Little Wise

‘Taken by a feeling’ album pre-release project

AUstralia Council for the arts - arts projects for individuals (march 2023)

application Reference no: r-23-370955

 

Photo credit: Elena McGannon

Artistic Support Materials

  1. Video treatment - download

  2. Photography treatment - download

  3. Graphic design brief - download

  4. Marketing plan - download

  5. Media Portfolio & Recent Reviews - Download

Bios & CVs

download biographies and CVs for artists and creatives involved.

Letters of Support

  1. Fraser Montgomery (producer, engineer) - download

  2. Katie Purvis (Joy FM radio presenter) - download

  3. Monica Drewe (Air Women in Music Mentorship) - download

  4. Chris West (radio presenter & blind advocate) - Download

  5. Jasper Leak (Mentor) - DOWNLOAD

 

album Tracklist

[click to expand for lyrics]

  • By Larissa Tandy and Sophie Klein


    It happens every night


    You fall asleep in the soft lamplight

    All you gotta do is close your eyes

    
I’m not the jealous kind

    
I know it’ll happen when the moment’s right

    Let go every matter on my mind

    I could sleep tonight


    My heart beats quicker than a heart beat should


    One day you’re gonna feel the same thing too

    
Life is tricky even when it’s good

    
But don’t worry now

    I’ll never let you down


    I’ll never let you down

    
I’ll never let you down


    There’s a lot that you don’t know about

    There’s a lot of shit you’re gonna find out

    But you just sleep for now

    
I’ll tell you when the time is right

    My heart beats quicker than a heart beat should


    One day you’re gonna feel the same thing too

    
Life is tricky even when it’s good


    But don’t worry now

    I’ll never let you down


    I’ll never let you down

    
I’ll never let you down

    My heart beats quicker than a heart beat should

    One day you’re gonna feel the same thing too

    Life is tricky even when it’s good

    
But don’t worry now


    I’ll never let you down


    My heart keeps beating like a heart beat should

    One day you are gonna feel that too


    Life is tricky even when it’s good


    But don’t worry now


    I’ll never let you down

    I’ll never let you down


    I’ll never let you down

    
I’ll never let you down

  • Verse 1

    I am sitting staring

    Pulled up in the drive

    Inside the car’s quiet

    A tear rolls from my eye

    I want to be around you

    I miss you when I’m not

    I want to be without you

    I feel guilty at the thought

    Chorus

    And the hardest part is leaving

    When you’re clinging to my arms

    I know I’m needing

    Time now for my heart

    And that’s the hardest part

    Verse 2

    There’s sickness in the longing

    For a simple life

    When your heart has ideas stirring

    And dreams taking to flight

    I question my decisions

    That take me away from you

    Am I giving up my meaning

    Or am I being true

    Chorus

    And the hardest part is leaving

    When you’re clinging to my arms

    I know I’m needing

    Time now for my heart

    And that’s the hardest part

    Verse 3 / Bridge

    There’s a storm inside that’s raging

    When I cannot find the light

    And I’ve nothing to hold onto

    I’m reaching around blind

    But I grab onto your love

    I’m holding on so tight

    I am grasping for your touch

    And I’m reaching for your light

    Chorus

    And the hardest part is leaving

    When you’re clinging to my arms

    I know I’m needing

    Time now for my heart

    And that’s the hardest part

    And that’s the hardest part

    And that’s the hardest part

  • Verse 1

    I’ve been a shitty friend

    One day starts

    And the next one ends

    Rolling around in my mind

    All the time

    It’s not where I should be

    I’m not gonna lie

    You haven’t been on my mind

    But you’re part of my body

    In my cells

    Deep down inside

    Chorus

    And in my dreams

    We’re all seventeen

    And in my heart

    That’s where I want to be

    Verse 2

    We opened a window

    In your parents house

    Smoking a cigarette

    Think we wouldn’t be caught out

    Hanging in parks

    Chasing friends in the dark

    I’m always running

    I don’t know what from

    And in my dreams

    We’re all seventeen

    And in my heart

    That’s where I want to be

    And in my dreams

    You’re here with me

    Here in my heart

    That’s where I want you to be

    Bridge

    I don’t know if we’ll ever get back

    But it’s always something I’ll lack

    Chorus

    And in my dreams

    We’re all seventeen

    And in my heart

    That’s where I long to be

    And in my dreams

    You’re here with me

    Here by my side

    That’s where I want you to be

  • Verse 1

    We started with Janet Jackson

    Martika, Madonna and Prince

    Moved onto The Fugees

    Peter Gabriel and Stevie Nicks

    Girly Man, what a cool name for a band

    I wish I thought of that, I wish I thought of that

    And I wonder how the pop-gods felt

    When they listened back, when they listened back

    Chorus

    You were driving

    Driving through the night

    And we were driving

    Driving through the night

    Verse 2

    I remember when I was sixteen

    And we didn’t hold the world in our hands

    Listen to radio, press “play-record”

