2017 With Richard Kingsmill

To mark the 10th anniversary of Gotye’s global smash Making Mirrors, we rewind it back to when Richard spoke with Wally De Backer for the premiere of the album. Gotye’s third album Making Mirrors turned the Melbourne musician Wally De Backer into an international star. After going #1 here and selling double platinum, winning numerous ARIA’s, the J Award for Australian Album of the Year, and being voted the top album of 2011 by triple j listeners, it was time to watch the success of the album rollout internationally. It went to #1 in many European countries, and Top 10 in both the UK and USA. It’s success in the States was especially notable, seeing Gotye achieve triple platinum sales there, as well as scoring a prized Grammy.  While we patiently wait for the follow-up, let’s go back 10 years to when Richard Kingsmill premiered the album on triple j and had Gotye talking about the writing and making of it all.

WILLOW is the 20yo daughter of Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith. With her 5th album, she continues to expand her own path in music. In 2010, a nine-year-old dazzled the world with a song called ‘Whip My Hair’. Many saw it as just a novelty, but it was actually the start of a music career that’s now five albums deep. WILLOW is Willow Smith, the now 20yo daughter of Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith. Her latest album is lately I feel EVERYTHING, and it explores her love of punk, rock and emo, hearing her collaborating with the likes of Travis Barker and Avril Lavigne. The album also follows a little in her mother’s footsteps, as Jada once was the fierce frontwoman of the metal band Wicked Wisdom in the early noughties. In her first triple j interview, WILLOW speaks with Richard Kingsmill about race, rock and the road to her 5th album.  

In the lead up to his second EP, the Brisbane-based rapper travelled back to his homeland of Zimbabwe. He found himself in the process. The Zimbabwean-born/Brisbane-based rapper Carmouflage Rose hit the ground running with the single ‘Late Nights’ back in 2017. As he watched the streaming numbers increase million by million, he then dropped ‘Wildflowers’ which continued his ascent on the local hip hop stage. Then come the start of 2020 – with plans in play to work off this momentum internationally – he and the rest of the music industry ground to a halt.  Despite the setback, there have been some positives for Carmouflage Rose along the way, the biggest being a trip back to his homeland and the resulting realisation of who he should be as a rapper. With the release of A Night With No Moon, he opens up to Richard Kingsmill about finding strength through vulnerability and the significance of his second EP’s title.

Built On Glass was the acclaimed and award-winning debut album for the Melbourne artist Chet Faker. A couple of years after its release, Chet retired. Any new music that followed would be released under the artist’s birth name Nick Murphy. For many, it was a confusing and potentially career damaging decision. But in the years in-between, Murphy came to grips with the two identities, and why the move was so important for him as a musician. From his small studio in New York City where Hotel Surrender - Chet Faker’s comeback album – was made, the man himself speaks with Richard Kingsmill about his ordeal with long COVID last year, the death of his father, and how Chet re-emerged into his life.

It’s a complete understatement to say the last two years for Tones And I have been extraordinary. When her debut single ‘Johnny Run Away’ was released early in 2019, Mornington Peninsula’s Toni Watson was a busker on the streets of Byron Bay, living out of the back of her van. Today, she’s a worldwide star, breaking all manner of records, winning a stack of awards, and achieving streaming figures into the billions. And she achieved all of this before even releasing a debut album. With Welcome To The Madhouse now ready for release, Tones And I sits down with Richard Kingsmill to talk about how she got to this point, the highs and lows of such a ride, and what she wanted to say and write about on this first album. She talks about the lack of co-writers on the album, who she wants to collaborate with in the future, and what the madhouse is for her.

Early in 2020, at an APRA song writing workshop in Melbourne, the three members of Telenova met for the first time. Joshua Moriarty and Edward Quinn had been playing for years in their respective groups, Miami Horror and Slum Sociable, and singer Angeline Armstrong had been pursuing work across both video and music. But none of them had ever met each other. On that first day working together, they came up with a song called ‘Tranquilize’. It was clear, even that early on, that they had something special between them. More writing followed, and the ideas kept coming as easily as that first day. Early in 2021, their debut single ‘Bones’ dropped and immediately it resonated for both triple j and Double J listeners. With their first EP now out, and a headline tour to come, Armstrong and Quinn speak here to Richard Kingsmill about their story and how everything has unfolded so quickly for them.

