Something felt – free to me as I listened to what Sarah Mary Chadwick had done in the past and placed it side-by-side with the latest offerings from ‘Messages To God,’ her new album that drops on September 15th. This is where the back-and-forth between a girl constantly behind a laptop and the Melbourne-based singer-songwriter began, but as we dug in deeper, we discussed the beauty that surrounds us, the constant state of fear, and more like whether or not there was any punk in her past. 

Kendra: When listening to ‘Eating for Two’ and then hearing what you’ve got in store on ‘Messages to God,’ it feels as though over the past decade you’ve become more raw in your delivery and overall sound; freer if you will. Would you say that’s just something that comes with evolving as an artist and growing more comfortable with each new release?

Sarah Mary Chadwick: That’s really good to hear, I’m glad it hasn’t gotten more pedestrian with time. I guess the way in which someone’s creativity responds to time is as unique as each person…for myself I wouldn’t say that growing more comfortable has ever been an issue or a desire. 

As a person, I am someone who puts a lot of energy into working on my mental health and trying to attain a greater understanding of myself and the people around me. I think this has helped me keep my work from being stagnant or stuck emotionally. I think that I have always trusted my motivations and creative concerns since I was really young and that with time I have been able to utilise that fluency, in regard to artistic choices and productivity. I still feel like the same person I was when I wrote Eating For Two. Those feelings feel only a beat away. But I’m not so overwhelmed anymore, I don’t feel quite so much like I’m drowning all the time.

Kendra: Sticking with ‘Messages to God,’ you noted that this record is about finding the beauty in everyday occurrences. I love that because, over the past few years, the world has felt overtly negative. Again, the past few years were rough, so how did you manage to land in this positive headspace? 

Sarah Mary Chadwick: Hmmmm, I think I’ve always been like that really. If we’re talking about ‘Eating For Two’ – what are the lyrics to that “Knots Unwind” song? “I am a holiday to take/ I am that sparkle on that lake”… “Walk on water in my dream / a heart that’s bursting at the seams.” Haha, quoting your own lyrics alert! 

Those seem like very positive lyrics to me.  I think with me the thing is that I have a lot of childhood trauma and sadness that clouded everything. Then people started dying and the wheels really fell off. BUT even though my parents ostensibly did a terrible job, from somewhere I got this weird tenacity about figuring all my shit out. I’ve nearly failed and died more than once. This isn’t possible for some people, and for them, I’m really really sad – but for me, I’ve been able to keep going. And for that I’m really, really grateful. I think this might be common for a few people too, but realising that I was the biggest threat to myself was very confronting and at the same time made me kind of fearless of Real things. So in answer to your question, it’s not so much that it’s a more positive headspace, but that it’s different. And that’s more important, I think.

Kendra: I also love that “Shitty Town,” lyrically, could’ve been on a pop-punk record from my youth. I adore it so. Did you grow up with any punk influences, because this record does feel like it has a sort of punk foundation? 

Sarah Mary Chadwick: Hahah that’s so nice, thank you. I think I’ve always admired straightforward, clear, potent vivid, and distilled things, things that focus on emotion and communication, things that are tender and move you, things that work in opposition, and things that are DIFFERENT, which I guess are a lot of ‘punk’ adjectives. I love songwriting so much, when it’s done well it’s so satisfying.

Kendra: As relatable as “Shitty Town” was to me, I felt as though “Looked Just Like Jesus” was sincerely universal while also being so personal to you due to the haunting line, “I’m always scared.” Other than pouring your emotions into music, is there anything else you do that helps you when you start to feel fearful of this and that? 

Sarah Mary Chadwick: This is a hard one just because it’s very personal. I am working my way (albeit very slowly, and with varied results) through a myriad of unhealthy things I do to cope with fear and anxiety, I guess most notably being alcohol. I think I will probably always have that side to myself, I don’t expect it ever to go away. 

I’m always, always trying to figure everything out – so I guess right now, I’m trying to not do that – Some days will not be the day I crack the code, make good decisions, or even feel good. But some days will. I’m trying to let myself have both. I try to quiet my mother’s voice in my head. I try to talk to people who I love and who love me. I try to listen to people. I try to base my feelings on facts, and not my facts on feelings. 

And I listen to ‘Bring A Plate’ and ‘My Dad Wrote A Porno’ on repeat and watch reruns of shows that I like and remember to enjoy being in love and loved and I walk my dog Sylvia for two hours a day. Oh, and I love cooking. And spending all the time I can with my husband Simon.

Kendra: Now it’s time for a side note – with it being September AKA Self Improvement Month, I’m asking everyone to give us a song they like to put on when they are in self-care mode…

Sarah Mary Chadwick: Ooooh, um…Kesha and Pitbull’s “Timber,” Tove Lo’s “Talking Body,” OR Britney Spears’ “Toy Soldier.”

