Thursday October 14, 2021
Some songs are best left alone. How many times have you heard that? Numerous. I’ve been known to say that. Pick a tune, a classic tune, or even one that’s not necessarily considered a veritable classic, say in the Bowie Heroes way but one that has seeped into the culture and managed to remain there, however tentative its place.
Some might argue that Alannah Myles’s 1990 hit Black Velvet, the four-minute MOR rock tribute to Elvis Presley, is such a track, that it was sort of definitive in its own late eighties, early 90s kind of way. But that logic is being defied here. Australian music duo Zsuzi & Anth has just released their interpretation, and somewhat of an emboldened re-imagining, it is too.
Realising they were aligned in their vision and purpose to help others through music and save lives (a big call but a noble ambition), the two musicians joined forces a few years ago and released their 2019 debut, You’re Worth It. Zsuzi’s story is one of hard work and an enduring passion for performing and writing, having had some solo success for a period before meeting Anth—Anth’s history runs parallel, experiencing trauma and heartache from an early age but harnessing the power of music for healing. Individually Zsuzi & Anth’s stories are quite endearing, with both experiencing all the highs and lows of the music world, not to mention the real world.
Zsuzi & Anth’s second single, Helping Hand, which has a significant backstory, is currently a top ten finalist in the Liverpool International Song Contest in the UK, chosen from over 1,600 song entries from eighteen countries. Using the broad appeal of Black Velvet to initiate music listeners into their brand of minimalist electro-pop was a creatively daring decision. A significant change, aside from utilising synths and a contemporary approach, is the new groove. Gone is the shuffle feel of the original, replaced by a straightened beat.
But helped along by the added sonic revamp, the alternate vocal from Zsuzi and Anth (each takes a turn singing a verse), it all seems to work in a surprisingly otherworldly way, with the original’s clean heat and compacted emotion still present.
