Despite having a range of impressive musical releases under her belt and writing, recording, producing and performing all of her own music, Hannah Fury remains somewhat of an anomaly even to her most enthusiastic fans. It’s a wonder she’s managed to avoid the spotlight for so long. Her first full length, The Thing that Feels [2000] is filled with ominous moments that glitter with beauty, and vocals which are like a dark and striking mix of Kate Bush and Tori Amos. With the recent release of her EP Subterfuge, and her second full length album on the way, Melissa Davey decided to hunt this beautiful and mysterious Swedish-born lady down for a chat about her work.

Fury’s music comes across as a mix of grace and elegance combined with melodic, sad chords and unrelenting emotion. Her lyrics at times reflect an unnerving honesty, provoking dark imaginings and taking listeners on a journey into mysterious yet captivating worlds. A bit like a Tim Burton film really, with that same sense of gothic horror with a human touch. Based in Philadelphia, Fury says in retrospect, the music she grew up with may have influenced her sound.

“We did have a lot of ABBA records and I listened to those constantly,” she says. “I think I was very influenced by the way the girls did their vocals and sang harmonies and by the way the vocals were produced on those albums.”

Fury also recalls hearing songs on the radio from Gordon Lightfoot and Gerry Rafferty to the likes of Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. Fury says, “I'm not sure how many stations in the US were playing that, but I happened to live in a place where they did. I look back on those things and know that they definitely shaped how I feel about music, even though that was way before I started writing songs.”

Fury says that she draws inspiration from a variety of art-forms, but many of her projects are the result of an obsession. For example, The Thing That Feels came about after Fury became captivated by the character of Elphaba, the name given by Gregory Maguire to the Wicked Witch in Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West. Elphaba is portrayed by MacGuire as a strong-willed, animal rights activist who plays second fiddle to her sister and who in the later years of her life, falls into an ever-lasting depression.

“For me, there's never a thought-process involved in song writing,” Fury says. “It's just the result of a gathering obsessive storm. In the case of the Wicked songs, I became completely obsessed with Elphaba, so my feelings for her were the inspiration. But my feelings for her never would have existed if it weren't for the book.”

Fury describes other inspiration as coming from “post apocalyptic aesthetics,” and the juxta positioning of new and old, dirty and beautiful, dark and shimmering, and the historically inaccurate combination of all those things. She describes how “I moved to Philadelphia recently, and part of what I love about it is that it's old and gritty— with crumbling buildings, narrow alleyways, dripping pipes. It's dirty, but it sparkles. And Prague is my favourite city because it has a sort of faded opulence. That's what I like— faded opulence.”

Currently, Fury’s focus is on releasing her next full-length, which has been delayed due to juggling music with full-time work. It also means she is trying to make the bold move into promotion and the media-side of the industry, which she says she finds a little intimidating.

“I do want to reach more people and I am interested in putting more energy into the promotional part of it, but it's hard for me to do because I think it's kind of embarrassing,” she says. “I think over-exposure can dull the sheen of absolutely anyone. So I think it's important to be in control. I've never done any promotion before, so for this new album I'm going to try a little harder to get the music out there. I really want people to hear it.”

To hear Hannah Fury’s music or find out more visit:
www.mellowtraumatic.com or
http://www.myspace.com/hannahfury