Kendra: And lastly, with ‘Messaged to God’ out on September 15th, what else do y’all have planned as we head into fall? 

Sarah Mary Chadwick: Exciting! Uhh, well, we are headed into summer here soooo….hopefully some cigarettes outside on late nights with friends….taking my dog swimming…I have an art exhibition in November so I’m doing lots of painting for that. I just recorded a brand new record last week so putting that together. And I want to tour in early 2024, it’s been so long since I have played shows outside of Australia. I am really looking forward to that.

The post Messages from Sarah Mary Chadwick  appeared first on ZO Magazine.

Kendra: You have this infectious DIY, bedroom indie pop sound that I just adore! Where did your interest in music spawn from and when did that interest take you from a fan to an artist? 

Jessie May-K: Thank you! I’ve been interested in music since I can remember. My favourite thing to watch as young as two was ‘The Wiggles’ and ‘H.R. Pufnstuf,’ which were both really musical shows. 

I started writing my own lyrics and melodies at five years old, then took a break around 10, and got into dance and musical theatre. I was always constantly singing to self-soothe throughout my life and eventually got alright at it from the amount of practice. Around 16 I started writing again and teaching myself guitar off YouTube to put music to my songs. I started performing around open mics at that time and met someone from FogHorn who invited me to professionally record my music at Damien Gerard Studios. 

Having mostly musical theatre training, I was very much a goldfish in the ocean and had to learn to swim with the bigger fish, improving my skills with vocal lessons and music education as a young adult to get to where I am today. I’m still not as skilled as I want to be, but I’ve definitely improved, so I’m very lucky Marshall Cullen and FogHorn showed interest in me when I began, that’s for sure!

Kendra: I could 100% relate to your latest single, “My Type.” I do a whole podcast about crushes and some of mine are often questioned because they’re not the typical movie star type. With that, I’d love to know what celebrity crush made you realize your type? 

Jessie May-K: Same! I’ve always found the nerdy type most attractive. When I was six watching Disney Channel I was into Cody over Zack on ‘The Suite Life,’ Lewis in ‘H20’ when I was nine, Robbie from ‘Victorious,’ Felix from ‘Nowhere Boys,’ I had a big crush on Newt Scamander from ‘Fantastic Beasts’ when it came out, Ned The Pie Maker from ‘Pushing Daisies’ and most recently watching ‘The Big Bang Theory,’ Sheldon Cooper. 

I was like – damn, he’d be the perfect partner, I could come home and we could just watch ‘Doctor Who’ together on the couch and talk about our favourite franchises. Even bigger plus, we would both be Asexual!

Kendra: “My Type,”  as well as 2018’s “Teen Love,” definitely took me back to the late ‘90s/early ‘00s AKA the best era of teen movies. However, if you could go back and be on the soundtrack of any teen movie from any era, which one do you think your musical aesthetic would vibe with most? 

Jessie May-K: I think ‘Bridge To Terabithia.’ It’s very sad, but it’s such a magical, imaginative show, and something like ‘Blue Skies’ or ‘Head In The Clouds’ would fit well I think.

Kendra: You dropped ‘Zone Out’ back in 2020, so can we assume “My Type” means you may be gearing up for a follow-up EP, or even an LP?

Jessie May-K: “My Type” was a stand-alone single collaborating with my friend Miguel Cullen who is a talented artist and actor of his own. I am releasing a new album soon though! This means another single to look forward to in preparation for the new sound!

Kendra: On ‘Zone Out’ you had a song called “Shootin Daisies” and with that came an anti-gun violence video. In America, gun violence is something our government leaders seem to think is an issue that can be prayed away. Is the idiocracy of America what inspired this video? 

Jessie May-K: American gun laws definitely played a huge part in the inspiration for the video. America holds a lot of societal influence over the ideologies and practices of people in developed countries. 

I have great fear with the direction American politics have been heading and what that means for Australia’s future too, this is why I have the Aussie Soldier in the video, broadcast propaganda to the fictional audience, in behind-the-scenes collaboration, with the American News Reporter.

Kendra: Now it’s time for a side note – with it being May, I always think of the end of the school year and all those memories of field trips, parties, and yearbooks. With that, I’d love to know what your fondest end-of-the-school-year memory was? 

Jessie May-K: My fondest end-of-year memory, I think, is the end-of-term Easter Hat Parades our primary school used to hold. They were always good days that were fun and exciting.

Kendra: Lastly, with “My Type” out now, what else can fans expect as we continue towards summer? 

