New music from Bella Deer ahead of Queenscliff gig

Indie-pop darling Bella Deer has dropped a new EP ahead of her performance this weekend at the Queenscliff Music Festival.

The highly anticipated five-track Age of Alchemy is as raw and emotional as it is empowering and offers listeners an invitation to confront their own fears, embrace the painful parts of life, and craft them into something meaningful.

For Bella Deer – the moniker of Isabella Losi – the EP reflects the singer songwriter’s own whirlwind journey of transformation, the title calling to mind the alchemical process of base metals turning into gold.

The EP’s first single Shipwreck Coast, which has been described by fans as a “driving song”, has quickly climbed into the top three on the regional AMRAP charts and draws its inspiration from the region’s rugged and powerful coastline.

“I’ve always really loved going down to the 12 Apostles… the landscape’s so beautiful,” Losi said.

“I just find it majestic and when I’m stressed and whatever, I’ve always just found myself down at Barwon Heads at The Bluff.”

Losi has grown in both confidence and maturity over the past 12 months, as her sound continues to evolve, along with her sense of her own capabilities.

“It’s nice to muck around and change things and I don’t think you want to bore your audience either by doing the same thing,” she said.

“Each track’s really different.

“I’m looking forward to people interpreting them in their own way.”

She expressed her gratitude to the City of Greater Geelong for its support, in the form of a community grant, which enabled her to deliver the project and call on the expertise of ARIA award-nominated producer Malcolm Besley to help mix and master some of the tracks.

Age of Alchemy’s release follows Losi’s now-globally recognised 2023 hit single Care Too Much, which marked the explosive beginning of her solo project Bella Deer and a shift away from her folk roots.

The track received an honourable mention at the Nashville-based International Songwriting Competition, an accolade Losi said has been both “solidifying” and validating”.

“There’s possibilities; that gives you confidence to just keep going. I think that’s the most important thing,” she said.

But there’s no rest in sight for Losi, with plans already well underway to get back into the studio to begin recording as she eyes more regular musical releases.

“I would like to record some of the songs that people do know that we’ve been playing for a few years that we just haven’t been able to record yet,” she said.

“So, it’s either going to be another EP, or I would at least like to get a single up in the first six months of next year, if not earlier.

“Just more consistent releases.”

A music video for Age of Alchemy track In the Nebula – created in collaboration with Geelong videographers David Fromholtz and Craig Reasons and featuring emerging Geelong actor Libby Brockman – is also set to premiere in the coming weeks.

After her set on Saturday, November 23 in Queenscliff, Bella Deer will take the stage at the Barwon Heads Arts and Community Hub for an all-ages performance on December 8.

Age of Alchemy is available on all streaming platforms.

To learn more, head to belladeer.com