A Woman

Hey there Zoo Freaks, settle in for a little spin through one of those deep cuts that just digs right into the groove of what freeform rock radio is all about. We're locked onto "A Woman" from Lachy Doley, pulled straight off the Studios 301 Sessions album, and man, this one carries that heavy, slow-paced funky blues weight that feels like it was cooked up in the heart of a real session rather than some polished studio trick. Written by Lachy himself along with Joel Burton and Jackie Barnes, it gets that signature Whammy Clavinet freakout right in the middle, bookended by some filthy Hammond organ that rips open at the end with a solo that just climbs and climbs. The whole thing was captured live at Sydney's iconic Studios 301 on Lachy's 43rd birthday, April 21, 2021, smack in the middle of those quiet pandemic months when gigs had dried up for nearly a year. He gathered up a killer crew—bass, drums, percussion, and more—in front of an intimate crowd of just twenty folks wearing headphones so they could hear the mix straight from the board. In one interview Lachy talked about how the idea grew out of a earlier session he'd done there for guitarist Ray Beadle, and it just expanded into what he called the best birthday party he'd ever had, with the whole night filmed and later turned into this album that hit number 13 on the Australian charts. Fans have pointed out how the track's raw energy stands out, and there's a story from around the Make or Break days where people kept asking who was playing the guitar on it, only to find out that wild sound was pure clavinet magic, no six-string in sight. It's the kind of cut that makes you lean in closer to the speakers, feeling the push and pull of the rhythm section holding it all down while the keys take flight.

That birthday session vibe runs deep through the whole record, with horns and guests like Mahalia Barnes and his brother Clayton Doley adding layers, but "A Woman" keeps it tight and focused on the core groove, that slow funk blues that lets the Whammy Clav do its thing before the Hammond comes roaring back. Lachy has described the recording as something special he put together with his favorite people after too long off the road, and the intimate setup gave it that unfiltered feel you don't always get in bigger rooms. Social posts from the time showed him sharing the clip with tags about the Whammy Clav freakout and the filthy Hammond bookends, and listeners chimed in calling it insanely unbelievable, the kind of reaction that keeps a track spinning on stations like this one. There's even an earlier studio version from the 2019 Make or Break album, but the live take from that birthday night captures something grittier, the kind of moment where the room and the players lock in and you can almost hear the smiles. It's a reminder of how some of the best rock and blues moments come from gathering the tribe when the outside world is quiet and just letting it roll.

Speaking of how it all got rolling for Lachy, the story starts way back in Adelaide where he grew up with his older brother Clayton in a house that had an old upright piano sitting in the corner. His mom's friends, including a blues guitar player who was hanging around, turned the brothers on to the real deal—Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, Elmore James, Willie Dixon, Pinetop Perkins—and they started clonking away on that piano trying to mimic the greats. Lachy was around ten when that spark hit, and by fifteen he was already out playing weekend gigs in a Blues Brothers cover band while still in school. Clayton headed to Sydney first for session work with groups like Bondi Cigars, and during a break from university Lachy followed in the mid-nineties, dropped the studies once he got a taste of the scene, and never looked back. The brothers eventually formed The Hands together, Lachy on clavinet and Clayton on Hammond, putting out a couple of albums before Lachy branched into bigger session work, including keys on Powderfinger's Vulture Street and later touring with them through the end of their run. He picked up the Whammy Clavinet around the time of the SOS album in 2012 and it became a signature piece, the rare modified Hohner that lets him bend notes like a guitarist while pounding the organ. Those early years of looking up to his brother and soaking up the blues from the people who came through the house set the foundation for the solo path that took off around 2010, and by 2016 a set at Blues on Broadbeach went viral, earning him the tag of the Jimi Hendrix of the Hammond organ from folks who saw the fire he puts into every performance. Glenn Hughes has called him the greatest living keyboard player, and that kind of recognition grew from those roots in the family home and the Sydney sessions.

These days Lachy keeps that same energy going, touring with Joe Bonamassa and still fronting his own shows where the Hammond and the Whammy Clav take center stage, but it all traces back to that Adelaide start and the decision to chase the music full time with his brother as the guide. The Studios 301 Sessions feels like a full-circle kind of celebration of that journey, gathering friends and family for a night that turned into a record, and "A Woman" sits right in the middle of it as a heavy funky blues statement. You can dig deeper into what he's up to over at his official site lachydoley.com, and follow along on Facebook, Instagram, and X where the clips and the updates keep coming from the road and the studio. Here at THE ZOO we keep spinning the deep cuts and the stories that go with them, the kind of freeform album rock that connects the past to the present for all you Zoo Freaks out there listening in. This track is one of those that sticks with you, the slow burn building into that final Hammond solo, a reminder of why we still gather around the radio for the real thing, the players who came up learning from the records and the people who passed the music along, and the nights when a birthday party in a Sydney studio becomes something the whole world can feel. Keep it locked right here for more of that spirit.