Jessie May-K: “My Type” is unique for what I’m currently working on, being very organic and Shania Twain style instrumentally. I think fans who liked my earlier stuff like “Coffee Shop” will appreciate it, but I’m currently working on entering more pop territory. My lovely, supportive Jelly Beans, can look forward to my new album of current life chapters captured in riverbed tones, alternate synth on faster-paced,

The post Jessie May-K Is Just Your Type appeared first on ZO Magazine.

Kendra: Looking back, was there an artist, song, or album that initially inspired you to dive headfirst into music?

Romanie: I was such a sad kid listening to really existential albums when I was growing up. Always so touched by music I was never far away from my iPod. The big legends such as Leonard Cohen and Bowie were always on my mind but I’ve definitely been shaped by artists such as Daughter, Air Traffic, Angus & Julia Stone, etc.

Kendra: You made your debut a few years back, and since then have dropped a number of singles and an EP. Was there anything you learned then that you’ve since applied to what you’ve done that you feel has made a crucial impact on how you approach your creative process? 

Romanie: I released music in 2019 when I was still back home – but have since deleted the EP from the online spheres as I felt like I wasn’t really ready to release music. Saying that I’ve definitely learned so much from every time I put music out into the world. It’s such a vulnerable process and I applaud everyone for putting themselves out there, no matter if you can stay connected to a previous release or not. I definitely am still (sort of) the same person as the 2021 Little Big Steps Romanie but I think I have just matured a lot and know a bit better what I want to say in my music now. Something that feels very nice to finally connect with, and something that I’m really excited for to further explore.

Kendra: Let’s talk about your latest, “Anthony.” Right away I was moved because I too can get lost in a memory and the nostalgia of life; more often than not. Other than writing music, how do you go about holding onto your more precious memories?

Romanie: I’m always taking photos of the most random things! I am too someone who gets lost in nostalgia from time to time so I try to just capture a moment quickly but still stay present if that makes sense. I’ve recently gotten into the habit of listening a bit more to my surroundings – there are so many songwriting topics and prompts out there that can be easily missed. I’ve definitely eavesdropped quite a few times and used one-liners from strangers in songs haha.

KendrA: You also noted that “Anthony” was inspired by your love of movies. With that, what movie soundtrack do you feel doesn’t necessarily outshine the movie it came from, but is as great as? 

Romanie: Oh there are so many examples! I love when a song gets synced to a movie and suddenly becomes the key part – such as the tunnel song in “Perks of Being a Wallflower.” My dream is to become a tunnel song in one of my favourite movies I guess!

Kendra: Would you ever consider doing a record that was all movie-inspired songs, with “Anthony” being the lead track? 

Romanie: I would love to write a themed album like that! I actually quite often write songs about movies, so you might hear more about it at some point. It’s such a great way of finding inspiration because movies give you such a visual prompt and if it’s a well-made movie it will stick with you for quite some time after the film finishes.

Kendra: Over the years I’ve come across so many great artists from Melbourne and Australia at large and all of them boast about the local music scenes. For you, what’s been the most standout part of being a musician there? 

Romanie: The community. I’ve never experienced anything like it – everyone is incredibly supportive of each other’s work and I’ve never found myself in such an inspiring environment before. It feels like I am really finding my little group of people here so I’m feeling extremely lucky that I made the move here.

Kendra: So time for a side note – with love in the air, I’d love to know what is the #1 song you’d put on a mixtape as part of a Valentine’s Day gift? 

Romanie: I usually tend to steer away from love songs haha! A song I really love which is probably not the most Valentine’s one is “Certainty” by Big Thief – they have a way of describing things that hit you right in the feels.

Kendra: Lastly, with “Anthony” out on now, what else is in the works as we head towards the spring??

Romanie: I’m taking everything day by day. After everything that happened the last few years I try to put pressure on myself (but still have big dreams of course). I’m hoping to release more music and play a bunch of shows for sure.

The post Crafting Tunnel Songs with Romanie appeared first on ZO Magazine.

The song as well as a lot of what’s been pushing Higgs Field in the studio as of late has to do with the above, and we dove into that. From the uneducated in their native Australia to the people in charge who are as clueless as can be, we covered all of that and even managed to toss some music chatter into the mix in this brand-new back and forth. 

Kendra: It’s been a minute since your fans have been treated to some new music as ‘Paracusia’ dropped back at the start of 2021. Nevertheless, well worth the wait because you’re back with “Leader in the Eye.” When did this new track start to take shape?

Higgs Field: I guess with most of our songs, things really start coming together when we’re in the jam room, that’s where we mold the song and turn it into something we can really feel out. I brought the riffs to the dudes and we played around with everything until it sounded good. We played it live a few times and kinda went, “Yeah man, let’s go.” We wanted to make sure that the song’s subject matter was reflected in the song, so it’s aggressive where it needs to be and subdued where you need to listen. 

