Jodi has been a working singer/songwriter/musician for 20 years. Her first serious band was Australian alternative pop group, The Clouds, which she formed in 1989. The Clouds worked hard for 8 years, gaining a large and loyal following around the world with their powerful, slightly skewiff, yet catchy pop songs. The twin vocals of Jodi and co-frontwoman, Trish Young never failed to enchant listeners, either in recordings or in their live shows The Clouds were the recipients of 3 Aria nominations, repeatedly entered the top 20 of the mainstream charts, received a gold record for their debut album, Penny Century, played at the first 6 Big Day Outs, lived in the UK and the US, signed to Elektra worldwide and recorded over 70 songs which were released as 4 albums and 16 eps. Please visit www.miaowthecat.com/sd/clouds.htm and www.amws.com.au/clouds for more Clouds info.. Jodi chose to leave the Clouds in 1997 to go solo and explore more intimate and personal styles of songwriting and recording. She has released 3 solo albums. Jodi has been called “a national treasure” by Rolling Stone magazine and her second album, ‘In Dreams I Live’ received 2 Aria nominations. Jodi toured through the US and Canada to promote it and record some songs for her third album, “For Lovers, Artists and Dreamers” with Ron Sexsmith’s drummer, Don Kerr at his studio in Toronto. Jodi Phillis also formed the alt/country pop group with husband Tim Oxley in 1999 and they recorded the album ‘Red, Wine and Blue’ which received 4 star reviews around the world. Jodi and Tim have a recording studio in their home by the sea in NSW where they create their beautiful albums, amidst unwashed dishes, the kids homework and various piles of domestic mess. Most recently, Jodi and Tim have joined forces to form the lusciously, laidback pop group, Roger Loves Betty. Their debut long player "Let Love Begin" is out now through Escarpment. See www.myspace.com/rogerlovesbetty to hear some of the songs and get the latest info. Jodi's voice is intimate and warm and able to pull off the most elaborate melodic twists and turns that her imagination can come up with. Jodi writes all styles of music from acoustic ballads to power pop, hard rock, dark haunting tunes, happy bouncy children’s songs, sad love songs, happy love songs, political folk songs, sunny sixties pop, country songs, and introspective songs of personal reflection but no matter what style of music it is, there is always an air of magic and an original sense of melody, making the songs sparkle. Jodi’s love of creating intricately entwining harmonies adds to the beauty. There are no limits to the imagination in Jodi’s world! The combination of music and words is infinite! 'For Lovers, Artists and Dreamers' Album One of Australia’s finest singer-songwriters, Jodi Phillis, has delivered her most self-assured and cohesive album yet with the wonderful ‘For Lovers, Artists And Dreamers.’ A deeply personal album featuring Jodi’s trademark amazing voice wrapped around interesting and elaborate melodies which have been a signature of her songwriting career. The stripped back sparse album explores many themes close to Jodi’s heart including relationships, travel and motherhood. The new album follows the critically acclaimed ‘In Dreams I Live’ which received 2 ARIA Award nominations. As well as her prestigious career with The Clouds, in recent years Jodi has performed with likes of Ron Sexsmith, Billy Bragg and Ed Harcourt. Neil Finn also personally invited her to sing with him at the 2002 APRA Awards, after Jodi did an amazing job of singing of ‘Don’t Dream It’s Over’ at APRA’S Ten best Australian Songs ceremony the year before. ‘For lovers, artists and dreamers’ was recorded in several locations with the bulk of the album recorded by Tim Oxley and the rest in Canada (by Don Kerr from Ron Sexsmith’ band), and in the NSW South Coast (by Greg Walker from Machine Translations). Jodi also drew the CD’s artwork; before her life a musician she worked for Mambo. Jodi Writes About Her New Album “I was pregnant for most of the making of this album and it seems that they will both be born at about the same time. As for what it’s all about, well they’re just more songs coming from a happier, more relaxed person this time around. While recording, I was re-reading a book by Henry Miller called ‘Big Sir and the Oranges of Hieronymus Bosch’. The second time around it did something to me that hadn’t happened when I read it as an 18 year-old. It’s all about living life as an artist, no matter whether you’re a carpenter or a musician or a day-care worker or whatever, just as long as you don’t buy into the rat race beliefs that cheat so many people out of living life the way they really want to. Disregard