Naarm-songwriter Hannah Blackburn has released her long-awaited debut album.

Written over several years amongst Victoria’s Bushes and beaches, I Want To Love You explores Blackburn’s growth as a woman and the challenges of life, love and relationships.

Blackburn explains. “I started working towards this album in 2019 and initially felt like it would be tricky as generally albums aurally sound uniform, and I feel like my songs don’t come together in that sense, so I leant into my love of storytelling, and pieced the songs together to tell a fluid story overall.  Each song is a story of a different relationship, not always romantic, ‘Elvis Presley’ is about grief, ‘Egg Song’ is post-breakup, ‘Ugly’ is about a new relationship and having to stare at the places we try to hide that are newly exposed. The title track, ‘I Want To Love You’, was initially written about someone else, but then years after writing all the other songs, I felt like that song was actually a song to me, with the lesson that we have to nurture every part of ourselves before we can feel comfortable to let someone else love them. The song feels like it hugs all the stories and groups them together, hence it being at the start, then ‘Ugly’ is the release at the end. The exit into the world after the work has been done.

“I recorded this album with the help of Alex O’Gorman, Joe Orton, Katie Wighton, Kat Mear, Jess Ellwood, Louis King, Isaac Barter, Lachlan O’Kane, Matthew Colin, Rhiannon Atkinson-Howatt, Ruby Gill, Mimi Gilbert, and the support of my community at Purple Wayne Studio, Collingwood.”

Praised for her ability to narrate relatable life moments with a poignant touch, Blackburn has already established herself as an artist to watch, and has performed alongside Merpire, Angie McMahon, Ruby Gill and more.

The release of I Want To Love You will be celebrated with performances across Naarm, NSW, Tasmania and Point Lonsdale.

Release: February 9th, 2023, Independent

Hannah Blackburn will perform this Sunday the 19th of February, 2023, at MONA.

We have 2 copies of I Want To Love You by Hannah Blackburn on vinyl to giveaway! Enter here:
https://form.jotform.com/form/230439017197861