Arts Centre Melbourne and Australian Music Vault Present EPIC

Australian music power couple Deborah Conway and Willy Zygier will perform an epic concert like no other when they launch their latest album, The Words of Men and honour one of their greatest, Bitch Epic at Arts Centre Melbourne's Hamer Hall on 16 June, 2019. Performing across the country with the EPIC tour, Conway and Zygier will present their tenth album while also celebrating the 25th anniversary of their ARIA Award winning and gold-selling record, Bitch Epic.

Australian rock singer-songwriter and guitarist Deborah Conway met musician and creative collaborator Willy Zygier in October 1991 when she needed a guitarist to tour her debut solo album String of Pearls. This began a personal and professional relationship that has flourished for the last 27 years, producing 10 albums and three daughters.

Bitch Epic was their first creative endeavour, a compelling collection of songs which spawned a number of radio hits including Today I Am A Daisy and Consider This. The first single, Alive & Brilliant, was inducted into the Australian National Film & Sound Archive in 2016 for its unique qualities.

Written on a stormy afternoon overlooking Coogee Beach, and first performed on a similarly stormy day at The Sydney Barracks in 1992, Conway recalls the crowd dancing crazily in white plastic ponchos to what would become an unconventional radio hit.

"I still love playing this song, it has a compelling urgency & fury to it that remains undiminished 26 years after we wrote it,'' says Conway.

Their latest recording and tenth album, The Words Of Men, features the same band that worked together on 2016's 5-star reviewed Everybody's Begging: Simon Starr (Joe Camilleri, Ian Moss) on bass, Hue Blanes (Jazz Party) on keyboards, Niko Schauble on drums and their three daughters Syd, Alma and Hettie Zygier on backing vocals.

Recorded live to capture the vitality and beauty of the chemistry Deborah and Willy share with their band, The Words of Men reflects one of the most creative bursts in their renowned 27-year collaboration, traversing a wide range of themes against the backdrop of the strange circumstances presented in the 21st century.

"We have very human concerns and we wanted to make a record that sounds human, with creaks and breaths and joy and passion. A serious record made with fun or a fun record made seriously,'' says Conway.

"Sometimes a very spare arrangement with the tiniest bit of flesh to cover the barest bones of a tune, other times a veritable pile on, an acoustic maelstrom of joyous chaos brought to order by our collective spirit."

"We pushed each other to our limits; this is the best thing one can do for your writing partner, never allow anything substandard to get by. Reject their best efforts they've been sweating over for hours if you don't think it is good enough. They will thank you in the end!"

Arts Centre Melbourne and Australian Music Vault present
EPIC
Deborah Conway, Willy Zygier & The Men
25th Anniversary Tour
Arts Centre Melbourne, Hamer Hall
16 June 2019, 5pm
Tickets on-sale Friday 1 February at www.artscentremelbourne.com.au

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