Via Tania – Wonder Stranger [mp3 MediaFire]

Born in Australia to South African parents, Tania Bowers childhood was full with diversity and dreams, often craving the unknown and inspired to pursue a musical gypsy lifestyle. As soon as she was able, Tania set on a path full of happenstance and wonder, which up until now has led this uniquely talented and equally endearing young singer songwriter to Chicago and ready to release the enchanting and haunting Moon Sweet Moon.

Her musical adventures began in Sydney during the mid Nineties when Tania first began playing with her sister Kim in the vowel-free noise-pop outfit SPDFGH, before she was old enough to be drinking in bars Tania was already opening for the likes of the Breeders and Bikini Kill whilst simultaneously gaining critical acclaim in her own right. It wasnt long before Aussie Tania set her sights on the United States to pursue her solo career.

Having relocated to Chicago she immediately set about piecing together an album under the guise of Via Tania, with producer Casey Rice and various other Chicago musical luminaries, she shifted her focus to production, electronics and sound, offering her songs to act as powerful vessels for such experiments.

A little over four years since the release of her debut album Under A Different Sky, Tania is about to release a powerful and haunting sophomore titled "Moon Sweet Moon", signifying a change in direction, dictated from the very seeds of songs and signifying a maturity and equal endless need to explore the unknown.

“This record went through so many changes, stages, and re-inventions… I had a lot of moving around and trying to find out a place where I really want to be. "

The recording of 'Moon Sweet Moon' began in earnest in Australia and took many surprising turns with musicians and sessions in the US and Europe. Ironically it was back in her native country, at a chance meeting that Tania met Texan producer Craig Ross, who has worked with many artists including Patty Griffin, Lisa Germano, Emmylou Harris and Daniel Johnston. Hitting it off immediately, Craig promptly invited Tania to record at his recording studios in Austin, TX where the seeds of Moon Sweet Moon were quickly planted and songs previously written by Tania soon began to flourish.

“I had no idea how much more we were going to (re) record. He is different in that, he brought out the songs in a new way for me. We got really into harmonies and vocal tracks. He would say that the whole point is to make the music as ‘Tania’ as possible. At first I didn't really get it, I thought it was Tania because I wrote it. He really wanted to shift the focus and didn’t want me to hide behind anything particularly stylistic.”

This time, Tania made a conscious shift from the complex and linear writing of ‘Different Sky’: “I was remembering my first ideas and ideals of songwriting from my teens,” she explains “I wasn’t thinking about production or any aesthetic for the recordings, I was writing more like I used to when I was a kid, listening to Suzanne Vega."

From the into of ‘The Beginning’ to the last lines of ‘Songs of Love’, Tania’s vocals and songwriting are the centrepiece of the album, with Craig and the lady herself painting musical palettes around them for us all to dwell. With the Tim Burton-esque creaks and moans of ‘In Light Years’, the campfire balladry of ‘How Come’ and ‘Everyworld’ to the 70s scando-disco of ‘Our Wild Flight’ the album eschews the need to follow trend for letting the songs live their own lives.

‘Moon Sweet Moon’ is a musical statement of intent, an album filled with, as Tania describes it, ‘moon pop’, sewn together by Tania’s startling voice and an array of skilled players including members of Tortoise, Shearwater, Australian rock outfit Ground Components, to name but a few.