all the man-made rules, love what you do, do what you love and be free. In the spoken word track (the Virgin Suicides-esque) ‘A Universe’, I quote a passage from this book and the title of the album is inspired by it. Portobello Rd, I wrote this quite a while ago and it came up from my sub-conscious after the experience of living in London with The Clouds. An exciting but lonely and tumultuous time for us all. It can’t be explained rationally as it’s too personal and confusing, but I did walk down Portobello Rd one day and strange things did happen. There are lots of weird old antique stores and stalls with stuff from all over the world and from long ago and I had the feeling that there was alot of ancient power in some of those treasures that I touched. Little Sips is about actually finding true love, after hoping for so long that it was true, but thinking that maybe it was just a load of baloney.... and of course the real test is in the kiss. With Ivy’s Song it’s about forgiveness and trying to remain friends with someone you break up with and remembering all the wonderful things about that person even though it didn’t work out in the long run. A situation made much more important when there is a child involved. It’s a letter from me to Ivy’s (my daughter) Dad. Greed Verses Humanity was inspired by Bob Ellis’, “First Abolish the Customer”, which is an amazing little book expressing the insanity and greed of globalization and major corporations and how they’re killing the simple, important things in life for so many people. I felt this acutely at the time as a single mother, wondering how the hell I was going to be able to provide for my daughter and myself and feel like I was a part of this fast and fickle world. Now fortunately I don’t feel like that and I’m happy to be on the outside just doing my thing, watching the world go crazy!” 'For Lovers, Artists & Dreamers' Album Reviews Review By Kelsey Munro – Rolling Stone Magazine "The title succinctly expresses the feeling of much of the songs on the latest album from the ex Clouds singer/songwriter. She projects a feeling of fragile but stubborn conviction that there is beauty and idealism left in the world, with a weariness of pre-supposes the majority of people cannot or will not embrace it. Sticking with spare acoustic instrumentation and thoughtful, confessional lyrics for the most part, the music is gentle and warm, highly personal, often returning to themes of motherhood and domestic bliss. Particularly good are Phillis’ intricate vocal arrangements and harmonies. Phillis is an underrated national treasure." *** out of 5 Review By William Bowe – Herald Sun "It’s a shame Jodi Phillis is best remembered as part of Sydney band The Clouds, whose airy indie guitar jangle has not aged well. Since their demise in the mid- ‘90’s Phillis has found more enduring uses for her natural talents, picking up a country influence through various side projects. Her second solo album neatly accommodates both her pop and folk instincts by playing off finely polished vocal harmonies against home-baked acoustic arrangements. For Lovers, Artists and Dreamers requires a sweet tooth, as indicated by its title and cut cover art, but even the hardest of hearts should soften when the melodies ache as longingly as they do on ‘Portobello Road’ and ‘Falls Street.’" *** 1/2 out of 5 Review By Nick Coppack - Time Off Magazine "With her second solo album, Jodi Phillis explores (among others) themes of love, motherhood and self-development. For Lovers, Artists And Dreamers follows the ARIA-nominated In Dreams I Live and for the most part, does more than live up to its predecessor. She doesn’t stray too far from her trademark style of finger-picking guitar, slight vocal twang and rolling melodies, but time has done nothing to lessen its arresting effect. Husband Tim Oxley (who released what was easily one of the best albums of 2002) offers backing vocals and additional instrumental accompaniment but it’s Phillis’ songwriting that undoubtedly shines, especially in opener ‘Portobello Rd’, the harmony-heavy ‘Falls St’, the amazing ‘Little Sips’ and the fun ‘White Beanie’. The hymn-like ‘Stranded’ and the spoken-word ‘A Universe’ break up the flow somewhat, but they’re the only missteps on what’s an otherwise outstanding record." **** out of 5 Review By Michael Dwyer - The Age "There’s a fine line between sweet and cloying. Last year, Tim Oxley’s heady, homemade record about domestic bliss, ‘It’s All About Love’, mostly stayed on the pleasing side of it. The third solo disc by his dearly beloved, former Clouds singer-songwriter Jodi Phillis, is similarly bare-boned and open-hearted – all truth and passion, no bells nor whistles. The languorous ‘Portobello Rd’ sounds