Kirsten Morrell Releases New Album ‘Morrellium’ + Single ‘ChickenBook’
Kirsten Morrell is probably best known for her sparkling career as lead vocalist and co-songwriter for Goldenhorse, a band who became a household name in Aotearoa.
Goldenhorse’s popularity has never waned – their song Maybe Tomorrow was recently voted in at No. 61 on Radio New Zealand’s Waiata 100, which counted down Kiwis’ most-loved Aotearoa songs of all time.
After Goldenhorse called it a day in 2007, Morrell remained active in the music world, and today releases her new album Morrellium.
Morrellium is Morrell’s seventh studio album, and her second solo album following the release of her debut Ultraviolet in 2010, and it includes contributions from former Goldenhorse bandmates Geoff Maddock and Ben King.
The writing of the Morrellium album spans years, with a stint of work in between London and LA with Maddock. Conversely, the recording was quick: a couple of days demoing and then 10 days in the studio.
In September 2023 we were treated to the first single from Morrellium, Strawberry Fool. Further lush singles have followed: Harry, Avignon, Buddha (Forget You), Wishing and Hoping (Robin’s Song), and most recently Prince of Kings.
Ultraviolet showcased the vocal charm that has become Morrell’s trademark, and revealed more of her pop writing and music production abilities. Whereas Ultraviolet was largely home-made, Morrellium is quite a different beast.
The crafting of Morrellium began in London, “after my friend Alan Gregg (The Mutton Birds) and I went for a walk one day. I was at a crossroads, and he said, ‘permission to start writing again Kirsten’. It really rolled on from there.”
Returning from London to be with family, the momentum grew. Morrell recorded the album with producer Clint Murphy – “who incidentally engineered my favourite Goldenhorse album Reporter at Neil Finn’s Roundhead Studios” – and it was mastered in New Jersey, U.S.A by Sterling Sound.
Morrell says, “Overall, Morrellium was created during a global pandemic, climate change, lockdowns, fun times and not so fun times, but most definitely with a lot of love and help from my whanau and friends.
“It sits as a part of a whole music picture related to what’s been inspiring me: Art, Theatre, Performance, Singing in a Symphonic Choir – and also having to work 2 sometimes 3 day jobs to make ends meet in the arts.
“There are some songs I’ve brought out of the cupboard from my hazy Uni days, like the single Harry, and even before that, such as ChickenBook, a whimsical pop song you could say.
“I’ve been writing music since I was a little girl in Cornwall. I feel lucky my parents encouraged me to follow my heart and dreams. That I had freedom to develop a vivid imagination, and also the confidence to throw a steampunk operetta together for example, or audition for things I want to do. Confidence is so tied up with fitness, and for me that’s where yoga also comes in.”
Morrellium refers to the periodic table of elements – it’s number 119!
Alongside her new album Morrellium, Kirsten Morrell is very pleased to share a new single, ChickenBook.
Morrell says, “ChickenBook is another one of those whimsical celtic/theatrical songs I’ve plucked from my youth.
“I grew up on a self sufficient farm in Kernow (Cornwall) and we used to rehabilitate chickens from the local battery farm. Literally, a farmer would occasionally come by with a brown hessian sack filled with the birds. I remember they looked shocking – disfigured and some of them unable to walk or scratch.
“After they’d been in our chicken barn which had the longest chicken run “in the world”, for about a month they’d start to come right. Clucking, looking happy, growing feathers back.
“That coupled with my idealized notion of a white wedding – if a little tangy, is really what ChickenBook is about!”
