Adalita Srsen (, born 25 February 1971) is an Australian rock musician who is a founding member of the rock band Magic Dirt and a solo artist. She released her first solo album, Adalita in 2011 and her second solo album, All Day Venus, in September 2013. She is known simply as Adalita.
Early life
Adalita was born in Geelong, Victoria on 25 February 1971.
She told Triple J's Richard Kingsmill in 2000 that she made her first guitar out of cardboard and wool, before she bought her first acoustic guitar. "I learnt a few chord progressions from a "how to" guitar book and then started writing and recording my own compositions, using two tape decks and layering guitar parts and vocal harmonies."
Adalita told Australian Guitar magazine (when she became the first female to grace the magazine's cover) in 2005 that she "was 18 or 19 when I bought my first A$90 acoustic (guitar) for whatever strange reason I bought it for, on a whim. Then I got an electric maybe six months later and started on that – what was that – in like 1989, 1990."
In the early 1990s, she formed a band, Deer Bubbles, with Dean Turner. While, this band didn't last long, by 1992, Adalita and Turner, as well as guitarist Daniel Herring, had formed The Jim Jims. Adalita and Turner then formed Magic Dirt following the addition of drummer Adam Robertson.
Solo work
2006–2008: "Double Dare" In 2006, Adalita released her first material as a solo performer. She performed on two cover versions for the Mick Harvey-produced soundtrack of the Australian film Suburban Mayhem: "Double Dare" (originally by Hoyt Axton) and "Sex Beat" (Gun Club). along with Harvey, Dean Turner and Rowland S. Howard who also played on the tracks. A promotional video was made for the single "Double Dare", featuring Adalita and Suburban Mayhem star Emily Barclay. At the time, such solo work were side projects and Adalita soon resumed work with Magic Dirt.
2009–2012:Adalita
Initially, Adalita harboured no intention to release her own music as a solo artist, but was enthusiastically encouraged by her Magic Dirt bandmate and mentor, Dean Turner, to undertake the production of her debut album. Production of the solo album commenced in 2009, with Turner responsible for production duties; however, in August 2009, due to a rare form of tissue cancer, Turner passed away. The album was then completed in 2010, while Magic Dirt was on hiatus following Turner's death.
To coincide with her support slot on the Blondie and Pretenders double-headline Australian tour, Adalita released the 'Hot Air' EP on 26 November 2010.
The eponymous debut album was released on 4 March 2011, through Liberation Music and debuted at No. 23 on the ARIA Album Chart.
2013:All Day Venus
On 28 April 2013, Adalita announced on her Facebook fan page that she had started work on her second album at Birdland Studios, with long-time producer Lindsay Gravina. She informed her Facebook fans on 24 May 2013 that Jim White from Dirty Three recorded drums for the album over two days.
Adalita appeared on Australian television program RocKwiz in June 2013 and performed a new track, entitled 'I Want Your Love'. In July 2013, she previewed the track "All Day Venus" and announced a small run of Australian east coast shows to preview the new material.
On 8 August 2013, music website mess+noise announced that All Day Venus would be released on 20 September 2013, and revealed the album artwork and track listing. The website also featured a link to the album's first single, 'Warm Like You', which premiered on Triple J the same day. 'Warm Like You' was released on iTunes on 12 August 2013.
In an October 2013 interview, Adalita described the experience of recording the album with Gravina and a new band:
I thought initially I should get a new producer, but in the end there were so many other new things going on—new sound, new band. I figured I needed something more stable. He knows what he can extract from me.
Adalita also explained that the album is about a transformative experience in her life that resulted in a learning process. During the creation process for the album, she was influenced by American academic Joseph Campbell and mythology. She also revealed that she is most comfortable in "bare" aesthetic surroundings and, in relation to the writing period for 'All Day Venus': "I like a lot of space and calm."
The album was voted into the third position in the 2013 readers poll of mess + noise, an Australian music website, in which readers selected their favourite albums of the year.