Kendra: At its core, “Leader in the Eye” is about preserving culture. Do you mean in an Australian sense, musically? Humanity as a whole as we fall more and more into a false sense of reality due to living and breathing in online spaces? 

Higgs Field: Definitely, but It’s a problem everywhere. We need to let a mushroom be a mushroom, and a tree be a tree. These cultures need to be allowed to grow and thrive in their own way. Uneducated tyrants tried to kill the ability for them to grow and we’ve all lost thousands of years’ worth of knowledge because of it. In an Australian sense, we’ve mistreated the oldest culture in the world, in the most disgusting ways you could possibly imagine. 

Because the Aboriginal culture is full of strong and intelligent characters, we get that insight into a beautiful perspective of how the world could be. Mind you, you’re more likely to see a Ray-Ban shop in an airport, then anything that could educate you about Aboriginal culture. We’re nowhere near where we should be, it’s systematic and can only be changed when it’s embraced full-heartedly. 

As for how people are falling harder into an online space, I truly don’t know how to feel about it. I feel like it’s a natural part of our progression and in the next 100 years, life will be totally different from what we know now. Whether that’s going to be a good thing or not is another thing. Put it this way, when ‘The Terminator’ came out it was a sci-fi thriller and we couldn’t imagine it. Now we have machine gun drones with pinpoint precision from over a kilometer away and AI that we’ve had to shut down because of how hateful it reacts to people. It’s scary but really incredible at the same time. 

Kendra: Another aspect you’ve focused on as a whole, as of late, is control. Do you think that with how music works today, being a bit more DIY-driven, artists have more control than ever – or do the big labels still pull the strings?

Higgs Field: I feel like when we talk about control, it’s more of a push back about what we’ve experienced during Covid. It’s really opened our eyes to how much control our governments actually have and how little control regular people have. People have been hurt badly, while governments around the world have allowed corporations to profit from it, which really shows us where their priorities really are. 

I’ve paid more taxes here in Australia in the past two weeks than Apple has paid in the past 10 years. You only have to look at the lockdowns in Victoria, Australia, and the banking system in China to realize that some things are not right.

In the music industry we can’t really say too much about the labels because we’ve never dealt with them. They might be great to work with but they haven’t contacted us and we’re not waiting around to see if they do. We’re also not going to waste our time chasing them down either, we’ve got music to write and that’s our main focus. We don’t care about fame or money, so it’s really not high on the priority list. 

Kendra: Being that I always tagged along with my metalhead older brother in the ‘90s, I instinctively knew who some of your inspirations were right when I pressed play. It’s nice to hear that sort of throwback rock sound take up some space in the present. How do you find a way to intertwine modern ways with that rock sound that is, to many, seemingly nostalgic? 

Higgs Field: Bands like Oasis were influenced by The Beatles because that’s what they listened to growing up. We’re the same, except for the music we grew up with were bands like Tool, Cog, Karnivool, and Parkway Drive. We’re clearly different to a lot of stuff out there because we’re not worried about appealing to “current” music trends. At the same time, we’re also honest about what we like and aren’t afraid to nod our heads to them in sections of our songs. We love the shit, so it’s only natural that we sound a bit like it. 

Kendra: Again, this is the first single since 2021. Is “Leader in the Eye” the jumping-off point for what’s to come with your LP in 2023? 

Higgs Field: Yeah, I think it’s just where we’re heading in general but we’ve got a few curveballs coming too. Whatever we do with our music in the future will be worth the listen but don’t expect the same thing, over and over again. We’re like children, we get bored easily and constantly need to be entertained. 

Kendra: Side note time – with it being a Back 2 School season, I’d love to know your favorite field trip or just school memory. 

Higgs Field: I don’t know if I have one. Maybe a little field trip to my mates’ house to play video games at lunchtime, that turned into a maccas run and an all-nighter. It feels like such a long time ago now that when I think of school, I can only really think back to some of the things that I did at school. 

Kendra: Lastly, with “Leader in the Eye” out now and plans for a new LP in 2023, what else is on the agenda this fall?

Higgs Field: We’ve got another song coming out before the end of the year, one of the curveball songs I was talking about earlier. some cool gigs lined up and whatever else in between. The best way to keep up with it all is to go follow us on our socials though. Sometimes we don’t even really know what’s coming up!

The post Leading the Way with Higgs Field appeared first on ZO Magazine.

Kendra: So you took a pretty long break from music to focus your creativity elsewhere. How long after you finished your debut novel did you get an inkling to start writing and recording music again?

