# STEPHEN CUMMINGS’ New Album ‘100 Year From Now’ Out Now

- Link: https://www.nyrdcast.com/stephen-cummings-new-album-100-year-from-now-out-now/
- Published: 2023-05-05T14:30:00-05:00
- Author: Eugene Tierney

### **STEPHEN CUMMINGS RELEASES NEW ALBUM _100 YEARS FROM NOW_**

#### **ALL FORMATS, INCLUDING LIMITED EDITION COLOURED VINYL, AVAILABLE NOW**

#### **RECORDED IN THE AFTERMATH OF A STROKE, **_**100 YEARS FROM NOW**_** – MADE IN COLLABORATION WITH ROBERT GOODGE OF I’M TALKING AND OTHER OLD FRIENDS – IS A RECORD OF RARE COURAGE, BEAUTY, HONESTY AND HUMANITY**

#### **ALBUM LAUNCHES IN MELBOURNE AND SYDNEY IN JUNE**

_“A masterpiece of determination and love. (“Carry Your Heart”) would have to be
one of the great vocal performances and songs out there. _**_Stephen Cummings _**
_returning from a stroke, singing his heart out. The tension between what he did
easily and yet with wired energy; and the strain now to do it again, seeking only
release… A song like this may be a goodbye or a new beginning. You will be glad 
to have it enter your life…” **– Mark Mordue (Boy on Fire: The Young Nick Cave)**_

**Stephen Cummings **has today released his new album** **_**100 Years From Now**_**.**

**Stephen Cummings** of course needs no introduction to Australian music fans – 
the **Countdown Award** and **ARIA Award-winning** singer and songwriter has had
a long, productive, creative and distinguished career since his days up front of**
Sports** in the late ’70s and ’80s. 

![Stephen Cummings album cover](https://i0.wp.com/mcusercontent.com/7468cc72c4dbd0d828cf87a0a/
images/8f33fe99-0fad-9b2b-8fae-2987a4ab1249.jpg?resize=292%2C292&ssl=1)

What does need an introduction however is the fact that in March 2020, Stephen suffered
a life changing stroke and this new album is the product of that and the enthusiastic
support he received creating it from the Melbourne music community.

_**[100 Years From Now](https://www.nyrdcast.com/2023/02/stephen-cummings-announces-new-album-100-hundred-years-from-now/)**_
is a record of beauty, of humanity, and of unflinching honesty. And gorgeous musicality.
Recorded and mixed with longtime collaborators guitarist and producer **Robert Goodge**(
Essendon Airport and I’m Talking) and producer and engineer **Simon Polinksi **(
Steve Kilbey, Ollie Olsen), the album is a collection of co-writes that put Cummings’
post-stroke physical condition to the fore, both musically and lyrically. The effect
of Stephen’s stroke on his singing adds a layer of bittersweet heartbreak to his
already emotive style.

The record is also the coming together of many of Stephen’s musical partners from
over the years, from his longtime guitarist **Sam Lemann** and bass player **Bill
McDonald **(who shares with Goodge a background in Melbourne’s post-punk scene and
has more recently been Paul Kelly’s long term bass player) to current band members**
Maxine Sutcliffe** and **Michael Davis**. **Graeme Lee **of **the Triffids** (and
more recently of Goodge’s reformed **Essendon Airport**) contributes some pedal 
steel, **Philippa Nihill**_** **_and **Glenn Bennie **of _the Underground Lovers
_are involved together on one track, and **Clare Moore of the Moodist**s and **Chris
Abrahams of the Necks** both contribute. Stephen’s old friends **Rebecca Barnard**
and **Billy Miller** of **the Ferrets** appear on a number of tracks, and Goodge
also brought in friends **Kim Beissel** (**Crime & City Solution, Hot Half Hour 
etc**) from his late ’70s cohort at the Clifton Hill Community music centre, and**
Zan Abeyratne** from **I’m Talking**. **Lilith Lane** and Angus Leslie and **Beth
Otenstein** from **Sex on Toast** also contribute backing vocals.

25 years ago, Stephen told **Rolling Stone**‘s **Toby Creswell** that the music 
he was making at the time was _“A-grade confessional roots music”_, and that is 
as good as any description of **_100 Years From Now_** as anyone is going to come
up with. The mix of acoustic instruments and occasional electronic textures suggest
great intimacy and make no attempt to disguise the damages to the singer’s voice.
This is as confessional as it gets. And, as will be revealed in time, it is an album
of surprising riches. 

Stephen and his full band will launch the album in the evening of **Saturday June
10** at the **Memo Music Hall** in **St Kilda**, and in the afternoon of **Sunday
June 18** at the **Great Club** in Marrickville.  Tickets are on sale now.

