Following the April release of her heartening debut single ‘Mary’, Perth-bred, Melbourne-based indie-folkster Harper Bloom has today released ‘Walk My Way’ – a charming and playful take on the sense of self-doubt that tends to accompany a one-sided crush.
A delightful acoustic-driven vignette, ‘Walk My Way’ is the second single taken from Bloom’s forthcoming EP, Faith, Sex and Skin, where she teamed up with prolific Australian producer Benjamin McCarthy (Gordi, Thelma Plum, G-Flip, Alex The Astronaut), who enhanced Bloom’s pared-back acoustic songs with electro-pop flourishes.
According to Bloom, ‘Walk My Way’ is a light-hearted spin on overcoming feelings of self-doubt when negotiating hierarchical differences in a budding relationship.
“I think ’Walk my Way’ applies to anyone who feels like they’re not good enough for someone, whether that’s due to wealth, looks, gender, etc.,” says Bloom.
“As the song unfolds, it reveals that learning to overcome self-doubt is important, because there are beautiful people in this world who see through all those superficial things and choose to love you, despite the judgement of others.”
Going hand-in-hand with the single is the video for ‘Walk My Way’, featuring Bloom and her real-life girlfriend in their Brunswick home. Once again, Bloom has enlisted the talent of director and cinematographer David Hansen, who in the midst of stage three restrictions, brought ‘Walk My Way’ to life.
CURVE Magazine ran a story on you and the new single, so there’s obviously some sort of connection with the LGBTQ world. How do you fall in?
I guess I fall into that world by dating a beautiful person called Charlotte Ryan, who is my long-term girlfriend. Many of the songs I’ve written have been inspired by our travels and experiences together. Charlotte had never been with a girl before dating me and considered herself ‘straight’. I guess she ended up seeing through my gender and wanted to be with me despite the judgement of others. I think that is a really powerful sentiment and an important message to keep pushing – that love comes in many different forms and that is completely normal and ok. That whole experience really impacts my writing. I write a lot of love songs about people of the same sex. Since I have only ever loved people of the same sex, those emotions and feelings that are conveyed in my writing are ones that come most naturally to me.
What inspired ‘Walk My Way’ and how did you go about filming the music video in isolation?
The initial idea for ‘Walk My Way’ came out like a stream of conscious. I was just tinkering around on my guitar and the whole chorus came out – I guess it was that idea of unrequited love and dreaming that the person you feel so strongly about notices you.
I was also reading a lot of poems about social class inequality in 1950s America and that inspired the idea of the versus – the main character of the story is quite poor and unkempt and the girl they are chasing is higher class and they feel like they aren’t seen by her. So, at the end of the song, I turned it around so that the girl felt the same way the whole time (I guess it was a bit symbolic of my own relationship).
We filmed it all in isolation in my apartment with my partner Charlotte and cinematographer David Hansen. It really was just a representation of our daily life in Covid-19.
If music wasn’t an option for you, what do you think you would be doing now?
Well, I use to be a beach lifeguard for many years back on the beaches in West Australia (where I am originally from). That was a rewarding and fun job as I was able to sit on the beach all day, drinking coffee and listening to music and rescue anyone that needed my help.
It also was a great incentive to keep nice and fit! Otherwise, before pursuing music, I had just finished a Bachelor of Science degree in Nutrition and I was supposed to go on and study a master of Dietetics, but I decided to take a leap of faith and give music a punt and see how things went. So, if I wasn’t doing music, I would probably be beach lifeguarding in Perth and studying Dietetics.
What next for Harper Bloom?
Well, as I am currently in Melbourne (still in lockdown) there will be no live gigs for a little while. My band and I have been trying to rehearse virtually, haha. I am also working on my debut EP release at the end of August. It has five tracks, including ‘Mary’ and ‘Walk My Way’. I am really excited to see how people resonate with the other three songs and I am hoping to be able to do a little tour around Victoria and NSW towards the end of the year with my band.
I am also working on my second EP at the moment and will have that finished by end of September (with help from producer Benjamin McCarthy). So, there will be a lot of new music and hopefully lots of shows on the horizon.
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