Alex Edwards: It was a pretty immediate transition mentally, at least. I think that there was a lot of build-up during the writing of ‘Maradha’s Game’ that could no longer be damned and it had to spill into something melodious essentially as soon as I was creatively done with the book. It was a happy homecoming of sorts to something that I’ll never renounce.

Kendra: Are there any songs inspired by your other outlets to be found on ‘Fealty Fjords?’

Alex Edwards: Yes! There’s one song in particular called “Zion” that I wrote about a subterranean civilization worrying about its discovery by mantle-dwelling humanoids, and it overlaps a short story that I won an award for during Undercover Artists Festival this year – in the poetry and prose section.

There is also a cartoon movie I am producing called “Gods, Goddesses and God’s Earth” that has just finished seeing actors/actresses lend their voices to it in the studio, and it covers some of the extra-terrestrial themes that Fealty Fjords touches on. Generally, the futurism and sci-fi necks of the woods are explored by all of my art forms lately!

Kendra: Again, this is your first release since 2015’s ‘Flight Frost.’ What significant changes did you notice about yourself as a musician when you got into the writing and recording process this time around?

Alex Edwards: This is a great question. They are all great questions! Thank you for taking so much time to delve into my artist story, Kendra! It means a lot. And, to answer your query…I think this time around I was less of a perfectionist. I also wrote to a metronome instead of in freeform tempo (which is what I did for ‘Flight Frost’), so that the emotion of the tracks during their composition stage could be better appendixed for later; with a certain pace to the songs set from the demo days, it was easier to reproduce the originally intended aesthetic when it came time to track the guitar and vocals.

Kendra: Also, two albums with F alliteration. What’s that all about?

Alex Edwards: This is a motif that will last as long as I am a singer-songwriter. It all began with the ‘Fight or Flight’ mechanism which ‘Flight Frost’ is termed after, and from there, it has stuck. I think it represents the notion of creative limitation improving your artwork’s scope, ironically. I want to keep the screws tightly wound with the “F, F” theme (and with other dynamics, such as album art and story progression) and hopefully, it continues to build up pressure throughout my career to maintain a certain level of climactic energy!

Kendra: Your single, “Hello,” has this vibrancy to it that’s matched by the alien-inspired video. If you came into contact with a legit alien and had to make them a mixtape that best represented your local Brisbane scene, what five artists/songs would have to be on it?

Alex Edwards: Great question! I think I’d probably start with “Powderfinger” and say, “Hey, these guys are huge. Here’s a song – “These Days” – it’s by one of the most famous bands from Brisbane, they own a venue here that a lot of bands love to play at and in terms of contemporary famous Brissie acts, they’re perhaps at the top.” Then I’d select someone like “Masked Wolf” perhaps and say “This song by them – ‘Astronaut In The Ocean’ – is huge, and has exploded on TikTok – they might not have achieved the same fame and success as “Powderfinger,” but their song has over 200 million streams on Spotify and is a worldwide hit.”

Then, I would say to the alien that in a fair representation of all Brisbane has to offer, not just the highly successful acts are a complete demographic analysis. Perhaps an upper-mid-level act that has a lot of local love and is very contemporary is someone like “The Jungle Giants” and I’d recommend “She’s A Riot.” Then at four, maybe a mid-level act that everybody is enjoying would be “The Goon Sax.”

I’d recommend “Desire.” And lastly, something very underground… for the full cross-section… it’s gotta go to my friend “Sean Fitzgerald.” He’s been around for a while now, and while he’s moved to the Gold Coast, he did live in Brisbane before, and he’s sheer magic. I’d put “Hold On” at number 5.

Kendra: I ask because you’re a huge champion of your local scene, even writing for Brisbane Indie Gems. How long have you been blogging about music?

Alex Edwards: I’m about 2 months in, so it’s early days, but I feel like I can squeeze it into my schedule and there’s just too much good music out there to miss out on. I started it because I think as an indie artist, it can be hard to gain press and media quotes, so I felt I could at least spin my own yarns about local acts for them to build up their EPK’s with my help at least!

Kendra: On top of all of the above, you also have this really interesting short story you’re planning on making into a film called “The Psychotic Mind.” Really quick, can you tell readers what it’s about and perhaps where the concept for that came from. Oh, and when can we expect to see it all played out on screen?

Alex Edwards: So, “The Psychotic Mind” is an autobiographical piece about my experiences with schizophrenia. It’s a 1500-word preview to an 18,000-word screenplay that we (my recording engineer and I) just finished getting all the voices done for.

We capped it off at about 26 actors, and they all did astonishingly well to bring to life the story of a musician who throws their maiden show in unmitigated psychosis and ends up in mental hospital a few months later, surrounded by gods, goddesses, and aliens – and the story that unfolds from there is downright surrealist. It’s going to be distributed on YouTube as a cartoon until it can be pitched to an endearing studio somewhere that wishes to finance it into either a live-action version or an upgraded cartoon!

