Max Aura and The Southern Lights Top 4 memories of making ‘How I Missed Home’
Press Shot: Jackson Hayat
Max Aura and The Southern Lights Top 4 memories of making ‘How I Missed Home’
1. It started with me finding a documentary about Laura Dekker called Maidentrip on an obscure streaming service while hiding in a small room in a stressful share house during the lockdown, then being swept away into escapism with dreams of one day sailing myself. I now know all the random facts about round-the-world sailors, including names like Bernard Moittesier, Jessica Watson, and Jessie Martin.
2. I had to be convinced not to postpone the recording of the song and come to the studio during a difficult time when I was struggling with sleep while recovering from long Covid. The recording session turned out to be a very cathartic experience, where we spent the first day workshopping the song, then the second-day recording. Recording the vocal takes was amazing, as I felt a kind of “flow” emotional state, easily being able to connect to this euphoric feeling while imagining all this ocean imagery. I was also able to sleep again after this experience!
3. I asked Laura if we could use footage from her trip, then amazingly she said “yes”. Then I had a snowball of progress, finding amazing people to help me make this song and video come to life. We filmed at Bakehouse Studios in Abbotsford, Naarm / Melbourne and it was a very wholesome, collaborative experience.
4. Asking bemused locals around Williamstown about where I could find a vintage yacht to do a photo shoot on, I eventually found a perfect one from the 1960s. My sibling and I did the photo shoot, and then the owners invited us to come back and go for a sail sometime!
Single Artwork: Eden Taylor, Milla Pearl, Max Aurora