The team behind Tones and Tash talk new Maddy Jane album
Tasmanian musician Maddy Jane shot an email to Lemon Tree Music four years go in the hope of landing a support slot with Tash Sultana.
The 22-year-old got the gig, impressing managers of the moment David Morgan and Regan Lethbridge enough for the relationship to continue.
“She had a demo of an unreleased song, and a couple of tracks up on Spotify,” Morgan tells TMN. “There was something about Maddy that I really gravitated towards.”
The pair kept in touch and later went about formalising a management and label deal, spending the best part of three years on artist development.
There were a string of independent singles and an EP, with breakout tracks ‘Thank You and Sorry’ and ‘No Other Way’ eclipsing 2.5 million streams.
“We had a really good run in 2017, and into 2018, where we had some great support from triple j and the music was really connecting in that world,” recalls Morgan.
The singer-songwriter, who calls the small coastal town of Bruny Island home, developed the all-familiar itch to write and record a full-length album.
Rather than shoulder the artist down a more modern path of focus tracks and singles, Morgan backed the album plans and the creative process began.
“We really backed and supported her with the creative space to get the songs together and make sure she was happy with them, and how they were presented.
“It’s been a music focussed strategy,” said Morgan. “Maddy has always had a good sense of who she is, right from the start, and that makes a managers job that much easier.”
The fruits of that music strategy are laid bare in the 11-track album Not All Bad or Good, released by Lemon Tree Music on Friday (May 1), through Morgan and Lethbridge’s deal with Sony Music.
Morgan says the intention is not for this debut LP to “break” the artist. It’s another milestone, albeit a big one, in the slow build of Jane’s career as a full-time musician.
And after the record-breaking success of Tones And I, Morgan and Lethbridge know a thing to two about making hit albums and launching international careers.
Recorded at The Grove Studios in NSW, Jane reunited with up-and-coming producer and engineer Jackson Barclay, whose credits include Vera Blue, Timberwolf and Apes.
The album’s third single ‘Perfection’s A Thing And You’re It’ was released on March 12, just as the live music sector was moving into a complete shutdown.
“We had to pivot, but that’s nothing new in the music industry,” said Morgan.
“I’ve never worked on a release that’s had a plan that hasn’t changed, you’ve got to be agile. Every artist on our roster has had to change their plans.
“It’s always a good time to release new music and COVID-19 doesn’t change things. People are listening to music. Maddy got a triple j addition last week, which was a great leadup.”
Maddy Jane’s debut album Not All Bad or Good is out now.