Alice Ivy reflects on her favourite collaborations

In amongst all of the chaos of arguably the world's biggest coming together of emerging musicians, ALICE IVY found some time outside of Texas' annual South By South West to head to a deserted studio in the Texas foothills.

She headed there with FLINT EASTWOOD, a pop artist out of Detroit, to work on some sounds together. The pair originally met on the Falls Festival tour in Australia earlier that year, and it was there that they struck up their friendship. With a trip to Detroit and an afternoon spent at the historic Assemble Sound later under their belts, 'Close To You' was born.

The track really does show how the collaboration brought out the best in each artist - Ivy as a masterful producer of both electronic and pop music, and Eastwood as a thoughtful, impactful songwriter.

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Bouncy kalimbas dart playfully around the bold synths carved out by Ivy, and the production of this one shows her at her boldest. The soundscape is full and rich, and there's not a moment in this track where the intensity ever falters. Eastwood muses about romance in a wistfully purposeful way, and there's something about the tone of her voice paired with the instrumental that makes for a beautifully calm symbiosis.

We know how much Alice Ivy thrives on collaboration (you've only got to take a little dive into her back catalogue to see the extent of her musical relationships), so we put it to her to give us some of her favourite collaborations to celebrate the new track. She'll also be heading out on a national tour in support of the track, check the dates and her picks out below.

'Chasing Stars' feat. Bertie Blackman

This song is so special to me, I’m actually still so stunned I got to write this song with an artist like Bertie Blackman. She’s the most incredible and underrated songwriter. Every time I get into the studio with Bertie we write something deep. You capture an incredible rawness with Bertie, it’s so natural and seems to just come easy for her. I'm pretty sure the main hook in 'Chasing Stars' was recorded in the 1st or 2nd ever take.

Cloud Control - Panopticon (Alice Ivy Remix)

Cloud Control’s first album is a sacred piece of art in my family household. I grew up listening to this band so much. It was a bit of a bucket-list moment when they reached out to me and asked if I’d be keen to remix 'Panopticon'.

Close To You feat. Flint Eastwood

This whole experience making this song was amazing. 'Close To You' was written all over the place, we put a demo down at SXSW, I think I fleshed it out in my studio in Brunswick, Melbourne then on a later writing trip to the US, we finished the song in Jax’s home town of Detroit in her studio; a beautiful converted church.

Orlean - Faster (Alice Ivy Remix)

This is one of my favourite remixes I've ever made. The original is just beautiful, getting handed incredible art in stem form and then being able to rearrange it and recreate into something new is something I enjoy immensely. This one stands out a lot to me. That drop is something I’m super proud of.

I’m Dreaming with Georgia Van Etten

This is my favourite off my first album 'I’m Dreaming'. It came together on my last night in London a couple of years ago. I invited my friend Georgia over for dinner and we ended up tracking some vocals on the floor of my Air BnB. Those vocal takes made the final version of the song!

ALICE IVY 'CLOSE TO YOU' TOUR

With Miss Blanks

FRI 17 MAY

ROCKET BAR, ADELAIDE

THUR 23 MAY

UOW UNI BAR, WOLLONGONG

FRI 24 MAY

MR. WOLF, CANBERRA

SAT 25 MAY

LANSDOWNE HOTEL, SYDNEY

FRI 31 MAY

NORTHCOTE SOCIAL CLUB, MELBOURNE