Kendra: You have a lot going on, and I mean a lot – but is there anything else we can be on the lookout for as we say goodbye to 2021 and hello to 2022?

Alex Edwards: Well, there are label talks but I’m sworn to secrecy on them. But perhaps more interesting again, is that “Alex Edwards Band” will become “SNOWCATS” in 2022…as members have become more cozy in our playing arrangement! And that Snowcats have just hooked up a project management deal with Footstomp Music in Brisbane for six months, so we are all pretty excited to collaborate with their team and put the pedal to the metal and see how much buzz we can emit.

The post Alex Edwards Band & the Snowcats Transformation appeared first on ZO Magazine.

Kendra: When you are known for being part of a duo, do you approach your solo material with a heavy hand and work that much harder to ensure what you do now stands apart from what you as part of Tim & Jean?

Tim Ayre: Not really…I’ve kept all my projects pretty separate and I usually create in the moment so I don’t think about it.

Kendra: When it comes to ‘Modern Life,’ so far it feels like a very wanderlust-influenced record with “Mexican Holiday” and “Miami Drive.” Are you someone that is influenced by anywhere but your home?

Tim Ayre: I love my home. I think most of the songs are influenced by home. Like the little joke in the “Miami Drive” video trying to find Miami and Mexico within the map of Australia. I think the themes came from not being able to go on tour in Europe and America, so I spent the time in lockdown at home writing.

Kendra: Speaking of “Mexican Holiday”…WTF? That is one hell of a story. Like, it could be the basis for a movie. Some backstory for readers, Tim’s friend was only planning on visiting Mexico for a few months in 2014, took some Peyote, never came home, and last he heard – was working at a bar at the beach. Do you think this song may reach them and act as a bridge to open your lines of communication with them again?

Tim Ayre: It’s pretty crazy haha! I think Paul is safe and sound. Love you, Paul.

Kendra: Once COVID eases up, are your plans to head to Mexico and find him back on?

Tim Ayre: Yes I’m planning on it. He can give me some local knowledge now.

Kendra: Back to the record, ‘Modern Life’ is very DIY. Do you feel being 100% hands-on these days is creating more authentic content overall compared to mainstream music that can tend to lean towards overprocessed?

Tim Ayre: Yeah, I think so. it’s also easier to make music at home now so naturally, you’ll hear more DIY records

Kendra: Lastly, it’s getting a little easier with the vaccine rollouts, but it’s still kind of hard to have a definite answer when it comes to future plans given the current state of everything, but as far as what you can control when it comes to your career and creativity – what do you have planned in the coming months for yourself?

Tim Ayre: I plan to tour this EP in Australia then as soon as possible head to Europe and make my album.

The post Tim Ayre: Modern Life, Wild Tales appeared first on ZO Magazine.

Kendra: You went solo over a decade ago and since then have released a handful of records. With that, what have been the most crucial discoveries you’ve made about your artistry between writing and recording your 2008 solo debut to your 2020 releases?

Lenka: I’ve learned lots of little things but probably the most crucial is that I need to give myself time. Working under pressure doesn’t end with the most creative ideas from me. If I’m allowed to percolate an idea for a bit longer, it’s usually better.

Kendra: ‘Discover’ and ‘Recover’ showcase originals and covers, and when looking at the cover art – they both go hand in hand. Did you know when you were working on ‘Discover’ that you’d soon release a cover album soon after?

Lenka: Yes totally. I wanted to release them on the same day but it was too difficult to achieve that with all the streaming platforms. They are twin EPs and actually, the vinyl has ‘Recover’ as side A and ‘Discover’ as side B.

Kendra: Being of a particular age, “Steal My Sunshine” is close to my heart and one of those one-hit wonders that is iconic in a beautiful, strange way. So much so, it’s one I feel would be hard to reimagine but you did it! You gave it depth and made it a bit melancholy.

Lenka: It is a pretty iconic song. And rather a strange one once you break it down! I love songs that are full of metaphoric nonsense that leave it up to the listener to interpret. I felt like it was about a party night gone wrong, which would have a somber tone perhaps?

Kendra: Was the version on ‘Recover’ the initial one or did this cover go through some evolutions before you were like, it’s ready?

Lenka: I demoed it alone on my keyboard and came up with that slow groove. When I was picking which songs to cover, it was about finding a way that felt comfortable in my body and finding something new to bring to the song. Then with the producer, Josh Schuberth, we tried to capture that feel but filled it out more. So I don’t think it really changed from the initial way I felt like it should be, it just got fuller.

