Debut on the right note

Quirky acoustic jazz with a bit of an Aussie flavour is how local singersongwriter Nina Czempinski describes the unique sound of her debut album.
The Upper Beaconsfield musician recently completed Songs in the Key of Strife, a collection of well crafted songs which crosses a variety of musical genres rock, gospel, jazz and even doowop.
It is her first recording and true to her ‘quirky’ description, sums up a life that has so far been anything but the middle of the road.
Czempinski’s unique sound is one that has developed over time.
From her days in a funk band to nights spent performing in a swanky Tokyo hotel, the 31yearold has dabbled in much musically, which is evident upon hearing her collection of acoustic jazz numbers featured on Songs in the Key of Strife.
As a daughter of two musicians, drummer and educator Brian Czempinski and singer Di Faulkner, it is surprising that she did not fall into music until during her university days.
“As a child I took forced piano lessons,” she laughs.
“During university I wanted to do something creative and singing came so easily.”
Suddenly, the prospect of having a sensible fulltime job had lost its appeal.
Czempinski’s new found passion saw her band together with Victorian College of the Arts students, playing obscure ’70s funk at Fitzroy’s Evelyn Hotel.
The regular gigs were a world away from Monash’s Pharmacy College where she studied for four years.
After university, Czempinski jetted off to Japan where she spent three months playing jazz, pop and Beatles covers in a Tokyo hotel.
“I got a job playing in a swanky hotel, which was pretty cool,” she recalls. “I played three and a halfhour sets, six nights a week.”
Upon returning to Australia, Czempinski scored a regular gig at Melbourne Sofitel’s atrium, where she played lengthy five and a halfhour sets, consisting of covers and the odd original.
“I played there every Saturday night for 13 months, but quit in the end because it was too exhausting,” she tells.
After eight years of living in the city, Czempinski is now happy to be back in Upper Beaconsfield.
Up until last year she worked at the Casey Hospital, her pharmacy degree proving useful.
Today, Czempinski works as a pharmacist from home a job that simply helps to pay the bills.
In her home, Czempinski has not only a piano but also a studio, which she used to record harmonies for Songs in the Key of Strife.
“The guts of the album was recorded in December 2005. I spent most of 2006 just fiddling with it.
“Most of the music was recorded live, there were a few dubs with different instruments and I also worked on some harmonies for a few months at home,” Czempinski said.
In total, the album took almost two years to complete, Czempinski refining her songs before starting the recording process.
However, the album has been in the works for much longer, with some of the material written years before Czempinski entered the recording studio.
Lyrically, Songs in the Key of Strife is cheeky, one critic describing it as “pretty cute and funny but also insightful.”
Czempinski is the first to admit that some of the tracks shouldn’t be taken too seriously.
“There is truth in all the songs, however there are slight exaggerations in some. A few are a bit tongueincheek” she smiles.
Although the album launch isn’t for a couple of weeks, three of its tracks I’ll Just Get Used To It, A Kept Woman and the strangely titled The Coconut Always Falls on Me, have already been featured on independent radio PBS, RRR and the ABC.
“The first time I received airplay was on Radio National’s The Deep End.
“I knew I was going to be on so I called a few friends. They played A Kept Woman, which is such a silly song,” Czempinski recalls.
Silly or not, what exactly is a kept woman?
“I met a Kiwi once who said all she wanted to be was a kept woman. So I asked her what it meant,” Czempinski pauses searching for the right words.
“She said it’s a woman who is looked after financially by a man, one who doesn’t have to work.”
The phrase has since stuck in Czempinski’s mind, not that she wants to be ‘kept’ anytime soon.
“I wouldn’t mind one day but only if I don’t have to do the washing,” she laughs.
For now, though, Czempinski is concentrating on her music career, hoping to tour the album and eventually record another.
“I’d love to record another album eventually but the first one, being an independent record, was so much work.
“Right now I would love to get some more gigs and do some festivals.
“I also want to travel around Australia with my partner doing gigs and selling CDs before I settle down,” she said.
Czempinski officially launches her album at Bennetts Lane Jazz Club in the city on Sunday, 25 February.
Tickets are available at the door for $12, $10 concession or $25 for a copy of the CD and entry. Doors open at 7pm.
Songs in the Key of Strife is available now from Basement Discs and The Last Record Store Melbourne.
The album is also available to purchase on Czempinski’s website www.ninacz.com, which has more information on upcoming gigs as well as free downloads.