JEN CLOHER is a brave woman. Despite its title, her latest album Hidden Hands has rejected obscurity in favour of honest, revealing and confessional lyrics. Fans of her previous albums, including the ARIA nominated Dead Wood Falls, may be surprised by the change in focus, but certainly not disappointed.
Following a hectic and exciting schedule of tours, both supporting big-name acts and headlining events herself Australia-wide, Cloher found herself in an extraordinarily contrasting situation. Back in New Zealand, she had to come to terms with her mother's Alzheimer's. Though harrowing, it inspired the opening track Mother's Desk, in which Cloher asserts her belief in destiny and fate: "We can only go where we're meant to go. Hidden hands will help us along."
The beautiful artwork on the album cover illustrates the themes of mystery, but also the vibrancy and playfulness within the package. "Catherine Brickman, the artist, had a really beautiful, vibrant approach," Cloher explains. "Even though it dealt with big, big feelings like sorrow and grief, there was also a lot of hope, light and celebration."
The owls featured in the artwork, Cloher reveals, are mopoke owls, native to New Zealand. "I wanted the artwork to feature owls because they are my power animal! The mopoke owls represent this unseen, creative force."
Cloher has clearly done a lot of philosophising and is refreshingly candid about the creative block she felt after the exhausting schedule of 2007. Hidden Hands was the result of forcing herself to sit down and write. "The answer was in there," she says. "There were rewards and gifts if I kept at it, and creativity is a calling, not necessarily a chosen profession. It's a calling and you have to honour it."
Following a meeting with the Dalai Lama, after the One Earth concert in Sydney, Cloher blogged: "Our inner world reflects our outer world. Find peace within and we contribute to peace on a global level." For Cloher, it may be just as accurate to surmise that her music reflects her inner world.
Revealing the source of the album title, Cloher is keen to tell the story. "It's something that I borrowed," she admits. "This idea from a mythologist called Joseph Campbell. He's no longer alive but he is considered one of the foremost authorities on mythology and religion, and he inspired George Lucas' Star Wars trilogy in the '80s. He basically has a saying - follow your bliss, you'll be met by a thousand unseen helping hands. Hidden hands helped me to write the album and get through this challenging period of my life."
If not your bliss, follow your ears and don't miss one of 2009's most impressive album releases - Cloher's intriguing Hidden Hands.
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