VIDEO PREMIERE: Gretta Ziller - 'Ain't Even Your Lover'

Melbourne-based Americana singer Gretta Ziller is known for her stunning vocals that can lift any song. She melds country, pop and rock music to meld her own unique brand of Americana on her 2017 debut album, Queen Of Boomtown and 2021's Judas Tree, with touches of sassiness informing her personality throughout her music.

Today, The Music premieres the music video to her new single, Ain't Even Your Lover. Where songs with a title like that can often be vengeful or sad, Ziller makes this one liberating and fun - from the looks of things, we could all use some of her empowerment in our lives. 

Ain't Even Your Lover was written during the 2020 lockdowns in Melbourne and finds Ziller with her head held high. "It’s a song about giving your time and emotion to someone. And that someone being a leech – just sucking and sucking and taking and taking – and it not being a real human relationship, where it’s give and take," she revealed about her emotions behind the song.

The music video features two young teenage girls dancing to the unwavering beat and brass section as Ziller sings, "You kept me close, let me falter, and I couldn't recover / You kept me close, got what you wanted, and I ain’t even your lover." 

She explains, "It’s a little bit sarcastic and a little bit sassy, like, 'I’ve done everything, and I didn’t even get sex out of it,'" she laughs, adding, "It is also about being hurt by that person and the things you learn along the way. The most frustrating thing about that whole adventure was the way I let myself be treated; I rolled over, and I was so disappointed in myself for letting that happen!"

As mentioned above, Ain't Even Your Lover was written during the depressing time known as 2020. Ziller joined a songwriting class "to avoid going stir crazy staring at four walls during the long Melbourne winter... and for once, I stuck with it and ended up writing 52 songs!

"Yep, a whole year! From a weekly song-write challenge, Ain't Even Your Lover was conceived." Ziller then participated in the AIR Women In Music Mentorship program, where she met her mentor, Matt Tanner (from Native Tongue), who connected her with Oscar Dawson (Holy Holy) for a songwriting session. 

She took in "the bones" of Ain’t Even Your Lover and shares, "By the end of the session, I was so excited about this song, and I knew that it was going to be on my next recording." After she secured a grant from the Australia Council, Gretta was able to approach her upcoming third album organically: "all in a room, recording live."

GRETTA ZILLER

UPCOMING TOUR DATES

Saturday 4 & Sunday 5 March - Country By The Bay, Frankston, VIC

Thursday, 9 March - The Gov, Adelaide

Friday 9 to 11 June - Let's Wing It Festival, Scone, NSW

Ticketing details are on Gretta Ziller's website.