Kendra: You also covered your own song on this record. As someone who has breathed new life into one of their biggest hits, do you feel more artists would benefit from reimagining their older songs later in their career?

Lenka: Yes, I think it’s hilarious to do that! So meta. Taylor Swift is obviously feeling this too now, even though it’s a business choice for her. It was really good fun to reimagine a song I’ve played so so many times. With all, I’ve been through, how I’ve changed, how the world of music has changed, it was nice to give it a re-jig. I still like the OG too though. I usually play it live in its original form.

Kendra: You’re not only a master of covers, but originals that have a timeless feel as we’ve heard with “The Show.” When you were growing up, were you listening to a lot of artists that have proven to be everlasting like the Beatles, Madonna, and Michael Jackson?

Lenka: Yes, I definitely absorbed those artists. I devoured my mum’s Beatles vinyl box-set as a kid. And my dad is a trad jazz musician, so there was a vintage music thing going on in our house mixing with the ’80s and ’90s music I grew up with. I reckon I took away a lot of tips from all these artists on how to craft a melody and a story within a song.

Kendra: Usually, I ask this at the start, but since we just talked about when you were growing up – when did you discover your voice, and were you quick to use it once you realized you could carry a tune like no other?

Lenka: I performed with my dad’s jazz band when I was six and a few times at school. But I didn’t want to be a musician until my early/mid-twenties. I wanted to be a dancer, then an actor, then a sculptor. Exhausting!

Kendra: Back in the ‘80s, MTV made music visual, and that hasn’t gone away since. Now with social media, it’s even more so the case. With that, how do you feel your fine art studies have helped you in the visual side of your craft?

Lenka: Very much so. I’ve just made a new music video and it has an ’80s MTV video vibe actually. I love working on the visual side of things. But it is a lot of pressure to constantly come up with content for social media. It’s very time-consuming and I find I dip in and out of trying to do it.

Kendra: Speaking of art, you and your husband just partnered up to launch Gulliver Creative. Can you tell us more about that?

Lenka: Well it’s mostly his thing, his art/homewares collection, but there is one collaboration on there that we made together. We both work from our home studios and we are constantly involved in each other’s biz and I really wanted him to make ceramic talismans and I did the weaving together of the pieces. They are inspired by our time honeymooning in the Greek Islands where you see evil eyes hanging all about the place.

Kendra: Lastly, it’s getting a little easier with the vaccine rollouts, but it’s still kind of hard to have a definite answer when it comes to future plans given the current state of everything, but as far as what you can control when it comes to your career and creativity – what do you have planned in the coming months for yourself?

Lenka: We are limited to staying in Australia for at least the next year because of the travel ban in place. I’m on the list to get vaccinated when it’s available, in the hope that we’ll be allowed to travel soon! But we do have some Aussie travel plans and our local town life is quite wonderful, so I’m just focusing on that. I feel like the creativity doesn’t need to stop because so much happens via the internet now! Grateful for that.

The post Lenka: Always Discovering appeared first on ZO Magazine.

Early last month Sarah Mary Chadwick dropped her seventh album, ‘Me And Ennui Are Friends, Baby.’ A cathartic listening experience, that she finds ironic because – well, you’ll have to continue reading for that, as well as how she got her hands dirty to create unique covers for this record, living as far away from the chaos of America as possible in Australia, and more in this back and forth exchange.

Kendra: When you were done recording ‘Me And Ennui Are Friends, Baby,’ did you notice any significant change in how you approached the creative process with this album – your seventh – compared to previous records?

Sarah Mary Chadwick: My creative process was essentially the same in that I wrote a large number of songs over a period of a few months, then I picked the ones I thought were the strongest or spoke to me best to record with my friend Geoff O’Connor. Geoff and I have worked together on almost all my records so we have a pretty streamlined way of recording and completing projects.

More specifically than that, when I am writing for a record I usually just sit down a couple of times a week and think and as unconsciously as possible, write songs. In regards to the style of the record, I deliberately did that quite differently from the previous record (‘Please Daddy’) for a number of reasons but most notably because I wanted to avoid the temptation to keep going bigger with instrumentation and arrangements. I also was not compelled to work with any other musicians for it, I wanted it to be immediate and visceral- rehearsing or collaborating with anyone else would’ve drained some of that away.

Kendra: Some fans are going to be able to get a hand-painted vinyl cover you did for this record. How many of those are you offering up, and do you feel a painting allows you to express a different set of emotions that music does not?

Sarah Mary Chadwick: Yes, I did 100 covers! It was my idea and to be honest it was slightly more work than i thought it would be! The problem was after every ten I did I would actually improve as a painter (I don’t usually paint that much in such a concentrated amount of time) and so it took longer and longer to do each one as i went on! Uh, I don’t really paint emotionally, I just try and zone out and look properly at what it is that I’m painting. Which having said that, is I guess the same way that I songwriter.

