On New Album The Blue Hour, Amaya Laucirica Inhabits the Atmospheric Hours Between Dark and Light

By Nick Buckley

The Blue Hour is the moment after sunset and before dawn, when the world is washed with melancholy and possibility. It portends to the onset of darkness or new light – a liminal space chosen as the name of the new album by the Naarm/Melbourne-based singer Amaya Laucirica.

Written over the course of several years, The Blue Hour encapsulates a transformative period in Laucirica’s life. Beginning in late 2018, the songwriting process spanned the life-altering birth of her daughter Louella and the challenges and revelations she experienced during periods of social disconnection.

In ensemble mode after touring her acclaimed 2018 album, Rituals, Laucirica entered the studio with the album's first tracks ready to record with her band: ‘What I Cannot See’, ‘All the Latest’, and ‘Now or Never’. But as the recording progressed, Laucirica realised she needed to go inwards and work on the record as a largely-solo project in order to bring the music to life.

“The songs started revealing themselves to me during the writing process,” Laucirica shared. “I didn’t preconceive that this album would sound so different, but halfway through, I realized it would be a more intimate and personal record than Rituals.”

‘What I Cannot See’ emerged as the wistful, atmospheric album opener – a meditation on the creep of familiarity and Laucirica’s compulsion to stay engaged both with the world and herself.

“We often live in a bubble. We have our circle of friends or a certain community where the ideas shared are sometimes very similar,” says Laucirica. “That can be a positive thing, but sometimes you just kind of want to get out of it and see and experience something else.”

Laucirica became increasingly drawn to atmospheric compositions that bloomed from a place of introspection. There’s ‘When I’m With You’, in which Laucirica spun out a filmic character loosely based on an old relationship.

“It’s the feeling of being with somebody and feeling that you can't say anything and don't have a voice, but amplified to like the deepest and darkest despair,” says Laucirica, jokingly. What she delivers with black humour in person emerges with deep feeling on the record.

“Anyone can stand in line and follow hand in hand. I will run when comes the time, I’ll break away,” she sings on the track, which was inspired by the work of famed Japanese film composer and Yellow Magic Orchestra member, Ryuichi Sakamoto. (The haunting piano line of ‘When I’m With You’ is reminiscent of Sakamoto and David Sylvian’s iconic track, ‘Forbidden Colours’, written for the David Bowie-starring film, Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence).

Later, on ‘Here I Am’, Laucirica voices the challenges of new motherhood, transparently voicing the bewildering loss of self that can happen when every waking hour becomes dedicated to the arrival, care and love of your first child.

“It only seemed like the other day, when the only person was myself. I can’t find time to myself,” sings Laucirica, bravely confronting the idealised image of unwavering dedication society imposes on mothers. The song’s title became a grounding mantra for Laucirica, a reminder that she is both a mother and an artist.

‘Here I Am’ was written by Laucirica following mentorship from the acclaimed songwriter Laura Jean Englert (who performs as simply Laura Jean) – Laucirica’s first time working with another songwriter. The sessions brought new perspectives and techniques to Laucirica’s writing and arrangements which also flowed into the song ‘Road to Us’.

“It was like taking a masterclass in songwriting, which pushed me to be more intentional with my lyrics and explore new layers of storytelling,” says Laucirica, who polished the album with producer James Cecil (formerly of Architecture in Helsinki). Their collaboration emphasised mood and texture over live performance replication, exemplified by the brightly refracting synths on ‘Time It Takes’.

“This album became about trusting someone else with my songs and seeing where that collaboration could take them,” she explained. “James brought ideas I would never have thought to try, and it turned into a real learning curve for me.”

But the texture of The Blue Hour never overshadows its author, with Laucirica pushing her voice to the forefront of the mix, lending the tracks a sense of both profound intimacy and artistic confidence. “It's my middle age coming of age,” she jokes.

The Blue Hour is Laucirica’s compelling meditation on the nuances of motherhood, identity, acceptance and connection. All of which comes together on its centrepiece single, ‘Now or Never’ – a sonic articulation of the moment when the sun breaks the blue morning light and the world becomes clear again.

“It’s about inhabiting an optimistic landscape. One that looks brightly towards the future and appreciates its past as well.”