like a postcard sung over warm, fingerpicked guitar – softly, while baby sleeps – and served here without embellishment. Oxley fills out a perfunctory band on the contented homemakers’ stocktake, ‘Falls St’ and Phillis’ own multi-tracked “boms-boms-boms” are the sole accompaniment to Stranded. She widens the emotional scope without leaving the nursery in the frustrated mother’s lament, ‘You’ve No Idea’ and the gently seething and self-explanatory Greed Versus Humanity. Whether reciting a pretty pastoral passage by Henry Miller in ‘A Universe’ or going all Playschool-tinkly in ‘Ivy’s Song’, the love of a wife and mother is Phillis’ overwhleming truth, and she sings it with extra purity and her disarming melodic sense." *** out of 5 Review By Sandra Bridekirk - The Australian A vast improvement on 2001’s In Dreams I Live, Jodi Phillis’ latest offering is fresh and sweet, from the cute cartoon cover (illustrated by the singer, who once was employed by Mambo) to the gentle, sunny pop songs within. Best known for her 1990’s Clouds fame, Phillis has mined deeply personal turf for this release, from motherhood to travel and happy domesticity. Phillis works best with such an organic, stripped-back format. The spoken-word track A Universe, with lines from henry Miller’s Big Sur and the Oranges Of Hieronymous Bosch, highlights the wonder and simplicity of art, a message made clearer by its dreamy, fairground-style soundtrack. Other songs such as the lovely Portobello Rd, Ivy’s Song and the standout Falls St make the most of the singer’s ethereal voice. *** 1/2 out 5 Review By Shane Nicols - Australian Review "The former singer with The Clouds has made a deeply personal work with every aspect of the album's title investigated in song. Reflecting her work with the likes of Ron Sexsmith and making use of facilities here and abroad, Phillis has created a highly polished yet quite sparse album, one which places great emphasis on her comely vocal powers. She is simply a delight to listen to, a voice capable of winning you whether she's singing alone or in quite glorious multi-tracked layering, of which there is plenty here (especially the ethereal antiphons in "Stranded" and "Greed Versus Humanity".) Her confident songs glow with melodic warmth and strength, understated and with subtle instrumentation that frames them very well. Her own backing vocals, a blanket of harmony, are irresistible. Phillis belongs on record - she sings beautifully and it would be great to hear her in the sort of sophisticated electronica that Goldfrapp's post trip-hop surveys - that warmth and purity of voice, that cold electronica." 7 1/2 out of 10 Review By Elizabeth McCarthy - Beat Magazine "Jodi Phillis dreams radical dreams. She believes in living life as an artist no matter what job you do, and that taking care to do this will set you free. She's drawn on the writings of Bob Ellis and Henry Miller for her second solo album, and it's a batch of self-proclaiming yet fragile songs this time round. Recorded by partner Tim Oxley and J Walker in intimate acoustic mode, Phillis appears to have discarded any prior self-delusions and is intent on knuckling down to the heart of heartfelt matters. Is god a businessman? she asks on Greed Versus Humanity, the most despairing moment in which she ponders a place for those who feel at odds with consumerism, for those who desires are bigger than a big bank balance. There's a theme of displacement throughout the album, from strolling aimlessly through London and Sydney streets in search of kindred spirits, to trying to find a home in which to dream and create and survive. The few moments of grave melancholy are delivered with such striking self-exposure, it's hard not to feel uncomfortable. You've No Idea concerns single parent hardship, but Ivy's Song reconfirms Phillis' pledge to guard her child from relationship breakup. Elsewhere, there's plenty of talk and action about love. On White Beanie, a stretched-out, slowed down ragtime singalong, Phillis sings We fall in love every hour/And make love every three, like it's the only way to live. Her extraordinary vocals are given wide berth on The Pier, where she reminds us why the Clouds were so compelling ten years ago, as she comes to a near-shriek about finding enlightenment. True To Yourself warns that finding true love is not about becoming consumed by another, because true love loops back to that original idea of freedom and creativity. In the hands of a lesser artist, these sentiments might come across as self-righteous and precious, but Phillis surpasses all manner of poses to deliver an album that is lucid and disarming. In her willingness to cut to bare bones, she gives us an inkling of what grace can feel and sound like."