    Or carry it round in a disc man

    Now we got jukeboxes at our fingertips

    And we’ve lost a bit of the romance

    And we got tiny TVs and whatever we need

    To keep us in a trance

    Chorus

    You were driving

    Driving through the night

    And we were driving

    Driving through the night

    Bridge

    But all the kids I know

    Just get it

    And they give me hope

    For where we’re headed

    Chorus

    You were driving

    Driving through the night

    And we were driving

    Driving through the night

  • Verse 1

    “This doesn’t get old” you said

    As you descended the stairs

    And I know, I know, I know

    The feeling is still there

    It could be cosmic

    It could be broken

    It could be heart ache

    It might be worth it

    Chorus

    Oh and our shitty cars are just getting older

    And out hair it keeps getting longer

    But not a lot’s changed

    The magic’s still the same

    We got bad habits we’re trying to get over

    Some things get easier as we get older

    But not a lot’s changed

    The magic’s still the same

    Verse 2

    I know I can’t help myself

    I just can’t stay away

    I don’t think that you’re good for me

    You’re just something I crave

    This fascination

    Oh, the exhaustion

    Baby we could break free

    Or we could break down

  • Verse 1

    I didn’t know

    You were my boyfriend

    Next day at school

    Said they saw us holding hands

    I knew I loved you

    But it wasn’t like that

    I knew I loved you

    You were my friend

    I didn’t know

    It was a date

    I just thought

    We shared the same music taste

    Went to a show

    We saw Sufjan Stevens

    I said goodbye

    But I never kissed you

    Now every five years

    It’s awkward when I see you

    Chorus

    I’m sorry

    It’s not about our bodies

    I’m sorry

    It’s not about our bodies

    Verse 2

    We took the train down South of France

    like in the movies except for the romance

    Missed my ex girlfriend all the time

    I didn’t tell you and I don’t know why

    Chorus

    I’m sorry

    It’s not about our bodies

    I’m sorry

    It’s not about our bodies

    Bridge

    But if you wanna be friends

    I could really use some more of them

    Chorus

    I’m sorry (I didn’t know it was a date)

    It’s not about our bodies

    I’m sorry (I really liked your mixtape)

    It’s not about our bodies

  • Verse 1

    I’ve never really been one to pray

    But my heart’s alive with music

    And that’s how my love makes way

    I’ve never really been one to say

    When I feel hard done by

    I just hide it all away

    Pre Chorus

    I let it fester

    I let it seep

    Down to my bones

    To the deepest part of me

    Chorus

    But I got my hands in the soil

    I got my feet on the ground

    I look up at the sky

    And know I’m both tiny and profound

    I’ve been searching for a heart of gold

    Or the heart of the matter

    The deeper the well

    The further we scatter

    Verse 2

    I have a history of holding on

    To mistakes that I’ve made

    And all my doing wrong

    Disappointment weighs heavy like a stone

    I can’t look you in the eye

    I’ve got a long way home

    Chorus

    But I got my hands in the soil

    I got my feet on the ground

    I look up at the sky

    And know I’m both tiny and profound

    I’ve been searching for a heart of gold

    Or the heart of the matter

    The deeper the well

    The further we scatter Item description

  • Go easy on me now honey

    Don’t know why

    But this ain’t funny

    Tonight

    Tonight

    Go easy on me now darling

    I need a break

    I feel it comin’

    Tonight

    Tonight

    Go easy on me now brother

    I need your shelter

    I need your cover

    Tonight

    Tonight

    Go easy on me now sister

    This world feels dark

    The end feels nearer

    Tonight

    Tonight

    Chorus:

    Tonight

    I’m gonna lay it out on the line

    I’m gonna make something real this time

    I’m gonna let a little bit of light shine

    Tonight

    I’m gonna bury my fears alive

    And let go for the hundredth time

    It never started

    It never ends

    It’s a cosmic jungle

    A weary friend

    And I

    And I

    The work is never over

    The day ain’t done

    You think you’ve done it

    But you haven’t won

    Oh my

    Oh my

    Chorus:

    Tonight

    I’m gonna lay it out on the line

    I’m gonna make something real this time

    I’m gonna let a little bit of light shine

    Tonight

    I’m gonna bury my fears alive

    And let go for the hundredth time

  • Part I

    I used to strum on my guitar

    Late in the evenings

    Quietly when everyone was asleep

    Now I drag my aching bones off the couch

    And fall into my bed

    And all I ever want to do is sleep

    Between the bedtimes and the laundry

    The clanging of pots and pans

    I barely get a moment to myself

    But every now and then

    Late on the evening

    The oppressive heat receding

    I go out on the porch and smell the summer rain

    And I find myself back strumming

    Taken by the feeling

    Just me and my guitar

    I guess some things never change

    Part II

    These days I barely recognise

    When I catch my own reflection

    In the shopfront windows when I’m passing by

    But then I see my mother’s figure

    And my father’s complexion

    And understand a little more about their life

    I used to question their decisions

    Their suburban existence

    It seemed and unambitious, meandering life

    But when I look back on it now

    It all seems so appealing

    As I fall into their dreaming

    Carving out my own imperfect slice

    I don’t have all the answers

    I go off feelings, take my chances

    Repeating age old patterns

    I guess some things never change

    Refrain

    Some things never change

    Some things never change

    Some things never change

    Some things never change

    And I don’t have all the answers

    I go off feelings, take my chances

    Repeating age old patterns

    I guess some things never change

 

Audio and Video

Album tracks teaser

NB: all versions are roughs without final vocals, other than "The Hardest Part"

Teaser track order: The Hardest Part, Seventeen, We Were Driving, Magic, I'm Sorry, Never Been One to Pray, Tonight

‘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 in conjunction with 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.”
— Henry Wagons, musician and Double J radio presenter
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.
— Nkechi Anele, triple J
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.”
— Samuel J Fell, Rhythms Magazine

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.
— Alison Ferrier, Musician
An underrated Australian songstress – Little Wise captivated audiences at the 2019 Tablelands Folk Festival.
— Bronwyn Hodgkins, Program Director Tablelands Folk Festival

Social Media links

Instagram: @littlewise

Facebook: @littlewisemusic

Twitter: @littlewisemusic

Website: littlewise.com.au