and I were in the studio, working on the tracks. It’s been a journey, but it feels like I’m releasing “Ashamed” at the perfect time for me.
It went through many iterations – when I wrote it in 2017, it was such a sad song. But now, with time and healing, it has such a cathartic power. I’m so glad this is the version going out into the world.
Please tell us about why being a overtly queerly artist is important to you:
It’s so important to me to normalise stories about women loving women. It’s something we still don’t hear enough of, but there’s a whole community of people looking for representation.
Who are you listening to at the moment?
I’m loving Ashe’s latest stuff, particularly her song ‘Emotional’ – I can’t stop singing to it in the car. MUNA is pretty much always on repeat, I’m hoping I can see them at Sydney WorldPride next year!
What do you like to do away from music?
Honestly, I’m so domestic it’s a little bit gross. I basically hang out with my fiance and our dogs, and play The Sims. I also dabble in burlesque lessons, which is a totally different and fun take on creative expression.
What’s planned for the remainder of 2022 going into 2023?
More music! I’ll be dropping more singles, then the album in 2023. I can’t wait for everyone to hear it!
I’m also getting married in March, which is a big one!
Favourite food and place to hangout?
Honestly, over the last two years I got really good at staying home and ordering Pad See Ew. But now that I’m back in the habit of leaving the house, I’m a big fan of the food trucks at Welcome to Thornbury.
