13th Floor Video Premiere! Keira Wallace – Lambs Aren’t Waking Yet
2024 Play It Strange National Secondary School Songwriting Competition winner Keira Wallace, unveils a haunting new video for their winning song Lambs Aren’t Waking Yet – a deeply personal and ethereal reflection on the fleeting nature of innocence.
Here’s everything you need to know:
Recorded at the iconic Roundhead Studios, the song captures Keira’s distinctive blend of raw emotion and intricate storytelling.
With an increasingly folk-influenced sound, Ōtepoti based Keira Wallace curates intricate chord voicings and unexpected lyrics that explore the beauty in imperfection and the weight of memory. Their reflections run deep through each song, resonating with warmth and cocooning vulnerability.
Lambs Aren’t Waking Yet draws on a childhood memory of attempting to save an injured wild baby rabbit. Despite Keira’s efforts, the rabbit did not survive. In a tender act of protection, their grandmother buried the rabbit before Keira woke, hoping to shield them from loss. This song embodies the pockets of time where this weight eases its grip, and innocence and connection breathe the cool night air before the sun rises and the lambs wake.
“This song holds a quiet ache and a sense of wonder,” Keira explains. “It’s about those fragile pockets of time where life feels soft and full of possibility.”
The accompanying video, produced by Bunker Street Film Co. (Joe Murdie), mirrors the song’s delicate yet expansive spirit. Filmed in a single day across breathtaking locations in Wānaka and Tarras, a small village in Central Otago, the visual narrative weaves natural beauty with personal symbolism. At its center is a windswept papier-mâché mask – a found object from Keira’s grandmother’s pottery studio that has since become a cherished heirloom. Against the vast landscapes, the mask becomes a motif for memory and transformation.
Lambs Aren’t Waking Yet was also performed across two nights in Auckland last year with the Exploding Rainbow Orchestra, showcasing Keira’s ability to translate their introspective sound to a grand, collaborative scale.
To celebrate the release, Keira Wallace will perform two special shows in Ōtepoti and Lyttelton. The first takes place on Friday April 4, at Pearl Diver, Dunedin. Alongside their solo performance, Keira will be joined by Kristian Groves for the launch of their new folk duo, Dolly Possum, with Yesterday’s Letters, and Eris (acoustic) on support duties. The second show follows on Saturday April 12, at Wunderbar, Lyttelton, where Keira will be joined by Kristian Groves and acclaimed Christchurch singer-songwriter Mousey. Tickets for both shows are available via Undertheradar.co.nz.
Keira Wallace is no stranger to the spotlight. Their passionate involvement in New Zealand’s music scene has led to significant milestones, including multiple placements in the Smokefree Rockquest and Play It Strange National Secondary Schools Songwriting Competition. They have performed over 100 live shows since their first gig at age 13 and have shared stages with musical inspirations such as Mount Eerie (USA), Tiny Ruins, Clare Sands (IRE), Ebony Lamb and Luke Buda. Beyond live performance, Keira is currently self-producing an EP, while also pursuing a double degree in music and marketing at the University of Otago.
With Lambs Aren’t Waking Yet, Keira Wallace continues to establish themselves as a rising voice in New Zealand’s folk music landscape – weaving stories of childhood, loss, and fleeting wonder with striking authenticity.
‘Lambs Aren’t Waking Yet’
By Keira Wallace
Available HERE
Made with the help of NZ On Air
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