**STEPHEN CUMMINGS WITH FULL BAND_100 YEARS FROM NOW_ ALBUM LAUNCHES
Saturday June
10 – The Memo Music Hall, St Kilda, with special guest Tanya Lee Davies – [Tickets](https://facebook.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=7468cc72c4dbd0d828cf87a0a&id=c1b6e8ed09&e=7f3088bce0)
Sunday June 18 (afternoon) – the Great Club, Marrickville, with special guests –
[Tickets](https://facebook.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=7468cc72c4dbd0d828cf87a0a&id=6b79d89046&e=7f3088bce0)

The release of **100 Years From Now** was preceded by the **“Carry Your Heart”**,
a beautiful expression of Cummings’ gratitude and positivity, two elements which
are present throughout the new album.

The stunning video for **“Carry Your Heart”** was made by **Mark Bakaitis** (Director,
Camera, Editor) and cinematographers **Manav Lakhiani** and **Darby Maxwell**. It
was shot in **Archies Creek** and **St Kilda** and features appearances by band 
members **Maxine Sutcliffe** and **Sam Lemann** alongside Stephen.

Stephen Cummings - Carry Your Heart

[⌊Stephen Cummings - Carry Your Heart⌉⌊Stephen Cummings - Carry Your Heart⌉
Watch
this video on YouTube

_Stephen Cummings “Carry Your Heart” (Official Video)_

**Stephen Cummings & Robert Goodge **discuss the making of **_100 Years From Now_**_._

Stephen: 
_“I was always a natural singer and assumed I could just sing as long 
as I wanted. After the stroke, I had a lot of rehab to learn to walk and recover
fine motor skills on my left side. I couldn’t really play guitar anymore. I did 
some vocal therapy and found my tone still good but the control and breathing the
hard part. I learnt I if I sang more slowly and more quietly it sounded better. 
I have to focus more and keep to different parameters.”_

![Stephen Cummings](https://i0.wp.com/mcusercontent.com/7468cc72c4dbd0d828cf87a0a/
images/7507adc2-aa36-ee09-79f2-39645023c864.jpg?resize=600%2C599&ssl=1)

_**Photo by Kathleen O’Brien.**_

Robert picks up the story:
_“This record started off from both our boredom at being
locked down and Stephen’s double frustration at having a stroke just as the restrictions
started…he got the double lockdown whammy._

_“I thought it might be good therapy for Stephen to do some songwriting and singing
with no pressure, just a bit of friendly creative noodling, to aid in his recovery…
perhaps he would share them with his facebook friends… So I whipped up a few song
sketches._

_“Stephen had no trouble writing lyrics. They came as fast as I could supply the
basic structure…Singing them however was more of a challenge, but that is what I
expected and we just kept trying… gaining ground little by little…So a couple of
ideas soon became quite a few.”_

Stephen continues:
_“Robert and I have been good friends for many years. He’s probably
the most musical person I know and he was really patient getting me to record lines
over and over until he was satisfied._

_“I’ve had to accept now that things aren’t going to be the same but they can still
be good and work with what I’ve got. Robert just kept turning up to record so I 
felt obliged to keep going but he and Simon really gave me confidence I could do
it.”_

Robert:
_“We started enlisting musician friends of Stephen to contribute and flesh
it out. A lot of these musicians actually recorded their own parts (particularly
the backing singers) …So it was built on the generosity of these players and their
eagerness to help out…People even started to give us songs to work on so that helped
broaden the whole outlook…The finished record is a testament of how supportive the
Melbourne music community can be.” _

Stephen:
_“The album captures the state I was in during my recovery. The weather
was always bad when I went on all my lockdown walks and that is a feature of the
album too._

_“It’s got a different sound to what I normally do. It’s very dreamy with all the
female harmonies and exotic string instruments Robert used like the tiples._

_“It’s one my favourite records I’ve made. I really like the mood and I loved having
different people helping out like Lilith Lane and Glen and Philippa from the Underground
Lovers. I’ve also known Wally for years so I was really happy for Cheersquad to 
release it.”_

**STEPHEN CUMMINGS’ **_**100 YEARS FROM NOW**_** IS OUT NOW ON CHEERSQUAD RECORDS&
TAPES AND IS [AVAILABLE ON LIMITED EDITION TRANSPARENT TEAL VINYL, BLACK VINYL, CD AND DIGITALLY](https://facebook.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=7468cc72c4dbd0d828cf87a0a&id=49552c1dbe&e=7f3088bce0).**

**Social Media:**
[Website](https://facebook.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=7468cc72c4dbd0d828cf87a0a&id=8494cc0057&e=7f3088bce0)
| [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/lovetown/) | [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/stephencummings11/)

![](https://i0.wp.com/mcusercontent.com/7468cc72c4dbd0d828cf87a0a/images/7631d79e-
5665-58a0-cb94-f770b0ae5317.jpg?resize=600%2C189&ssl=1)

[⌊Dave Laing Publicity⌉⌊Dave Laing Publicity⌉[

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