ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED: triple j, JULY 2020
Since 2015, Alice Ivy has been a name that has gone from conjuring head-turning buzz, through to being one in high demand.
From establishing herself on Melbourne’s producer scene, to gracing stages around the country, the Geelong-born artist has built a strong body of work that has most recently been topped up, with her sophomore album Don’t Sleep.
Arriving two years on from her debut I’m Dreaming, her latest collection is ambitious in its scope, international in its sound and a total vibe in its general delivery. Here, we see Alice Ivy flexing within a kaleidoscope of grooves and soul influences, while incorporating some of the country’s most engaging voices as collaborators.
Bringing in the likes of Thelma Plum, Montaigne, SAFIA’s Ben Woolner and Ngaiire, Don’t Sleep offers the listener a range of moods and sonic influences. Balancing falsettos with rich soulful harmonics and moments of romance and melancholy, the partnerships we see flourish on this album stand strong on their own as much as they do in informing Don’t Sleep’s broader sound.
Even in the lead up to the album’s release, we knew this album would come fleshed out with a cast of talented players; linking up with noted photographer Michelle Grace Hunder, Alice Ivy posted up with life-size cardboard cut-outs of her collaborators in lieu of your traditional artist photo shoot.
Individually, the album guests are strong in their own lanes; to have them form quite the all-star team on an Alice Ivy record? A complete home run.
Don’t Sleep is a stride, not a step, into the spotlight for Alice Ivy. And yet, the release of an album so accomplished is not exactly surprising, to look at Alice Ivy’s journey so far.
Moving from Geelong to Melbourne to pursue music at university, Alice Ivy (a.k.a Annika Schmarsel) took a deep dive into audio technology and discovered just how integral samples can be to finding your own sound.
“I was so blown away by the artistic freedom of using samples,” she says, in an essay penned for Red Bull. “I realised I could make this big sound I’d been chasing for so long by myself.”
“I would spend hours in my room making beats. I was hooked.”
Some of her early influences remain present in her work today: J. Dilla, Onra, The Avalanches. That innate charisma you can hear threaded throughout her work harkens back to those early ‘90s and ‘00s records that rode strong on connecting with emotion.
It’s this charisma and love for a wide scope of musical flavours that Don’t Sleep has been built upon. Digging deep into the soul of the music in producing an end product that was not only catchy to the ear, but memorable in the brain.
Released into a music climate that is currently shackled in its inability to thrive in clubs and the live environment, Don’t Sleep keeps the spirit of an energetic club night alive.
Album opener ‘Champagne Late Nights’ sets the tone - a simmering track that, at just over a minute in length, encourages the listener to catch some initial heat as rhymes hypnotise over the beat. From there, it’s on, as hypnotic bars make way for tempo changes and a showcase of Alice Ivy’s dexterous talents as producer.
As Canadian rapper Cadence Weapon challenges on ‘Sunrise’, “Can you keep up?”
As the album gears up and hits its stride, we hear a strong pack of voices adding their own touch over skilful synth and electronic-pop work. Ecca Vandal swoons and entrances on ‘In My Mind’, while Montaigne and Bertie Blackman join forces on the romantic ‘Sweetest Love’.
‘Better Man’ sees SAFIA vocalist Ben Woolner (credited as Benjamin Joseph here) flexes his trademark vocal acrobatics (with the o.g. Ratdog Alex Dyson taking centre stage in the video); the vibe of the tune is testament to the duo’s shared talent as multi-instrumentalists.
“He can literally play anything,” Alice Ivy said of the track back in May. “We were moving around the room picking up as many different instruments as we could and putting them on the track.”
“Ben’s writing style is different to mine; we focused a lot on the groove and feel of the instrumental before even touching the vocals.”
Lead single ‘Don’t Sleep’ is infectious thanks to its compelling arrangement and the energetic presence of imbi the girl and BOI. Directly following the album’s Thelma Plum-collaboration ‘Ticket To Heaven’, it’s a change in tone, but doesn’t stick out as being an anomaly.
“I reached out to artists that I’ve always loved and admired,” Alice Ivy told triple j. “I’m such a fangirl for all these artists on the record, I was like “I wonder if they’d be keen to jump into the studio or do some writing,” and here we are.”
“When I went into the room with Thelma for the first time to write ‘Ticket To Heaven’, I had never met Thelma before. I was so nervous because I am the biggest Thelma Plum fan. I went into this AirBnb that I’d set up this makeshift studio [in] and I was so nervous. In five hours, it’s amazing when it clicks and works out.”
Nerves aside, the collaborations on Don’t Sleep are some of Alice Ivy’s most organic sounding yet. In working with a range of artists who each espouse their own unique talent and approach, Alice Ivy’s curated her own menu of artists from which a casual listener can go forth and discover.
Each voice has its own space to shine and is not overshadowed by Alice Ivy, rather complemented by her sonic aesthetic.
Don’t Sleep, just like I’m Dreaming before it, shouldn’t be considered your usual dance fodder. It takes its time to breathe as it does explore some euphoric highs. Similarly, Alice Ivy isn’t just your usual producer - she’s advancing her own musical identity with each release with prowess.