Welcome to the musical fantasy world of Danielle Spencer brought to life on her debut album, White Monkey.
It is a lush landscape of dreams and nightmares, of humanity's darker emotions and characters that shadow our reality.
It is the face in the mirror which stares back at you with its soul revealed.
It is a sound never heard before from an Australian artist.

During the last decade, Danielle has become well known in Australia as an actor, starring both on television and the big screen. Not as well known was her passion for music, one she tried to pursue hand in hand with her other creative endeavors, playing in various bands with her brother.
About three years ago, Danielle made a conscious decision to dedicate her energies to writing the songs, which would ultimately constitute her debut album, White Monkey

"When I kicked off I was a dancer and singer and then I made a very conscious move into acting. But most of the time I was still playing and singing in different bands over the years with my brother. When acting started taking over, I was doing less music and I was frustrated that it was slipping away from me, About three years ago I took an acting job for a year to save some money so I could then concentrate on writing songs and making an album. After I finished I came back to Sydney and started writing seriously."

While her songs sprang from the piano, Danielle could hear spacious sonic layers combining traditional ideas and instruments with innovative sounds and structures, which would keep the listener, engaged. It wasn't until she met emerging producer Vince Pizzinga after experimenting with a few other collaborators that she became confident her ambitions could be realised.

"It took me a few years to find someone to work with, someone who got what I was trying to do straight away. I could hear it in my head and it was quite clear to me what I wanted but it wasn't until I met Vince that it all clicked and we realised the sound. I wanted this atmospheric soundscape that was filmic, that had mystery. When I was younger, I loved horror movies and the creepy music in the soundtrack so I used to write this music I thought could be scores for those films. I remember watching The Omen and loving the music - it was so evocative and spooky. I think that explains where the atmosphere in my songs comes from. Most of the songs come from imagination triggered by books, films, observing people. In a way I am too secretive to be autobiographical, I would feel too exposed to write about my life."

That early inspiration remains evident in the moods of her music. For a lot of songwriters, inspiration is primarily drawn from our darker emotions and moments. The resulting songs have the potential to create strong empathetic connections between the writer and listener.

"I have heard a lot of songwriters say you're not very productive when you're happy, and when I'm happy, I just want to go out and play," she laughed. "Songwriting is a reflective occupation and the darker moods tend to generate more reflection and introspection."

Her honeyed vocal melodies are juxtaposed with urgent whispers and spoken lines as evidenced on 'Jonathon White' and 'Blast Off'. It is an intriguing approach to vocal delivery on top of a soundscape, which fuses acoustic piano, electronic elements and beats. At times, Danielle favours a lush orchestral approach as on 'Cartoon' and 'Tickle Me'; while on others she ventures into more electronic groove territory, such as '200 Steps' and' What Now?'
While it conjures the likes of Tori Amos, Kate Bush, Portishead,Massive Attack and even Patti Smith, it is refreshingly individual.

The sound Danielle and Vince created was sculpted by renowned UK Engineer Andy Bradfield who has worked with 'Madonna', 'Everything But The Girl' and 'Massive Attack.'

"I loved what he had done with Everything But The Girl, the space he got in those tracks and the vocal treatment; that it was right in your face. The whole album is lyric based and it was important to me for people to hear them. He gives the instruments and music such clarity as well and is incredibly meticulous and amazing to watch,"

Every song creates its own world with a skewed lyrical narrative, which takes several different forms. Consequently, Danielle is reticent to explain their stories, preferring the listener to find their own meaning in the sweeping word pictures.

"The albums I have loved are the ones you can put yourself into and interpret for yourself, the ones that take you away and let your imagination roam. Explaining songs can undermine that for the listener. We should use our imaginations more in a time when everything is so explained,"

Having notched up enough experience in the entertainment business, Danielle is pragmatic about the skepticism, which has greeted actors who attempt musical careers. It is ironic considering Hollywood and Australian directors seem to have no problem casting musicians and singers in their films.

"There are a lot of judgments made about people who move from acting to music - Oh God, here comes another one," she laughed. "To me they are totally complementary. I have gained so much from being involved in all those worlds and it has been great training. Acting has also made my writing more theatrical I think, knowing the power one line can have. It's also become a part of my sound to have talking, chants and whispers in the song. I like the idea of exploring different methods of getting the point across and it can very effective as opposed to singing everything."

Spencer, however, is equally powerful when she does sing everything. On traditional, heartfelt ballads like 'Holding On', 'Waiting' and 'Forgive Me', Spencer delivers the kind of yearning vulnerability which always announces a special talent. Since the release of White Monkey, Spencer has toured internationally and in Australia, most recently with the Brisbane band 'George', and has released a number of videos including the most recent for the single 'Tickle Me'. Work has commenced the a follow up album and the next few months will see Spencer expanding her live touring base and creating new gems for the next album.

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Last Updated Wed, May 15, 2002