The past five years have been an incredible musical journey and privilege for Russell Morris who has been fortunate enough to create and release two albums of blues and roots music that pertains to some of the iconic characters, events and moments in our rich tapestry of Australian history. The two previous albums were produced by Mitch Cairns, with whom Russell works and creates harmoniously with.

 

The first album released was Sharkmouth. Sharkmouth was all about the urban back blocks and the characters that inhabited them. Mostly based around the depression years and a bit either side. Set out to paint a landscape of how many people must have felt in those times around the early 1900’s. Sharkmouth went on to be the highest selling Australian album of 2013, picking up an ARIA Award for best Blues and Roots, reaching number 1 in the charts and surpassing Platinum sales. A very unexpected but welcomed success.

 

The following album was Van Diemen’s Land which had a focus on larger events rather than individuals, from the prison ships that began Australia as a penal settlement to the union strikes, the First and Second World Wars as well as paddle steamers on the Murray River. Van Diemen’s Land was nominated for Best Blues and Roots at the 2014 ARIA Awards, certified Gold sales and was the highest charting album of Russell’s 50 year career to date debuting at No.4 on the overall ARIA Charts.