Adalita

As part of our commitment to capturing and sharing great Australian music stories, the Australian Music Vault asked some of the country’s most influential trailblazers and unsung heroes to open up about their lives in music.

Singer-songwriter Adalita Srsen is best known as frontwoman of alternative-rock band Magic Dirt. Emerging from the post-punk scene in Geelong in 1991, Magic Dirt was at the forefront of the Australian grunge era and a mainstay at the biggest festivals in the country, performing alongside international acts including Iggy Pop, Smashing Pumpkins and Sonic Youth. The band released eight studio albums, including their Top-10 Hit, Friends in Danger (1996) and in 2018 they were inducted into the National Live Music Awards Hall of Fame.

Encouraged by Magic Dirt bandmate and mentor Dean Turner, Adalita embarked on a solo career in 2009 and in 2011 released her critically acclaimed debut album, Adalita. The album was subsequently shortlisted for the Australian Music Prize and won Best Independent Release at the Australian Independent Records (AIR) Awards.

In 2013, Adalita released her follow up album All Day Venus and was named Best Female Artist at the Music Victoria Awards. She continues to be an inspirational figure in the industry extending her involvement to mentoring, acting, film scoring, directing and advocating for animal rights. Her third studio album Inland was released in 2022.

In this interview, Adalita reminisces on playing music in the Barwon Club in Geelong in the 1990s, being a woman in the music industry, and the loss of her bandmate, mentor, manager, and best friend, Dean Turner.

Interviewer: Jane Gazzo

Location: Bakehouse Studios, Richmond 2022