She’s keeping tight lipped about what’s to come, but Holly Humberstone looks certain to keep building on the quick start she’s had on the music scene. The 21yo is from the small English town of Grantham. Encouraged by her parents and inspired by the likes of Damien Rice and Radiohead, Humberstone found an audience quickly with her debut EP in 2020. The fact she couldn’t play any of it live didn’t seem to affect her getting her music out to a wider audience. With a new single called ‘The Walls Are Way To Thin’, the singer/songwriter speaks to Richard Kingsmill about her upbring, the haunted house she grew up in, and the experience of writing songs with the likes of Matty Healy (The 1975) and Sarah Aarons.

Even though it’s only a five track E.P., K.Flay’s latest release requires plenty of unpacking. The American artist has worked with some legendary figures like Travis Barker (blink-182) and Tom Morello (Rage Against The Machine) on her Inside Voices E.P. But it’s what she reveals about her own life that really captures your attention. She’s never really held back in her writing before, but K.Flay (real name: Kristine Flaherty) is totally pushing her emotional content to the limits here on songs like ‘Four Letter Words’, ‘Dating My Dad’ and ‘Good Girl’. Hear Richard Kingsmill speaking to her about her alcoholic father who she lost when she was 14, her revelations via therapy, why she got a ‘Tears Of Joy’ tattoo, and what it was like working with both Barker and Morello.

With a mix of indie, hip hop and jazz, the English five-piece called easy life have released their debut album after four years of singles and mixtapes. They’ve built a sizeable following at home, but Australia has also picked up early on the band’s charms and knack for catchy song writing, with Sydney rated as one of their top five cities for listeners online. Lead by singer Murray Matravers, who was raised on a farm in Loughborough in the middle of England, you’d think singing about the beach would be the furthest thing from his thoughts. But once lockdown hit, escapism followed, and he explored a set of song ideas based on a trip to the beach. He explains more to Richard Kingsmill about the band’s history and his approach to song writing on their impressive album life’s a beach.

In the late ‘90s, the New York rapper DMX (born Earl Simmons) came to define the sound of hip hop with his run of chart-topping albums. With that rough growl in his voice, he stood apart from the pack, and sounded every bit as tough as the upbringing he had endured. DMX’s successful career though didn’t make life any easier for the man. Prison, drug addiction, and multiple attempts at rehabilitation, all stood in the way of the rapper maintaining momentum in his professional and personal life. However, he hung onto his deep spirituality, and his concerts became known as much for the rapper’s prayers as they did for his barking party anthems. His last album was in 2012. After he saw the fan’s love coming in during his Verzuz battle with Snoop Dogg last year, he realised another release was long overdue. Working with long-time producer and friend Swizz Beatz, they started on new music, bringing in a stellar cast of guests befitting the man’s reputation. JAY-Z, Nas, Alicia Keys, Bono, Lil’ Wayne, Usher, Snoo

Ashe studied at the renowned Berklee College Of Music in Boston. A big fan of the likes of Brian Wilson, Carole King and The Beatles, she fed off those classic writers when creating the impressively grand sounding debut album titled Ashlyn (which is her real first name). In the lead up to its release came the sleeper of a hit called ‘Moral Of The Story’. Co-written and co-produced with FINNEAS, the song took a year to generate interest. However, following its inclusion in the To All The Boys: P.S. I Still Love You soundtrack, it became a huge viral hit, and is currently streaming in the hundreds of millions. Personally, Ashe has gone through plenty of heartbreak. A failed and emotionally toxic young marriage, followed by losing her brother last year to addiction, has fed directly into her deeply personal songwriting. Hear her open up about her life and influences in this conversation with Richard Kingsmill.

Over the past four years, since first uploading his songs when he was just 14yo, Alfie Templeman has impressed with his growth as an artist. After getting turned onto music at the age of seven when he came across the ‘70s prog legends Rush and the drumming prowess of the late Neil Peart, he started teaching himself different instruments. Today, with four EP’s and a brand new mini-album to his name, he reckons he has around 1,000 more songs that he’s been working on. Richard Kingsmill speaks to Templeman about his influences (which also include the likes of Todd Rundgren, Tears For Fears, Mac DeMarco and Billie Eilish), as well as what he’s striving for with his future debut album.

