Fazerdaze is processing her Album of the Year win on device-free walks
As she prepares to support iconic indie band The Pixies on a US tour, Christchurch musician Amelia Murray (aka Fazerdaze) is taking as many solo walks as possible.
Last month, Amelia Murray received a standing ovation when her 2024 record Soft Power won Album of the Year at the Aotearoa Music Awards.
At home in Ōtautahi Christchurch three weeks later, the 32-year-old is taking stock of a "really full-on and exciting and busy" year so far by striding out - without headphones and, when it feels safe enough, without her phone.
"Those times are really important - to fully disconnect and be in the moment … [On walks] I try to just be super-present and not think about anything, or just let my mind wander," she tells Music 101.
Watch Fazerdaze win Album of the Year:
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After the AMAs, where she was also named Best Solo Artist, Murray says there's a new "sparkle" amongst friends and supporters who witnessed her making the "really complicated and sometimes dark journey" to bring Soft Power - her second album - to life.
"So many times, I would lose faith and wonder why I was putting myself through so much to make a record. I was really questioning myself, but at the same time, there was always something quietly pulling me along.
"There were times when I couldn't see the light at the end of the tunnel, but still something in me kept taking a step forward.
"So much of the journey was just trying to protect the Soft Power record and my vision with it."
Watch Fazerdaze perform 'Cherry Pie' at RNZ:
For many musicians, the long, slow process of creating, refining and releasing music requires a lot of faith and patience, Murray says.
"It does require a lot of crafting and patience and coming back to it day after day to just create something. And a lot of the time, you feel so unseen and invisible when you're working on stuff.
"I'm always just trying to listen to what the work wants of me and trying to push out the noise of people that are like 'What are you even doing with your life?'
"I'm really grateful now that I kept going and I kept persevering… Yeah, really glad I pushed through."
Fazerdaze's NZ tour includes three shows - Christchurch (14 August), Wellington (15 August) and Auckland (16 August).
She'll then fly to Los Angeles for the first of a five-week run of American summer shows supporting The Pixies.
"It's gonna be a lot, honestly, on my body, and I've got to try to keep my mental health in a good space, but we're so lucky to be asked to play with The Pixies and another band I love called Spoon."
Watch Fazerdaze perform 'So Easy' at RNZ:
