Lo Carmen

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Lo Carmen
Lo Carmen recording
Lo Carmen recording
Background information
Birth nameLoene Carmen
BornAdelaide, South Australia, Australia
GenresAmericana, singer-songwriter, indie rock, alternative country, indie, folk
Occupation(s)Singer-songwriter, musician, producer, author, actress
Instrument(s)Vocals, guitar, percussion
Years active1987–present
Websitelocarmenmusic.com

Lo Carmen (also known by her full name Loene Carmen prior to 2012) is an Australian singer-songwriter, musician, producer, author and actress.[1] Carmen has independently released seven solo albums in the Americana alt-country indie rock vein. In February 2022 her memoir Lovers Dreamers Fighters[2] was published by HarperCollins, "a memoir of coming-of-age on screen and in song that also pays tribute to the iconic Australian women—writers, rebels, activists and fellow musicians—who lit her way".[3] Author Madeleine Lucas said in their Rushh magazine conversation, "At its heart, I felt like Lovers Dreamers Fighters is really a memoir about work. I appreciated that because creative work, like domestic work, is not seen as labour a lot of the time."

Carmen has described the book as ‘more a cultural history than a memoir … It’s more a kind of love letter to all the musicians and women that have inspired me.’.[4]

She launched podcast Death Is Not The End in February 2024, an exploration of death from multiple perspectives.[5]

Early life and career[edit]

Carmen was born in Adelaide, South Australia, and raised amongst its 1970s music and art community.[6] She is the daughter of rock-jazz-blues pianist Peter Head, founder of The Mount Lofty Rangers,[7] and has a brother Josh Beagley, a guitarist, most notably with funk band Swoop.[8] She began performing while accompanying her father and formed a country band, The Honky Tonk Angels,[9] followed by garage girl band The White Trash Mamas,[10] 'torch rock' 8 piece Automatic Cherry,[11] and Slow Hand, an 'obscure country soul covers' band.[12] Carmen began focusing on a career as a solo singer-songwriter in 2002.

Film[edit]

Carmen was discovered at sixteen working in a Kings Cross pizza bar and cast as the "wild and haunted"[13] Freya Olson in John Duigan's The Year My Voice Broke (1987). Her performance, and that of her co-stars Noah Taylor and Ben Mendelsohn, was described as "deeply memorable, central characters [that] are played by a trio of fine actors in the formative stages of their careers".[14] She was nominated for an Australian Film Institute Best Actress award[15][16] for her role as Freya, 'arguably one of Australian cinema's most finely developed female characters, evoking the subtle shades of a burgeoning womanliness.'[17] Ben Mendelsohn calls it 'one of the greatest films I have made'.[18] Other notable roles followed including Australian prostitute/whistleblower Sallie-Anne Huckstepp in the docudrama Blue Murder and Christine in Alkinos Tsilimidos' gritty drama Tom White, for which she also received nominations for Australian Film Institute Best Supporting Actress, Film Critics Circle Best Actor – Female 2004 and IF Awards Best Actress 2004.[19] In 2011, director Kriv Stenders brought Carmen and Noah Taylor together again in Australian film Red Dog,[20] which was described in the Australian as a "warm-hearted and thoroughly entertaining movie".[21][22] When asked whether she prefers film or music, Carmen explains 'Making and working on music is my lifeblood and what I do every day but acting is also second nature to me. They are pretty intrinsically linked in my mind – both require commitment to getting a feeling or a character across, they just use different tools.'[22]

Music[edit]

Carmen's debut solo album Born Funky Born Free was released in 2001, and featured contributions from Simon Day and James Cruickshank.[23][24] In 2004, her second album, Slight Delay featuring Jed Kurzel and Warren Ellis was released on Reverberation Records.[25]

Rock'n'Roll Tears was released on Shock Records in 2007, co-written and recorded with Jed Kurzel and Sam Worrad.[26] Tracks "Nashville High" and "Rock n Roll Tears" were featured in the Australian series Love My Way.[27] It was described as "impeccably well orchestrated collection of moody, classic rock and roll pieces that highlights Loene's vocal strength and range".[28]

