Since the age of six, Bernadette Novembre has captivated audiences, touring alongside international stars as their opening act.
As she grew older, balancing school and the demands of a burgeoning career became increasingly challenging. However, in 2017, her single Everybody Knows marked a triumphant return to the soul music scene, garnering attention.
The following year, she released her EP Rebounding, followed by multiple singles in 2019. Despite the onset of COVID-19, Bernadette remained steadfast behind the scenes, diligently preparing for her next big project.
Now, she’s about to drop her debut album and the first single Another View from Dystopia is out on July 29th.
Keep up with the latest music news, features, festivals, interviews and reviews here.
The teasers hint at a slightly more 60s/70s rock sound which is a huge contrast to her previous swing/soul sound, but a welcome change and one that Bernadette is excited to explore, saying, “So it’s heavily inspired by all my inspirations from late 1960s rock. The Beatles, George Harrison, The Doors, I guess David Bowie as well and then like mixed in with modern indie Brit Rock as well, so Arctic Monkeys, Oasis and then Lana Del Rey of course… there’s that sort of meshing of the two eras, I guess…
“I ended up meeting Josh Moriarty from Telenova and Miami Horror. He’s got a very indie-rock style in the way he approaches songwriting, so we collaborated on the songs on the album and he plays most of the instruments on the album and the single as well. He loves all the music I do, so that really worked.”
If you visit Bernadette’s socials, you’ll see a pleasing aesthetic with stunning visuals, the most recent teasing the video clip for Another View from Dystopia.
“I don’t know if every artist is like this, I kind of have a really clear idea of how I want [the visuals] to look like, though with the storyline- not so much. That’s where the director Andrew Yeremeyev and Director of Photography Daniel Bolt came in and helped me.”
Bernadette says proudly: “I’m really big on location, so I like to set the scene. I actually sourced Heidi Museum and the Robin Boyd Walsh Street property..they’re both modernist sort of vibes and I’m really into that and that kind of fit in well with that dystopian world that we wanted to create.”
The clip features a beautiful backdrop with dystopian-like characters, dancing eerily. Although she had danced when she was younger, this was a step outside of Bernadette’s comfort zone, with the singer saying, “I really, really wanted to have someone on board that would know how to make me move and give me tips on movement.
“Choreographer and movement coach Zoee Walsh came on board. Initially, it was just going to be movement and then the director was like, ‘You know, maybe you should dance’. I’m like, ‘Oh my God, you’re asking for too much.’ Bernadette laughs.
“I did do a dance diploma at Dance Factory. That was like a good 15 years ago now. So, yeah, doing that was a bit out of my comfort zone but then because I had such a great choreographer, muscle memory came back and she made it work really well…I’m playing an Android, so she made that really work and the dancers are like my little army of Android killers.”
Bernadette is confident that this single is a great taste of what the rest of the album will sound like. “The sound is very uniform, like across the whole album. It took us about… I think we’re in our fourth year, since we started writing it, so that keeps me busy.”
Consisting of ten tracks, the album will blend elements of indie and dream rock/ pop, with some slower ballads and faster songs and even includes an Italian rock track at the very end.
If you’re not an artist yourself, it’s easy to forget that the lifestyle isn’t as glamorous as it seems. Bernadette works a day job, writing and making music in her spare time.
“I’d love to do the music full time, but it’s such a fickle industry” she shares. “But I’ll keep pushing through and keep releasing things and see if they resonate with people. The music industry in Melbourne is struggling quite a bit at the moment, especially after COVID and the cost of living crisis. People aren’t getting out as much I’ve noticed.”
Another View from Dystopia is out on July 29th and to celebrate Bernadette will be having a single launch at The Night Cat on August 15th. “It’ll be featuring a 10-piece orchestra that actually played on some of the tracks led by the incredible Tamil Rogeon so that’s going to be really cool. They’re Opera Australia musicians, so I was so honoured to have them play on the tracks.”
Buy tickets to see Bernadette Novembre at The Night Cat here. Follow her everywhere here.
