Little Wise
‘Taken by a feeling’ album project
The Arts pay Foundation
Independent Artist Application Ref #IA00507
Photo credit: Elena McGannon
Artist Bios and CVs
Little Wise / Sophie Klein
I am an experienced self-managed artist, and have successfully released two albums and three EP’s over the past ten years.
I released my first album, Silver Birch, in 2016, which won the prestigious Best Debut Release award in Rhythms Managazine’s Writers Poll and received national radio airplay. I toured the album in the US, which included performances at the famous Bluebird Cafe in Nashville (as part of Americanafest in collaboration with Sounds Australia), and at music industry conference Mondo NYC in New York.
My sophomore album, Want It All, was released in 2019. It was recorded at The Aviary in Abbotsford, Victoria and produced by Fraser Montgomery. Where Silver Birch eschewed production bombast in favour of understated home-spun warmth, Want It All enthusiastically embraced a full-band sound, while remaining true to my distinctive knack for authentic, song-based storytelling.
In 2020, in lieu of cancelled Australian and Canadian tours, I released my live EP I Want to Really See You, And You See Me.
I have toured widely across Australia, including festival appearances at Nannup (WA), Tamworth (NSW), Mount Beauty (VIC) and St Kilda - Live n Local (VIC). Plus, I was handpicked to support Canadian artist Frazey Ford, and ARIA award-winners Mia Dyson and The Audreys.
In early 2022 I released the first single from the forthcoming album, Heart Beats Quicker and it charted for a number of weeks on the Australian Music Play Radio Airplay Project (AMRAP) Metro Charts. It was recently named as a semi-finalist in the 2022 International Songwriting Competition (ISC) in the Adult Album Alternative category. The second yet-to-be-released single, The Hardest Part, was also nominated as a semi-finalist (folk/ singer-songwriter category). The competition is designed to nurture the musical talent of songwriters and promote excellence in the art of songwriting.
I have established a solid and engaged fan base in Australia. I am an active member of the LGBTQIA+ community and have a proven track record of engaging queer and diverse audiences. I have previously partnered with key LGBTQIA+ organisations such as Midsumma, Chillout and Joy FM. I was invited to open the 2017 Midsumma Carnival, and in 2018 I performed at the inaugural QWERE St Festival. My shows were AUSLAN interpreted and welcomed a diverse audience including members of the LGTBQIA+ deaf community.
Adam Dempsey: Mastering engineer
One of few mastering engineers in Australia to specialise in audio mastering, Adam Dempsey offers a wealth of experience in all music genres, based in Australia’s music capital, Melbourne. Adam has been privileged to work with artists on thousands of national and international releases across all genres, including Gold and Platinum certified, ARIA Award, International Acoustic Music Award, Australian Blues Award, Music Victoria Award, Golden Guitar Award, and Jazz Bell Award winning and nominated releases, along with countless projects receiving radio airplay. With attention to detail and a collaborative approach to mastering, Adam is also an Apple- accredited Apple Digital Masters Provider (formerly Mastered for iTunes) and an active supporter of independent artists and radio.
Elena McGannon: Photographer
Elena is a photographic artist based in Naarm. Portraiture, form and movement are heavily intertwined with their work, and they also work in directorial, production and curatorial spaces. Elena completed a Bachelor of Arts (Photography) at RMIT in 2018 and has showcased at multiple exhibitions including THEN (2019); Dark Matters at Science Gallery Melbourne (2023); THEN (2019), The Solander Box (2017); Red My Lips (2016); and is on the curatorial panel for Breaking the Binaries, Science Gallery Melbourne (2023).
Jax Oliver: Filmmaker
Photographer, film maker and art director based in both Meanjin (Brisbane) and Naarm (Melbourne), Australia. Jax Oliver is most recently working on music media, fashion portraiture and digital media for an evolving world.
Craig Kelly: Graphic Designer
Craig Kelly (trading as The 16th Floor) is a graphic designer working primarily in the music industry producing album artwork and promotional material including posters, social media assets, and merchandise. Past clients have included Marlon Williams, Julia Jacklin, Jordie Lane, and most recently The Teskey Brother’s forthcoming album. Craig is also an active musician, having performed with ARIA winning or nominated artists such as Mick Thomas, Henry Wagons, Neil Murray, Tracy McNeil & The Goodlife, and recently had the pleasure of performing with Little Wise.
