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  • Writer's pictureThe Sound Cafe

Sydney-Based Toria Richings Remembers with Powerful, Heartfelt Single 'Where It All Began'



From an early age, Toria Richings began her love of all things musical, listening

to the likes of Neil Young, Pink Floyd, Queen, Joan Baez and Neil Finn, she felt inspired to want to play music, teaching herself guitar aged twelve, she began writing little songs and jingles to her own music. From the age of 16 she began honing her skills, and developed a real love for creative songwriting with the added bonus of writing her own music too. Aged 18 she began playing live gigs in her local pubs, singing covers, slipping in her own songs whenever she could, which were always received well by her audiences.


As with many singer songwriters life sometimes gets in the way, she got married and had a little family, putting music behind her to focus on raising her children.


Fast forward to 2019, Toria and her family made a life changing decision and decided to try life in Australia, before they arrived they spent 6 weeks travelling America, taking in the magic of Nashville and Memphis Toria fell in love all over again with songwriting. Making the decision to push forward with her music, she began writing songs again, and took the decision to step out from being a bedroom singer, and began recording her music.


In July 2020, Toria released her first EP "Turning Tides", she has been overwhelmed at the response, with the EP receiving actual proper old-fashioned air-play and Toria receiving requests for interviews... an incredible outcome for her first EP, her first foray into a studio.


As of the 22nd November, the song "Where it All Began", which was featured on a new EP, was released as a stand-alone single 22 November 2020, a very special and very emotional commemorative song. The EP "Diamond Stone" was released in early 2021, six more previously unreleased tracks from Toria Richings, with the title track getting radio play across Australia, the USA and many other places.


Toria explains the story behind 'Where It All Began'


"This is the song I wrote about the death of my beautiful mum Margaret. She died so unexpectedly just after we had left to begin life in Australia."


"The song itself I wrote on a day I was feeling so lost without her, the bottom really was gone from my world, I did what I do best to make myself happy, sat and played guitar. Within moments I had the tune for a new song and the lyrics came minutes later."


"I knew as soon as I wrote the first line "With a bang of a drum it was done, we were quite alone", I was writing about my loss. The song basically is about the process of grief and the depth of pain we all feel when in it, along with the desperate wanting of that person to still be here."


"I wrote the song originally for me and for my family. It was my way of giving them a song they could sit and listen to and have that moment to themselves. It was from this I got the video idea."

"Through the grieving process I began doing what I called "Grief Walking". I was so incredibly lost without her I began walking the streets of Australia with music on only returning home when I felt a bit brighter!! It turned out Grief Walking really helped!"


"It was on one of these walks I got to thinking about all the other people in the world who had felt this horrible empty pain. I was thinking how I had made this song for my family to have, so they could have that moment you sometimes need to cry be sad or just think. I thought how amazing it would be to give this to other people feeling this awful pain."


"It was this moment I thought about a video. I was on a few grief sites on Facebook and had spoken to and read so many sad stories. I got the idea of people from around the world hold photos of loved ones to my song, that way they had a connection to the music and their loved one would be on something that anyone and everyone could see, a moment of sadness and a moment of pride."


"I reached and was overwhelmed with the response from strangers from all over the world who took the trouble to have photos done or send in photos they had, grief really does connect everyone."


"I am so proud of this video and hope it gives everyone a little piece of much needed love, this little idea of mine from a grief walk has turned into something pretty special."







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