Carmen's fourth album It Walks Like Love was released in December 2009.[29] The album was produced with Burke Reid and recorded with musicians from teenage punk band The Scare and long time collaborator Sam Worrad from The Holy Soul on bass.[30] Special guests include Jed Kurzel (Mess Hall) on duet "Oh Apollo!", her father Peter Head on piano with Tex Perkins and daughter Holiday Sidewinder also making an appearance on backing vocals.[31] An EP Hard Candy Christmas (2010) under the name Sweet Carmo featured country classics by artists such as Dolly Parton, Loretta Lynn and Tammy Wynette.[32] who are cited as major influences, alongside Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan, Tom Waits and Etta James.[33]

After relocating to Georgia while her partner, actor Aden Young shot Sundance television series Rectify, Carmen recorded and released The Peach State (2012), a suite of solo country songs, recorded in Nashville with long time Johnny Cash engineer David Ferguson.[34] No Depression called it "...stark country-soul and shimmering blues ...a direct line to the heart that showcases her glorious voice."[35] This release also marked the professional name change from Loene Carmen to Lo Carmen.

In 2013, Carmen released the album The Apple Don't Fall Far from the Tree, a collaboration with her father Peter Head. It was described as "an album high on smoky atmosphere and the ghosts of many a raised glass"[36] and "an endearing mix of country soul and late night jazz".[37][38] During the subsequent tour, the duo opened for Kinky Friedman and The Handsome Family.[39][40]

In 2015 she released sixth album Everyone You Ever Knew (Is Coming Back To Haunt You) that features the title track as a single.[41] The album was self-produced and recorded in Sydney over one day by Wade Keighran with musicians Ken Gormly from The Cruel Sea, Cec Condon from The Mess Hall on drums and Sam Worrad on guitar.[42] Global Texan Chronicles called it "shadowy and palpable Lou Reed-esque honky tonk realism with so much rare and raw individuality that it takes you aback at first listen",[43] and described Carmen as "a true storyteller". Pan Magazine described it as "true to all of Carmen's creations, it's distinguished by her ability to summon a decade-defying sound and wind up in a world of her own making.'[44] The album includes a song written about mysterious Blue Note jazz pianist Jutta Hipp. Aden Young filmed, directed and edited the videoclip for the single on a farm in Griffin, Georgia.[45]

First single "Last Thing I'll Remember" from seventh studio album Lovers Dreamers Fighters was released on 1 September 2017. Glide Magazine described it as 'gorgeous twangy pedal steel, sensual vocals, haunting guitar and harmonies, and a drumbeat that conveys a quiet loneliness'[46] A music video for second single 'Sometimes Its Hard (feat. Bonnie 'Prince' Billy)' was released on 26 October 2017. The video was co-directed by Get Out cinematographer Toby Oliver.[47][48] 'Lovers Dreamers Fighters'was released on 10 November 2017 to very positive reviews.[49]

Carmen performs solo or with a rotating line-up of musicians and has opened for Gareth Liddiard (The Drones), Kim Salmon, Eilen Jewell, Magnolia Electric Company, Mess Hall, Paul Kelly, Dirty Three, Renee Geyer and The Secret Sisters in Australia as well as Mick Harvey and Beasts of Bourbon in Europe.[50] She showcased solo at SxSW in 2009 and 2016.[51][52][53] In an interview she explained "I prefer to have a core band that I can play with but I'm not a machine playing all the time so when I need people I just have to hope they are available. Plus, I like the idea of being like Chuck Berry, just picking up bands in every town or for different gigs. And that way the songs sound different each time too".[54] She records more than performing live, stating "Making albums is the absolute joy of being a musician for me, especially the joy of recording with other people and the surprises of what they bring."[55]

Other Writing[edit]

Carmen writes a weekly Substack newsletter named Loose Connections featuring music and culture essays and recommendations.[56]

She has published articles in Rolling Stone [57] and The Guardian[58] and essays in No Depression, Talkhouse,[59]The Big Issueand Neighborhood Paper[60][61] and the anthologies Meanjin on Rock 'n' Roll: All Yesterday's Parties,[62] and in Your Mother Would be Proud: True Tales of Mayhem and Misadventure (edited by Jenny Valentish & Tamara Sheward),[63] and contributed to two of the Women of Letters collections (edited by Marieke Hardy and Michaela McGuire)'.[64]

Discography[edit]

Studio albums

Collaborative albums

Singles and EPs

Other releases

  • Slow Burner – Automatic Cherry (1996)
  • Fateful Gaze – The Charismatics (1998)
  • Leave It at the Door – T: Lo (2010; digital release)
  • Hard Candy Christmas – Sweet Carmo (2011; digital release/limited edition of 25)

