Towards the end of last year Victorian singer-songwriter Michael Waugh released his wonderful album The Weir, a successor to his Golden Guitar-nominated What We Might Be that received two GG nominations of its own. The Weir is a lyrically and emotionally rich album that was produced by Shane Nicholson, and the title track is a reminiscence about a country childhood.
As Waugh explains, ‘”The Weir” is about the Lake Glenmaggie Weir in Victoria’s East Gippsland – the place where we’d go as kids to swim, fish, drink and chuck tennis balls in for the dogs to retrieve. It’s also the irrigation reservoir for the dairy farming communities in Gippsland where I grew up – it was the life blood of who we were.’
With backing vocals from luminaries Felicity Urquhart and Lyn Bowtell, in ‘The Weir’ Waugh creates a world from a memory and invites the listener into it; the accompanying video brings that world to visual life. Created by Duncan Toombs at The Filmery, it has its premiere here today.
‘I really think that Duncan has captured the spirit of this uniquely Australian story,’ says Waugh. ‘It hisses along like cicadas on a hot Aussie summer day. In a world where most of us are facing a challenging winter, socially isolated in uncertain times, Duncan has brought back the fun and humour of nostalgic Australian summers with your best mates, and classic car tapes that keep you dancing in the front seat with the window down.’