KUCKA has finally released her debut album. Titled Wrestling, it hears the singer/producer openly tackling some very personal issues. Born in England, KUCKA (real name Laura Lowther) moved with her family to Perth during her teen years. It wasn’t an easy move at that stage of her life, but eventually she explored music making and started making a name for herself on the electronic scene there from 2012 onwards. Some big name features along the way with artists like Flume helped the unique talent get her name out there even more.   However, it’s taken a long time for her to get to her own debut album. Relocating to Los Angeles a few years ago, she speaks here to Richard Kingsmill about the influence of that move, how coming out has had its personal challenges, and what inspired her year of ‘yes’.

Sixty Summers is a solo album few expected from Julia Stone. While we were enjoying Angus & Julia Stone’s popular 2017 album Snow, which itself broadened the traditonal sound of the duo, Julia had already been long at work writing and recording ideas for her next solo release. Teaming up with American Thomas Bartlett, who first worked with Julia back in 2012, they started mapping out songs together in 2015. Bartlett’s work has ranged from The National and Sufjan Stevens through to Norah Jones and Yoko Ono. The versatile producer/musician has also worked closely with St. Vincent. To get this record of Julia’s finished, they invited her (aka Annie Clark) to come in and help co-produce. Julia speaks here with Richard Kingsmill about how the three worked together, some of the album’s standout moments, and what she wanted to say with these new songs.

The seven long years to his second album is now over. American Porter Robinson talks more with Richard Kingsmill about Nurture. Find out how his side-project Virtual Self as well as his collaboration with Madeon influenced his latest music. And hear how he explored singing and lyric writing in a much bigger way on this album.

In 2014, American musician Porter Robinson was riding high on the EDM wave with his acclaimed debut album Worlds. The momentum continued with a successful Madeon collaboration in 2016, and then his side-project Virtual Self in 2017. However, when it came time to focus on his second album, things started falling apart for Robinson. A combination of writer’s block and the feeling that nothing was good enough started haunting the musician. When he found out that his younger brother Mark had a rare form of cancer, things spiralled even further. Seven years on from Worlds we finally have Nurture, an album that will put Porter Robinson back in the limelight on the electronic music scene. In the first half of his chat with Richard Kingsmill, the 28yo takes us through the long and painful journey to this second album.

A new talent called Budjerah launched on the music scene towards the end of 2020 with the single ‘Missing You’. Hailing from Bundjalung country in far north NSW, he impressed everyone immediately with that pure and soulful voice. Singing has been his whole life. Raised on gospel music at church, he says he sings every day, and has for as long as he can remember. He was spotted by a major label after his cousin reposted a video first uploaded by Budjerah’s mum. That cousin is Nakkiah Lui from Black Comedy fame, and through her sharing that live video, Warner Music came calling. Budjerah (whose name means ‘first light’) had attracted other early fans. Through AIME mentor Robbie Miller, Matt Corby was also tipped off about the young talent. Now, the 19yo has released his debut EP which Corby went on to record with him in his studio outside Byron Bay. Hear Budjerah talking more about his upbringing and love of music with Richard Kingsmill.

For three years, the Californian group Peach Tree Rascals have been attracting fans worldwide through a succession of singles. Their biggest hit so far is ‘Mariposa’ which exploded worldwide in 2019 via social media. It currently is sitting at well over 200 million streams. The biggest fanbases for them are a lot of Asian countries too, such as Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines. With the release of their debut EP Camp Nowhere,  Richard Kingsmill speaks to one of the three rapper-singers in the band Isaac Pech. They talk about the struggles their families have in common, what bonds them musically, and why their music has reached so many fans already.

Following the release of twentyseven, Melbourne artist LANKS (aka Will Cuming) decided to take a break from the project, even though the debut album spawned plenty of successful tracks. What followed was zero downtime. A couple of new music projects, a move to New York, as well as studying for a Master of Data Science were just some of his new plans. And in amongst all that, LANKS re-emerged with the recent release of a double album called SPIRITS. Find out more about his love of tracking data, collaborating and making music, as LANKS chats here to Richard Kingsmill.

MAY-A has given us three great singles across the past year. But how did she get her start on the music scene? With part of her childhood spent in Byron Bay, and the rest moving constantly around Sydney, MAY-A got interested in music through hearing her dad playing Bob Dylan songs on the guitar. Once she got to Sydney by the age of 14, the music bug had bitten her, and she started attending a performing arts school. However, that turned out to not be the best fit for MAY-A. Instead, it was an extremely random and coincidental meeting with her future manager that created the opportunities to come for her. Richard Kingsmill speaks to MAY-A (aka Maya Cumming) about the details of that meeting, and her introduction to the world of music.