Fraser Montgomery: Producer & Engineer
Fraser Montgomery is the owner & operator of The Aviary Studios in Abbotsford, VIC. He built the studio 10 years ago & has been making records there ever since. Records Fraser has worked on have been the recipients of awards such as: Music Vic “Best Country Album” (Tracy McNeil 2020, Matt Joe Gow 2016); The Chain Australian Blues Music Awards “Best Group” (Justin Yap Band); 2 Golden Guitars at Tamworth (Pete Denahy); & an ARIA Nomination for Tracy McNeil’s album.
Credits: Allen Stone, Jim Lauderdale, Ash Grunwald, Tracy McNeil, Kerryn Fields, Emma Donavan, Yirrmal, Shane Howard & more.
Josh Barber: Musical Director & Drummer
Josh Barber is a musician, producer & mixer with a penchant for the quirky, colourful & beautiful. After studying improvisation at the VCA, he played with a variety of artists including Gotye, Archie Roach, Lucky Oceans, The Little Stevies & Ross Hannaford and performed in MTC theatre productions with composer Andree Greenwell. Josh developed a keen interest in recording & production and established a studio within The Aviary. From 2016-18 Josh lived in Nashville and worked with inspiring artists & producers including Grammy award-winners Ryan Hewitt & Matt Odmark. He returned to Melbourne & spent 3 years working busily back at The Aviary. In 2021 he moved to Mollongghip, a small farming hamlet in the goldfields region, and restored an 1860s church which is now his studio. Credits: Gretta Ray, Daniel Trakell, Vic Park, Emma Anglesey, Georgia Fields, Best Western, composer Jonathan Dreyfus & more.
Larissa Tandy: Co-writer on Heart Beats Quicker
Hailing from rural Australia, Larissa came up from the underground of Melbourne’s world class music scene, mining her difficult life for potent stories and spinning them into songs that made their way onto radio in America, the UK, and Canada. Her acclaimed debut The Grip spent 4 months in the US Americana charts and reached number 2 in Canada. She was the recipient of the the prestigious Nashville Songwriter Residency and now lives in Vancouver, Canada.
Matt Dixon: Guitar and Pedal Steel
Credits: The Teskey Brothers, Luke Sinclair (Raised by Eagles), Broads, The Paper Kites, Heath Cullen, Josh Rennie Hynes, Eliza Hull, Gretta Ziller, & more.
Richard Bradbeer: Bass on ‘Hearts Beats Quicker’ + ‘The Hardest Part’
Credits: Vika and Linda, Olympia, Alex Lahey, Tim Rogers, Mia Wray, Bob Evans, Didirri, Painters and Dockers, Wilson & more.
Jake Amy: Keyboards
Credits: Kaiit, Emma Volard, Bumpy, Priscilla Stanley, Wilson Blackley, The Mamas & more
Jude Perl: Piano on ‘Hearts Beats Quicker’ + ‘The Hardest Part’
Jude Perl is a multi-award winning singer, songwriter and comedian. Jude studied Jazz at Monash University and is a world-class pianist and singer.
Proposed expenditure for artspay funding - total $5,000
Mastering (ADAm Dempsey, deluxe mastering) ………. $1,700
Art & Design - album artwork / merchandise / tour poster (Craig Kelly 16th floor) ………………………………………….. $2,000
Braille Stickers & Card (Replicat, Vision Australia).. $1,300
Project plan documents - for reference
Marketing & touring plan - download
graphic design brief - DOWNLOAD
Photography treatment - download
Video treatment - download
Audio and Video
Album tracks
Album rough mixes as at May 2023.
NB: Tracks 1 & 2 are complete and mastered.
All other songs are in their final stages and are currently rough mixes , with backing vocals and some percussion still in progress.
‘Heart Beats Quicker’ Video
Completed yet unreleased Music Video by Jax Oliver, featuring dance by Cecelia Martin. Filmed in Naarm (Melbourne) and Meanjin (Brisbane).
To be released as a follow-up to the album in 2024, to re-visit and showcase the International Songwriting Competition semi-finalist song.
Album art, photography and videography mood board
Praise for Little Wise
““She calls herself Little Wise, but I think she’s a lot wise.”
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“The music of Little Wise stands out to me through Sophie Klein’s musicality and artistry. Klein’s lyrics captures simple yet beautiful observations of the world around us with a narrative of a songwriter with an eloquently old soul, set to the backdrop of a solid country soundtrack.
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“This is a fine exercise in musical experimentation – Klein and band don’t go too far, they don’t add extras for extras’ sake; [album] Want it All is just right.”
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Image credit: John Perhius
“Sophie Klein delivers her songs with emotive authenticity. Her band, Little Wise, has an infectious energy that makes their live performances a very engaging and pleasurable experience.”
“An underrated Australian songstress – Little Wise captivated audiences at the 2019 Tablelands Folk Festival.
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