Guest appearances

Selected filmography[edit]

Film[edit]

Television[edit]

Music videos[edit]

  • "My Friends Call Me Foxy" (2002)
  • "The Things That Matter" (2004)
  • "Nashville High" (2006)
  • "Mimic the Rain" (2009)
  • "The Peach State" (2012)
  • "Old Hands" (2013)
  • "Everyone You Ever Knew (Is Coming Back To Haunt You)" (2015)
  • "Sometimes Its Hard (feat. Bonnie 'Prince' Billy)" (2017)
  • "I Just Had To Run" (2023)

Awards and nominations[edit]

Personal life[edit]

Carmen is the daughter of musician Peter Head and textile artist mother Mouse. She had a daughter, Holiday Sidewinder, in 1990, while in a relationship with Jeremy Sparks. Sidewinder is also a singer-songwriter.[66][67] Sidewinder's godfather is actor Noah Taylor.[68]

Carmen married actor Aden Young in Zebulon, Georgia, in 2014, after a 10-year relationship.[69] They have two sons, Chester (b. 2011) and Dutch (b. 2007).[70] Young directed the music videos for "Everyone You Ever Knew (Is Coming Back To Haunt You)", "Nashville High" and edited Carmen's "Mimic the Rain" clip.[71] Carmen co-composed the score for Young's short film The Rose of Ba Ziz (2007) and also appeared in it.[72]

Carmen watched hundreds of performances Australian soul singer Wendy Saddington gave accompanied by Carmen's father, Peter Head, since the 1980s.[73] Since then, Carmen cited Saddington, a close family friend, as a major influence.[74][75]

