Emma Donovan signs with Cooking Vinyl Australia: Exclusive

Emma Donovan is the latest signing to Cooking Vinyl Australia, inking a four-record deal with the indie label, TIO can reveal.

The first release through the new deal is Under These Streets, a collection of eight tracks drawn from the vault of her band The Putbacks, the funk outfit from Melbourne.

The new studio set is due out Sept. 17.

“This is our time,” comments Donovan in a statement. “As a 40-year-old woman and mother, I have been writing, touring, recording and performing songs for close to three decades.”

It’s “an honour to be recognised by Cooking Vinyl Australia who can see how we’ve built and honed our craft over the years and to share this with our fans around the world,” she continues.

Donovan learned her craft singing church songs with her grandparents on the north coast of New South Wales and, later, with the family band The Donovans, featuring her mother and five uncles.

Emma Donovan & The Putbacks kicked open the doors with Dawn in 2014, and along the way, she has toured and recorded with the likes of Dan Sultan, Paul Kelly, Katie Noonan, The Teskey Brothers and Archie Roach, and was a member of the Black Arm Band.

Donovan’s 2020 release Crossover won Best Independent Soul/RnB Album or EP at the 2021 AIR Awards, held last month in Adelaide. She performed on the night.

Earlier this year, the indigenous soul singer was named by triple j as one of 50 Game-Changing Women of Australian Music

The forthcoming album is said to be “a reconnection for the band in the shadow of the global pandemic.”

When The Putbacks and Donovan are in the studio, “we jam, we write and there’s a lot of trust for me to play with lyrics and melody,” she explains.

There much more to come.

“I can’t wait to share new music with you, including a very special solo album I’ve been working on,” enthuses Donovan.

Watch Hiatus Kaiyote & Emma Donovan cover Dolly Parton’s ‘Jolene’ live on The Set:

An offshoot of Martin Goldschmidt’s legendary U.K. label, Cooking Vinyl Australia opened for business in Melbourne back in 2013.

Cooking Vinyl’s roster includes Billy Bragg and Amanda Palmer plus homegrown artists, Fanny Lumsden, Eliza & The Delusionals and Parkway Drive.

This article originally appeared on The Industry Observer, which is now part of The Music Network.