Issue link: https://viewer.e-digitaleditions.com/i/95079
Bless Her Mess Emma Wheaton catches up with Lisa Mitchell to talk music, creativity and growing up in regional Australia. closeup. Bless Her This Mess, Lisa Mitchell's latest album, is a reference to embracing the chaos, disorder and colour of life. For someone who speaks so sweetly and softly and appears so calm, it seems only natural that 22-year-old Lisa would approach such things with composure. I sensed it would be hard to ruffle the feathers of this thoughtful and endearing musician. "That little phrase, 'Bless this mess,' jumped out at me and I just thought, 'That's it, that's the name of the next album.' There's so much truth in that, in embracing imperfection and the chaos of life and the power that lies in doing that," she says. Most people were introduced to the sweet songstress when the Albury local appeared on Australian Idol in 2006 at the age of 16. When a singing competition-cum-TV show rolls into your New South Wales regional town and everyone knows you can sing, of course you give it a shot. "I kind of fell into [appearing on the] TV show when I was in Year 10 at school. The auditions came to my home town and everyone knew I sang, so I was curious and went along and played some original songs," Lisa says, casually adding, "I went to Sydney and then found some management and started recording EPs … that's kind of the nutshell version of what happened." It's been three years since Lisa's debut album, Wonder. The album's sugary pop-infused tracks, such as 'Coin Laundry' and 'Neopolitan Dreams', earned her wide acclaim, including an ARIA nomination for Breakthrough Artist and a spot among the top 10 on Triple J's annual Hottest 100 list. Her status as a talented musician in her own right was cemented. Having toured on the road since she was a teen, Lisa comes across as being wise beyond her years. She's had many adventures, including living and recording in London and touring with Aussie musician Ben Lee when she was 17. "I think the world of him and he's such an inspiring guy … [performing with him] was a big deal. I had to sing Mandy Moore's part in one of his songs and I remember at the time I thought that was pretty awesome. It was really fun," she says. While experiencing this whirlwind of events at a young age – a time when teenagers are usually figuring out their life direction – Lisa found it comforting to set up home in Melbourne and embrace the norms of everyday life. However, she also felt "blocked, in the singer-songwriter sense" and was "a bit lost". Relief from this creative block came in the form of a book, The Artist's Way, by Julia Cameron. "It changed my life in the creative sense, which is basically my whole life. The main concept of the creative process is to remove yourself from the equation. I think that kind of takes the pressure off yourself, and that was a big thing for me, to stop judging what I was doing." "That little phrase, 'Bless this mess,' jumped out at me and I just thought, 'That's the name of the next album.' "