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GEELONG ADVERTISER
Melbourne, Victoria
October 2002
by David Connoley

There's a line from Monique Brumby's song Driving Home that captures a real sense of where the former award winning pop star has been over recent years. Brumby recites the line to me as she recounts the 'struggle years'.

"There's the line 'Sometimes you gotta get lost to find out where you are'. I think that best sums what I've been through. And there's some poetry on my website called Counting Sheep."

It's Monique Brumby's unfazed honesty that immediately strikes you. That, and her channeled energy and passion for her craft.

Brumby admits to having lived through some tough times. "1999 was a real struggle for me. It was my darkest time," she said, referring to her annus horribilus. Trying to extricate herself from her record deal and move forward presented a real challenge.

Monique Brumby admits she changed her philosophy and perception of the music industry and fame itself over the past couple of years.

"I started Signal Hill when I was on Sony and then started all over again. It's been a long process. I'm very proud of it. I've done it against the odds," Brumby told ITK.

The 28 year old singer songwriter likens making her latest record Signal Hill to a spiritual journey. The album relates to her home isle Tasmania where she wrote a lot of the album. It's a place she still feels very connected to. Her debut album written nearly ten years ago also featured a unique Tassie quality.

"I'm a different person to when I made Thylacine. I'm older, wiser ... just really been around a lot more. I think I saw too much at a young age," she admits.

Brumby said she recently went back and listened to her debut. She then ran unexpectedly into Thylacine's producer David Bridie. "He said to me 'I think we did a good job on that one'" she recalled. "I had a good cry over some of the songs. It was very emotional."

Almost 4 years after leaving Sony, Brumby's independent debut Signal Hill is released this week and is being launched around the country as Brumby and band take to the streets. In addition, the striking CD cover shot has a local flavour. The cover shot of Monique amongst the yellow canola fields was done at 'Farmer Brown's' farm in Portarlington.