Auckland Indie Pop Artist Raging Flowers Wins First Prize In Out From The Mist

October 22, 2024

“Now the winner of the Music category in 2024 is across the Tasman. Congratulations, Amy Wang, from Auckland, New Zealand, Tissue Paper! ” — Out From The Mist 2024 Award Evening

Raging Flowers’ (Amy Shuang Wang) unreleased song, Tissue Paper, was awarded the first prize in the Music category in Out From The Mist (https://www.outfromthemist.com/), which is an international arts competition for mental health awareness based in Brisbane.

Raging Flowers was awarded with a cash prize of $1200 AUD, mentoring sessions with one of the judges, as well as having her work exhibited at the Judith Wright Arts Centre in Brisbane for 18 days. Out from the Mist is a photography, short movie and music competition. It is about using the arts to showcase the challenges of mental illness and promote the hope of recovery.

Tissue Paper is a souvenir from a depression. It is a sad song with lightness and humour. “This song was written during a time when you eat and sleep just to get to the next day to cry more, and you feel intensely sad for every object around you.” Raging Flowers shares. “I didn’t find it funny at all when I wrote the song. Looking back now, I can appreciate the humour in it”, Raging Flowers continues. Writing the song helped the songwriter get through this period of difficult time by giving her something to observe and focus on. She ended up moving through this period of depression within 2 and a half weeks, before she managed to find a second counsellor that was more suitable than the first.

Tissue Paper was written during the 2024 APRA Aotearoa Mentorship Programme. where Amy was mentored by Steph Brown (LIPS). The mentorship was an unforgettable learning experience for Raging Flowers. She is deeply grateful for the knowledge and support she received from her mentor and APRA.

Raging Flowers believes in the power of songwriting to help people face their emotional challenges. With this in mind, she plans to host songwriting workshops aimed at creating a supportive space for individuals to explore and express their feelings through music. She wishes to share the joy of songwriting with more people who may not have considered it before.

While Tissue Paper is yet to be officially released, a demo version is available for listening on the Out From The Mist website. 

Raging Flowers will perform Tissue Paper at her next live performance on 24 November at The Bridge(https://www.undertheradar.co.nz/ticket/26459/The-Bridge---Poetry-And-Blues.utr), a songwriters showcase at UXBRIDGE the arts & culture hub, in East Auckland. The proceeds of this show goes to support MusicHelps, which is a charity that uses music to help & heal and provides counselling and emergency assistance to New Zealand music workers.

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