Composer-producer-pianist Fiona Joy Hawkins’ latest album, When Shadows Talk is exquisite, captivating, and novelistic. The ARIA-nominated Australian artist continuously reflects on her music’s message, and remains an open book about her creative process.
Her fans adore the accessible nature of her work, and the resulting albums. The current album is available as a physical CD and vinyl record, and can be streamed or downloaded on all digital music platforms. This impressive range of offerings is not new, as Hawkins has been pioneering formats from SACD to Immersive since the mid-2000s.
She took a step back to create When Shadows Talk, which unearths a compelling story of acceptance, growth, and desired change. In a self-imposed exile, she reflected before writing. “This exile allowed me to explore what lies beneath the surface and is often passed over or suppressed,” she says.
In fact, the whole album is about meaningful conversations, something we all crave today. The first track — “Stasis” — provides an introduction to the journey that is in store for us listeners through a stellar combination of crescendos and decrescendos. This signifies that the world we are about to enter is filled with ups and downs, a commonality it shares with our own lives. As “The Ghosts of War Are Marching” starts, we are thrown into suspense and forced to remain alert. Personally, I pictured myself in an open field trying to enter a shed with this looming feeling that I was being watched. Perhaps these were the ghosts that Hawkins refers to in the track’s title.
“Lava and Snow” allows me to take a breather, and perfectly summarizes the positive and negative thoughts that cloud humanity in a way that feels authentic. Hawkins took the words and feelings out of me and is expressing them for the world to hear. “Angel’s Message” responds to “Lava and Snow” with the wisdom that listeners need after opening their hearts. The contents of this message vary from person to person and that’s what makes it so universal to the human experience.
“The Lost Ballerina (Solo Piano)” — my favorite track — is filled with encapsulating and youthful patterns that encourage one to contemplate on the carefree and simple times where life felt hopeful and exciting. Its composition is what makes the album stand out from its contemporaries, and made me fully realize I am listening to something special. This is more than pretty piano music.
When “In The Deep” sneaks in to drive the rest of the story, I start going down a rabbit hole of memories. The frequent alterations in pace mark some of these memories are frivolous and forgettable, while others are ones that I want to revisit with a fresh perspective. “In The Deep” leaves one wondering where they are headed next and what will be discovered, and the next set of tracks mark a new transition in the story being told.
“Outside the Circle” is a thought-provoking piece that encourages one to reflect on core memories that shaped who they are, and “Finding the Clearing” gives listeners the space to process what has been seen and heard, and what these insights could mean. Tracks like “The Mirror” mandate another confrontation, only listeners are looking at themselves this time wondering who they want to be.
“The Journey (Solo Piano)” and “Hitting the Glass” showcase an individual’s powerful and necessary development into an enhanced version of themselves, and can easily serve as tools of motivation and resilience. But Hawkins makes sure to leave listeners with a serene tune — “The Brown Bird” — to compassionately close out the journey and leaves one hopeful for what is to come.
What makes When Shadows Talk stand out from its contemporaries is its ability to tell a modern yet universal story of renewal and resilience. It beautifully demonstrates what it means to be human.
When Shadows Talk has been accepted for consideration in the New Age, Ambient, Chant category for the GRAMMY Awards.
Experience Lava and Snow visually here: 
Listen to When Shadows Talk and embark on this personalized journey through the platform of your choice: https://found.ee/when-shadows-talk
You can learn more and follow Fiona Joy Hawkins here: https://linktr.ee/fionajoymusic
