Sydney native, Via Tania, is a self-described outsider, but she's quick to note, "I've always been quite comfortable with it, though." Tania's quiet confidence is best on display with new album, Moon Sweet Moon, a collection songs ranging from whispered melodics to theatrically placed intonations.


We wanted to get to know the woman behind the mysteriously intriguing music, so we had a little chat with Tania to talk about her early musical career through this latest release.

SB: You've been playing music since an early age, more so rooted in the underground noise pop scene. What were your earliest musical inspirations to get you started?

VT: There were some bands I enjoyed going to see play live, that were based in Sydney ,and I was able to see them play throughout the 90s. The Hummingbirds, Ratcat, The Falling Joys to name a few. It was a good scene when I started to see live bands, I was underage but that didn't stop me, I really loved it. I loved seeing the women in these bands rock out too, but still be totally feminine about it. It really was great because up until then Australia suffered from a very macho pub rock scene and there were women here and there like Lindy Morrison (Go Betweens) before that but for the most part I wasn't aware of too many indie rock ladies. The other inspiration was my sister Kim who was older and just spent time working out cool songs on the guitar. She taught me to play by ear.

SB: After playing in the band SPDFGH (which was a facet of that early 90s postpunk scene), your style changed when you began working on solo efforts that focused more on an ethereally based sound. How and what sparked the transition from one genre to this, which is so drastically different?

VT: After a few years of playing this kind of garagey pop music I began to feel the need to balance it out with my own songs that didn't really suit the band format. I often only listened to music when it was late out and getting ready to fall asleep so naturally folky stuff was what I was listening to. I can't say I was ever hell bent on making it ethereal. It just sort of went that way. But the timing was also right, just at the end of SPDFGH days I met Tony Dupé who was beginning to make records in an old beach house on the coast of NSW, a great location and there was no pressure, no money and no one really knew we were making stuff. It was a perfect first experience to do some solo songs.

SB: Your solo debut came out in 2004. Now, 5 years later, the sophomore album, Moon Sweet Moon, is ready for release. Was this album all of the 5 years in the making and what was the process like in getting this album to where you wanted it to be?

VT: It indeed took a long time to make but it was more stopping the project, starting it again that stretched it out...

Prepare yourself to listen to music that was inspired by “magic” and sounds like “mountains in love” in what the unique style of Via Tania describes in her new album Moon Sweet Moon. Via Tania (Tania Bower) has a rare style all her own with a voice that eerily whispers songs in your ears. If I were to categorize the unique Via Tania, I would say her music is an uncommon combination of indie and folk sounds with a few electric twists. The atmosphere she creates with her sounds are also very similar to that of the unforgettable Bjork and her quirks.

Off of the new Moon Sweet Moon album, each song is a standout. My favorite song off the album is the first track titled “The Beginning” which has a happier tune that compliments Via Tania’s airy voice along with the piano. This style abruptly switches in songs such as “Wonderstranger” and “Light Years”. Instead of her  dreamy melodies that float along throughout her music such as “Fields” and “Our Wild Flight” that can take us her audience to different worlds, these other songs create a very different feeling. In “Wonderstranger” the simple sounds of a clock give off an eerie feeling of haunted innocence whereas in “Light Years” the music is comprised of raw sounds versus actual instruments.

With this only being Via Tania’s second album, I feel that her fresh and unrivaled sound will be new songs played in movie soundtracks and even on the radio. Via Tania’s creations are a reviving style of music!

New things to write about, someone else’s dreams for a change… Got any good ones for me? I’m going to try and make a song out of it. They can be memories too

MYSPACE ME!!!