Carmen's mother, a former film and costume seamstress, made the wedding dress in Muriel's Wedding and Chrissy Amphlett's iconic schoolgirl tunics.[66] Carmen claims to have attended hundreds of Divinyls shows as a teenager.[76]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Lo Carmen (aka Loene Carmen) is an Australian singer songwriter". locarmenmusic.com. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
  2. ^ Carmen, Lo (2 February 2022). Lovers Dreamers Fighters. Australia: Harper Collins Australia. p. 368. ISBN 9781460759981. Retrieved 23 September 2023.
  3. ^ Lucas, Madeleine (20 June 2022). "Lo Carmen on creative success and her new book, 'Lovers Dreamers Fighters'". Russh.com. Russh. Retrieved 20 June 2022.
  4. ^ Muzik, Virginia (5 April 2022). "Lo Carmen Lovers Dreamers Fighters. Reviewed by Virginia Muzik". newtownreviewofbooks.com.au. Retrieved 20 June 2022.
  5. ^ "Death is Not the End on Apple Podcasts". 26 February 2024.
  6. ^ Kelton, Sam (19 December 2013). "Unseen footage, photographs of legendary AC/DC rocker Bon Scott with The Mt Lofty Rangers in the Adelaide Hills emerges". The Advertiser. Adelaide. Retrieved 19 September 2016.
  7. ^ Hadland, Nick (13 September 2013). "Lo Carmen and Peter Head – The Apple don't fall far from the tree". altmedia.net.au. Retrieved 20 September 2016.
  8. ^ "Bio 2: Deep History". 2 August 2011. Retrieved 20 September 2016.
  9. ^ "Blurb Books". blurb.com. Retrieved 8 February 2018.
  10. ^ WHITE TRASH MAMAS. 9 October 2011. Retrieved 8 February 2018. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
  11. ^ "Automatic Cherry | Discography | Discogs". Discogs.
  12. ^ Steph, Phillips (14 February 2010). "Conversational | Loene Carmen". The Girls Are... Retrieved 20 September 2016.
  13. ^ Hinson, Hal (12 September 1988). "The Year My Voice Broke (PG-13)". The Washington Post.
  14. ^ Buckmaster, Luke (12 February 2015). "The Year My Voice Broke rewatched – coming of age in the backwoods". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 30 September 2016.
  15. ^ a b "1987 Winners & Nominees". aacta.org. Retrieved 25 April 2015.
  16. ^ Gelder, Lawrence Van (2 September 1988). "At the Movies". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 20 September 2016.
  17. ^ Gibson, Suzie (8 June 2017). "Where are the epic women's coming of age screen stories?". theconversation.com. Retrieved 8 February 2018.
  18. ^ "Ben Mendelsohn's new movie role as a paedophile". news.com.au. Retrieved 8 February 2018.
  19. ^ a b "2004 Winners & Nominees". aacta.org. Retrieved 25 April 2015.
  20. ^ Stratton, David (6 August 2011). "Kriv Stenders's Red Dog is an Aussie winner from nose to tail". The Australian.
  21. ^ "Kriv Stenders's Red Dog is an Aussie winner from nose to tail". The Australian. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
  22. ^ a b "We're for Sydney". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 29 April 2018.
  23. ^ "Born Funky Born Free – Loene Carmen | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 20 September 2016.
  24. ^ "Loene Carmen – Born Funky Born Free". discogs. Retrieved 20 September 2016.
  25. ^ "Slight Delay – Loene Carmen | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 20 September 2016.
  26. ^ Cleghorn, Justine (23 September 2007). "Rock 'n Roll tour for Loene Carmen". fasterlouder.com. Archived from the original on 24 October 2017. Retrieved 22 September 2016.
  27. ^ "Australian Television: Love My Way: Music Credits". australiantelevision.net.au. Retrieved 25 April 2015.
  28. ^ Hitch, Gabrielle (16 October 2007). "Loene Carmen – No More Tears". thedwarf.com. Retrieved 30 September 2016.
  29. ^ Ryan, Andy (20 December 2009). "Loene Carmen – It Walks Like Love Review". fasterlouder.com.au. Retrieved 25 April 2015.
  30. ^ "It Walks Like Love – Loene Carmen | Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 30 September 2016.
  31. ^ Peken, Chris. "Loene Carmen – it Walks Like Love Review". altmedia.net.au. Retrieved 25 April 2015.
  32. ^ "Hard Candy Christmas, by Sweet Carmo". Bandcamp. Archived from the original on 2 October 2016. Retrieved 20 September 2016.
  33. ^ "Red Wine MusicArtist Profile: Loene Carmen | South Sydney Herald South Sydney Herald". Southsydneyherald.com.au. 4 March 2013. Retrieved 29 April 2018.
  34. ^ Collis, Andrew (4 March 2013). "Red Wine MusicArtist Profile: Loene Carmen". South Sydney Herald.
  35. ^ Familton, Chris (9 November 2012). "Loene Carmen Releases New EP – The Peach State". nodepression.com.
  36. ^ Sounds, Doubtful (2 October 2013). "ALBUM REVIEW: Lo Carmen & Peter Head ~ The Apple Don't Fall Far From The Tree". Retrieved 22 October 2016.
  37. ^ Colwell, Jack (4 September 2013). "Album Review: Lo Carmen & Peter Head". somethingyousaid.com.
  38. ^ Familton, Chris (2 October 2013). "Lo Carmen & Peter Head ~ The Apple Don't Fall Far From The Tree". posttowire.com.
  39. ^ "The Handsome Family USA Loene Carmen & Peter Head". the basement. 13 October 2013.
