Amamelia Shares New Album 'The Joy Of Living' + Cover Artwork Annotations

Winner of the 2024 Te Manu Taki Tāhiko o te Tau | Best Electronic Artist Tūī award, Amamelia aka Amelia Berry (Van Staden & Böhm) is back in Tāmaki Makaurau for an absurdly stacked album release party tonight at Whammy Bar. Sure to be a hot commodity at this Saturday's Record Store Day events (Amamelia is playing a free set at Flying Out), The Joy Of Living is out today in a swish vinyl edition via Sunreturn.

Intentionally adorned with layers of meaningful (and possibly cryptic) photographic imagery, Amamelia has generously shared exclusive Cover Artwork Annotations for her album art below. Featuring contributions from Madison van Staden (Van Staden & Bohm), Carla Camilleri, Moe McGlashan, Hannah Renwick and Baby Zionov, Amamelia's new synthetic journey draws inspiration from "sapphic love, Mort Garson's Plantasia and Yellow Magic Orchestra." Finally experience The Joy Of Living and read onwards...

Amamelia - The Joy Of Living - Album Release Show
with Baby Zionov, Samara Alofa, Kiss and Make Up Club DJs Lazy Mama & Dustin Diamanté
Friday 17th April - Whammy Bar, Auckland
Tickets on sale HERE via UTR (ticket & vinyl LP package available)

 
1. Here Come the Warm Smiles. The framed portrait is a nod to Eno's 1974 art rock classic Here Come The Warm Jets. I don't look quite as staunch in mine though. The photo was taken by my beautiful wife Madison van Staden who had become obsessed with janky 1970s plastic cameras running odd film stock. She won't let me throw this away so now there's a framed photo of me in my bedroom forever like I'm my own grandma.

2. To prove that he wasn't just a demonic pervert, in 1971 English director Ken Russell made the film The Boy Friend — a gonzo 1970s take on Busby Berkeley musicals and maybe my favourite movie ever. In one scene, Twiggy dresses up as a sad Italian clown and sings a song about how nobody loves her. Like if you cry every time. This ceramic Pierrette (sad Italian clown) was copped at my favourite local opshop for about two bucks.

3. OK, sorry, you can barely see this one. Basically, after my last album came out (Bananamelia) everybody started saying to me "wow Amelia this sounds like music from a video game you must really love video game music" but I actually didn't listen to that much video game music at all really. So, I figured I should get into it. I played a load of Katamari Damacy and Ape Escape and that all is represented by this sick Space Channel 5 special edition Playstation 2 memory card. Zebra print. Mondo chic.

 
4. This gorgeous textile was a wedding present from my friends Michael and Hannah. Hannah sings on this album! It seems crazy to me that somebody I know could weave something so beautiful and detailed but apparently if you move to Dunedin you get access to a loom. I moved to Melbourne and all I got access to was a one hour commute.

5. Hormone therapy medication. An essential for every serious electronic music producer.

6. The blurry thing in the background is a print of Bruegel's "Children's Games". When I was a kid my grandma's living room was basically all this kinda medieval-esque stuff, William Morris sofa and everything. I thought it was the coolest thing ever. This is why I'm so into weird old shit. Check out this video of my hero David Munrow shredding the shawm and become an instant hardcore medievalist.

7. More stuff made by my friends. The skull necklace and pentagram earrings are made by Jess Dew aka Screaming Jewellery aka one of the cool kids in Deb5000. The vase is made by her sister Sylvia Dew aka the iconic singer of our old band Polyester.

8. Books, books, books! These are some things I was reading or re-reading while making the album. We've got The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K Le Guin, Mrs. Caliban by Rachel Ingalls, The Wretched of the Earth by Franz Fanon, Unquenchable Fire by Rachel Pollack, and Dancer from the Dance by Andrew Holleran. The Le Guin, Ingalls, and Pollack are all extremely arty buzzed out sci-fi, the Holleran is an overwhelmingly beautiful novel about gay sex in 1970s New York, and the Fanon is a guide to effective insurrection and an analysis of the horrific psychological impacts of colonisation. I was at a Free Palestine march and a guy had a sign that said "READ THE WRETCHED OF THE EARTH BY FRANZ FANON" and I thought "oh true, I had been meaning to do that" so thank you so much to that guy.

There is more stuff hidden in this image but those are the main points of interest I think!

'The Joy Of Living' is out today digitally and on vinyl LP via Sunreturn.