The Australian singer-songwriter Eliza Hull returns to the music scene with a mesmerising new release showcasing her ethereal vocals and poetic lyricism. “Running Underwater” sees Hull collaborate with ARIA Award-winning producer Pip Norman to create a powerful and introspective song that explores the experience of living with the condition Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) and challenges societal perceptions of disability.
Since its release, “Running Underwater” has gained well-deserved traction, garnering over 150k views on YouTube and surpassing 500k streams. She states “This song is about pushing up against society’s view of disability, it’s about letting go of the fear and being authentic and true to myself and showing that it’s ok to be different. “ The track serves as a sweet taste for her EP Here They Come, due for release later this year.
Eliza has some shows booked in Australia in August and September. Details are below.
Beyond her own music, Hull advocates for accessibility and inclusivity and has given us five artists with disabilities that we should know about.
Here’s a glimpse into the artists and what Eliza has to say about them:
Eliza’s top 5 recommendations: Musicians with disabilities we should know
Martha Marlow
Martha Marlow is from Sydney and her music is so theatrical, I always get so many visuals when listening to it. She is also an incredible painter so it makes sense why her music paints pictures in my mind. Her music has been described as ‘Orchestral Pop’ which sums it up beautifully. Martha was born with Talipes, which required several surgical operations. She also has dyslexia, and became increasingly unwell five years ago with an autoimmune condition.
Tralala Blip
Tralala Blip are from around the Northern Rivers. Their music is so interesting. It’s electronic and has singing and spoken word throughout. I love listening to it on a Sunday morning. The band has members with and without disability, some of the members have an intellectual disability. They performed at the Sydney Opera House during Ted Talks, that’s how I discovered their music.
Batts
Tanya Batt is the lead vocalist and song-writer from the project Batts who is based in Melbourne.. Tanya’s music and singing is so incredible, and I love sinking into their music on a long car trip. To me it’s dreamy and moving and heartfelt. Tanya identifies as disabled, they have vestibular migraines, they have been an incredible advocate in the music industry to stop festivals and venues from using strobes.
Ruth Lyon
Ruth and I feel like we were meant to meet. You know those people that you feel like you are living very similar lives even though you’ve never met and live across the other side of the world from each other? We both have physical disabilities and our music is very similar. I met Ruth when I created the ‘Accessible All Areas’ stream that had over 50 thousand people tune in with isolaid festival during one of the COVID lockdowns. I interviewed her and got her to share her music. We then did a panel and performance together at the SXSW festival last year in Austin Texas. Ruth lives in the UK and this month we are touring together in the UK. It’s amazing who you can find online!
Liz Martin
Liz is a great artist from Sydney who performs with her live band. They perform alt-folk, and just are so incredible live. We performed together at Sydney Opera House and this year we are going to be performing together at Melbourne Recital Centre. It’s a beautiful thing to have a connection like ours with a fellow disabled artist who really understands.
Australian fans will be able to see Eliza live this August and September, with performances scheduled in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane.
AUSTRALIAN TOUR DATES
Saturday 26th August – Melbourne Recital Centre – tickets HERE
Sunday 10th September – Riverside Theatre Sydney
Friday 22nd September – Undercover Festival Brisbane
You can show Eliza Hull some support by giving her a follow on Facebook and Instagram.
Header image credit: Michelle Grace Hunder
