Off the back of winning her fifth Golden Guitar, Tamworth’s own Ashleigh Dallas wants to ‘Take A Minute’ to savour the moment with her new single.
“Taking a minute is something most adults need to do,” she said.
“I’ve found myself saying to my daughter, Harriet, that I’ll be with her in a minute, but this song is about allowing yourself to have a minute, whether that be to enjoy the simple things or let life unravel and find your feet again.”
As well as having a strong message, ‘Take A Minute’ is also the end result of one of Ashleigh’s professional dreams coming true: writing a song with Mike Carr.
“I’ve always wanted to write with Mike and our schedules, timing and locations never lined up, so to have this opportunity to write with Mike over Zoom was great.”
Ashleigh headed into the songwriting session with the concept and loved the collaborative nature of writing with Mike, one of Australia’s premiere singer-songwriters.
“I had the concept, just found myself unable to get to that space where I could finish the song by myself,” she said.
“I’m really grateful that Mike was keen on the idea and we got this song out of it.”
‘Take A Minute’ continues the theme of Ashleigh’s Golden Guitar-winning album, ‘In The Moment’, which netted her and her producer father, Brett, Traditional Country Album of the Year in January.
“We’ve come off this record, called ‘In The Moment’, about being as present as you could be and this song embraces that message even more,” Ashleigh said.
“I hope the listeners take that minute for themselves as well – this is a subtle reminder for people to take a breather.”
The Tamworth artist said each album makes her want to stretch herself even further.
“I want to be vulnerable and keep sharing the truth behind stories; country music is about the story and connection,” she said.
“This is at the heart of every creative project I go into.”