ELIZA HULL captivates with the release of ‘RUNNING UNDERWATER’ Touring the U.K. in May, Australian shows announced for August/September

Photo By: Michelle Grace Hunder

Having established herself as one of Australia’s most important voices and striking songwriters of recent years, Melbourne-based artist Eliza Hull has proven the longevity of her art, and continued evolution.

With the release of her new single ‘Running Underwater’, the songwriter and musician embraces a beautiful new chapter of creative and personal expression; the threads of experiences from both sides of her being knitting together beautifully in creating a gorgeous piece of new music.

New music from Eliza Hull comes accompanied by a slew of live shows that will see Hull performing internationally throughout the U.K. in May, before returning home for some unmissable Australian performances in the second half of the year.

‘Running Underwater’ saw Hull work with ARIA Award-winning producer Pip Norman (Baker Boy, Missy Higgins) on production, recording the track at BIGBANG Studio. Mixed by Simon Lam (Woodes, Cub Sport) and mastered by Idania Valencia (Sam Smith), ‘Running Underwater’ – in its final form – lets the dynamism of Hull’s vocals and arrangement take prominence, flourishing with each sonic swell.

The track itself is the first indication of Hull’s current creative rhythm, and a taste of the material to come – her first since the release of her 2018 EP, How We Disappeared. ‘Running Underwater’, which was first performed by Hull during a powerful appearance on the ABC’s Q&A program in 2021, is the first song Hull has written about being disabled and living with a condition called ‘Charcot Marie Tooth’.

The condition, a degenerative nerve disorder, has affected Hull’s walking for a long time; it was a disability that she kept hidden, specifically in the music industry.

In recent years however, Hull has emerged as an accessibility advocate within the industry; her determinism and approach to educating and spurring on change in perspective and structure, when it comes to the way disabled musicians are treated within the industry, has been incredibly influential. ‘Running Underwater’ is a powerful musical representation of Hull’s strength, and an example of the artist coming further into her own.

“For a long time I hid my disability, especially in the music industry. This was due to under-representation of disabled musicians and  I was constantly shown that disability was a deficit or something that should be feared and hidden. It was such a heavy weight holding onto these beliefs, it was exhausting to constantly hide.

This song is about pushing up against society’s view of disability, it’s about letting go of the fear and being authentic and true to myself and showing that it’s ok to be different.“ ELIZA HULL

Single Artwork: Michelle Grace Hunder

Working with director Keiran Watson-Bounce (And Then Something Changed, Caravan), Hull has also produced a moving music video for ‘Running Underwater’, filmed at The Goods Shed in Castlemaine. Featuring the talents of dancer ‘roya the destroya’, the experience allowed Hull to bring the song to life in a beautifully unique way onscreen. And in doing so, has represented disability onscreen in a way not generally seen.

“The music video features my very good friend ‘roya the destroya’. She is a brilliant disabled dancer who moves like nobody I know. She actually started busking with an early version of the song and sent me a video of her performing with it. When I watched that video I knew I had to collaborate with her on the official music video.

She has a beautiful ability to inhibit what I am feeling in my music and then express that through movement. In the music video she is like my alter-ego, almost like the spirit part of what I am feeling in the lyrics. Keiran Watson-Bonnice is the director of the music video. We have worked together in the past on the ABC Kids TV show And Then Something Changed, which I produced and wrote the music for. We shot the clip in one day, in mostly one take in the Goods Shed on a freezing winter’s day. “ ELIZA HULL