  40. ^ Shedden, Iain (7 September 2013). "The Apple Don't Fall Far From the Tree (Lo Carmen and Peter Head)". The Australian. Retrieved 30 September 2016.
  41. ^ Townsen, Bobby (3 October 2015). "Getting to know Lo Carmen – interview & video premiere!". Something You Said. Retrieved 20 September 2016.
  42. ^ Sounds, Doubtful (20 November 2015). "ALBUM REVIEW: Lo Carmen ~ Everyone You Ever Knew (Is Coming Back To Haunt You)". Retrieved 22 October 2016.
  43. ^ "Lo Carmen Goes Track x Track Everyone You Ever Knew (Is Coming Back To Haunt You)". Global Texan Chronicles. 4 November 2015. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
  44. ^ Dallas, Emma. "Hear This – Everyone You Ever Knew (Is Coming Back To Haunt You) by Lo Carmen". Pan Magazine. Archived from the original on 6 September 2017. Retrieved 18 May 2017.
  45. ^ "Hear This - Everyone You Ever Knew (Is Coming Back to Haunt You) by Lo Carmen — PAN magazine". Archived from the original on 22 October 2016. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
  46. ^ "SONG PREMIERE: Lo Carmen Goes For Twangy Country Soul on "Last Thing I'll Remember" – Glide Magazine". glidemagazine.com. 31 August 2017. Retrieved 8 February 2018.
  47. ^ Lo Carmen (26 October 2017). "Lo Carmen – Sometimes It's Hard (feat. Bonnie 'Prince' Billy)". Archived from the original on 21 December 2021. Retrieved 8 February 2018 – via YouTube.
  48. ^ "Lo Carmen – "Sometimes It's Hard" (video) (premiere)". PopMatters. 23 October 2017. Retrieved 8 February 2018.
  49. ^ "Lo Carmen Reviews". locarmenmusic.com. Retrieved 8 February 2018.
  50. ^ "Italian tour for Mick Harvey". Freak Out Magazine (in Italian). 11 May 2006.
  51. ^ "Lo Carmen | SXSW 2016 Event Schedule". SXSW Schedule 2016. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
  52. ^ "2009 SXSW supplement" (PDF). austinchronicle.com. 20 March 2009. Retrieved 25 April 2015.
  53. ^ Cleghorn, Justine (23 September 2007). "Rock'n'roll Tour For Loene Carmen". fasterlouder.com.au. Retrieved 25 April 2015.
  54. ^ Block, Trevor (19 February 2010). "Loene Carmen: ?Soft Chaos". messandnoise.com.
  55. ^ "The Lo Down". Living in the Land of Oz / Howzat! Archive. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
  56. ^ Carmen, Lo. "Loose Connections". substack.com. Substack.
  57. ^ Carmen, Lo (7 April 2023). "How Bambi Lee Savage Broke Down the Studio Boys' Club and Worked on One of the Nineties' Biggest Albums". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 23 September 2023.
  58. ^ Carmen, Lo (25 February 2021). "Acid, blood and police raids: the pioneering drag chaos of Sylvia and the Synthetics". The Guardian Australia. Retrieved 23 September 2023.
  59. ^ Carmen, Lo. "Lo Carmen is the Boss of Her Own World". Talkhouse.com. Talkhouse Inc. Retrieved 23 September 2023.
  60. ^ "Neighbourhood Paper I Am The Seeker – Get yourself slayed by the female masters of music – Neighbourhood Paper". neighbourhoodpaper.com. 11 January 2018. Retrieved 8 February 2018.
  61. ^ "Neighbourhood Paper Dead Ladies' Dresses – A feeling for what is left behind – Neighbourhood Paper". neighbourhoodpaper.com. 7 June 2017. Retrieved 8 February 2018.
  62. ^ Carmen, Loene (1 January 2006). "Down on Devil Gate Drive". Meanjin. 65 (3).
  63. ^ Valentish, Jenny; Sheward, Tamara. "Your mother would be proud : true tales of mayhem and misadventure". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 20 September 2016.
  64. ^ Kenwood, Nina (26 October 2012). "Sincerely by Michaela McGuire and Marieke Hardy by Nina Kenwood". reading.com.au.
  65. ^ a b "IMDbPro". IMDb. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
  66. ^ a b "Holiday Sidewinder". Oyster Magazine (105). Archived from the original on 25 May 2015. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
  67. ^ Dunn, Emily (22 November 2007). "Next generation in the musical family tree". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 20 September 2016.
  68. ^ "Noah Taylor and Goddaughter". The Guardian. 30 March 2014.
  69. ^ "Aden Young, star of US series Rectify, on the dark role that sometimes haunts him". news.com.au.
  70. ^ "Wedding Bliss For Aden Young". Courier Mail. Australia. Retrieved 25 April 2015.
  71. ^ Sargeant, Jack (February 2010). "Keeping It Reel". Film Ink.
  72. ^ "The Rose of Ba Ziz (2007)". IMDb. Retrieved 25 April 2015.
  73. ^ "Live Reviews: Wendy Saddington and Peter Head, Camelot Lounge". collapseboard.com. Marrickville, Sydney. 29 April 2012.
  74. ^ True, Everett (24 February 2015). "Looking through a Window by Wendy Saddington, Australia's First Lady of Soul". The Guardian.
  75. ^ Carmen, Lo (17 February 2022). "The soul singer Sydney forgot is celebrated in Mardi Gras 2022". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  76. ^ "Lo Carmen – Words & Other Things". locarmenmusic.com. Retrieved 8 February 2018.

External links[edit]

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