In her single ‘House of Straw’ Anna Smyrk captures the essence of quiet strength in the face of the harshest of elements. 

It’s taken from her EP Song of the Silver-tongued Magpie and has all the darkness and whimsy of a childhood fairy tale.

Just like the folk story on which it draws, the song speaks of struggling to build up solid walls for protection against the big, frightening world outside. This idea of building a safe, enduring home is something of a theme in Smyrk’s work, stemming from a nomadic life that has seen her living and working in diverse places.

Anna wrote ‘House of Straw’ in a Buddhist monastery guesthouse in Northern India while backpacking around the sub-continent. She recorded it in her old family farmhouse in Central Victoria. The release was put on hold while she went to Cambodia for a year of community development work.

Most recently she has worked in the health development sector in the Solomon Islands, flitting back home to release new music and tour when she can.

Juggling her musical aspirations with a career in international development isn’t always easy, but Anna feels the two can sometimes work together. She sees music as a way to connect with people in diverse places.

Getting outside her comfort zone is the best inspiration for her song writing; following this release she plans to record a raft of new songs inspired by her time in Asia and the Pacific.

The song’s haunting banjo picking and crystal-pure vocals are mirrored perfectly in the new animation for the single, created by Melbourne filmmaker Bethany Young.

Like the old fable, the film shows that there’s nothing you can do but keep building better walls and warmer fires, hoping that they are enough to keep the bitter winds and wild animals at bay.

Tickets available at bookings@annasmyrk.com or 0438 318 177.