Digby Ayton Signs To Stranded Rec & Releases ‘Marshland’, Written While Labouring In Hobart

Marshland is the first single to be released from the upcoming EP titled 4 Fergus due out on the 25th of August. It was recorded at Stranded Recording Studios with Bowen Shakallis (Big White, Expensive Music Band) and Jordan Ireland (The Middle East) co-producing the song with Ayton. Jordan Ireland sings beautiful backing vocals that shimmer over the aching landscape of Marshland.

The song was written by Digby Ayton around the time of the 2023 Federal referendum, which led to a breakthrough of songwriting output.

Commenting on the atmosphere of the 2023 referendum Ayton says, ‘I remember feeling frustrated with the reporting and politicising that was going on at that time.’ Frustration led Ayton to think about the concept of reconciliation more generally. 'I was very deliberate with the setting. The marshland is a tricky and shifting place but also important and beautiful. Whether it is between groups, countries or individuals, reconciliation is the same.'

In reflection Ayton says, ‘I was growing paranoid that I had lost the ability to write, however it was the next day while working as a labourer that I wrote this song.’

The song was recorded at Stranded Recording Studios over October in 2023. Ayton explains the lengthy ends of finishing the song right when mixing. ‘When mixing we worked it over and over. In the end we had to just finish it off the best we could. Now, listening back, I can hear echoes of that tangled and tricky recording process. I like it like that. I get an unfinished feeling when listening to the song and to me that is fitting, considering the theme and setting of the song.’

Digby Ayton is a Tasmanian songwriter with a growing reputation as one of Australia’s most interesting and enigmatic artists. His 2023 album ‘Songs Nearby’ cemented his place as a tender and insightful lyricist and he has been labelled by his contemporaries as ‘a true bush poet.’

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