Kendra: When I hit play on “Every Loser Needs a Mother,” I got this natural yet cinematic vibe. Like it was the scene in the movie where the main character finally has that grand realization and the words just lyrics just start to pour. Was that the case for you and this track? Did the lyrics and arrangement come fast and furious for you?

Sarah Mary Chadwick: Yeah, I mean, that’s kinda how I always work really in that I don’t labour too hard over songs. I just try and think clearly about what words best illustrate what I’m trying to say, and try to avoid works that are hackneyed or feel bad in my mouth.

Kendra: It’s been noted that this song, and record, shine a light on your dark sense of humor. As someone who grew up in a home that lived to laugh at the hard times – I get it. Do you feel it’s more cathartic to bring a level of humor to dismal situations?

Sarah Mary Chadwick: I don’t believe in the notion of “catharsis,” which is interesting to me as it’s a word that people use when people describe my music. I view things as being part of a long arduous process of slowly getting some cloudy sense of understanding of a feeling or occurrence, as opposed to an explosive kind of expulsion from which you emerge unencumbered or purged. So no, I don’t think humour brings catharsis to dismal situations. But it sure makes them funnier!

Kendra: What I’ve appreciated about what I’ve heard so far from ‘Me And Ennui Are Friends, Baby’ is how straightforward the lyrics are. Especially “At Your Leisure.” Are you as blunt in real life as you are musically?

Sarah Mary Chadwick: Ha maybe. I think I’m quite tactful as I’m quite aware socially and would never accidentally insult someone. I think it depends on who I’m around and what we are talking about. When required I can be blunt.

Kendra: Being from New Zealand and living in Australia – you’re kind of the envy of people like me in America looking at y’all getting back to a semi-normal world after 2020. Have you been able to play live in recent months, or do you have more definite plans to tour soon around Australia?

Sarah Mary Chadwick: Aw yes America looks fucking terrifying, I can’t even imagine what it’s like. We just started having shows again in Melbourne a month or so ago, and though I didn’t consciously miss it last year, it was extremely good to play again.

The post Getting Blunt with Sarah Mary Chadwick appeared first on ZO Magazine.

Kendra: Whenever many think about Country music, their minds go to mostly American artists. Of course, many are still surprised when they learn Keith Urban is from your neck of the woods. When you were growing up, was he someone you admired being from Australia as well, or were you focused on the likes of younger artists like Taylor Swift who proved you could be any age and make it?

Briana Dinsdale: I grew up listening to Keith Urban. He has always been one of my biggest inspirations. We would listen to him driving to school and back home every morning for years on end. I am also obsessed with Taylor Swift and her songwriting style. I am a massive Swiftie and she has played a huge part in contributing to how I write my music. I’ve seen many artists play live but I have seen Taylor and Keith multiple times now and they have been my favourite concert ever.

Kendra: Do you come from a musical family at all, or was your interest in this creative career the first for the family?

Briana Dinsdale: My dad loves songwriting and performing on stage (and he plays guitar as well). My mum isn’t massive with playing music, but she used to write poetry a lot and novels, so I think I got some of my storytelling from her, and my sister is definitely up on the musical side as she loves everything to do with being on stage.

Kendra: Your debut, ‘Beginnings,’ dropped January 20th this year. What sort of themes and moods do you feel are displayed throughout?

Briana Dinsdale: In my debut album, there are so many different moods throughout it. I tried to create an album that would be able to reach multiple, different audiences through different styles of songwriting. In my opinion, there are no two songs on this album that sound similar. They all have differences about them and they are all unique in their own way which I am so proud of.

Kendra: The lead single, “Ball and Chain,” is aimed at people your age and about letting go and moving on. It made me think of the past year, and how insane it must be to be coming of age in such a strange time. How do you feel your generation will fare moving forward after the chaos of the pandemic?

Briana Dinsdale: For my generation, this pandemic has been eye-opening. I don’t think anyone in their life has ever experienced something like 2020, and I believe that everyone just has to do the best they can in working around it and ball and chain is a perfect example of this.

Kendra: Being in Australia, you’re already a bit ahead of the rest of the world in terms of getting back to semi-normal. With that, have you been able to make more concrete plans as far as touring goes?

Briana Dinsdale: In Australia, we are very lucky with how this pandemic has happened over here. I would love to tour, but still, there are so many restrictions surrounding crossing state borders in Australia right now. I am keeping my live music around the Brisbane area as this is where I am from.

The post Briana Dinsdale: The Beginning appeared first on ZO Magazine.

Kendra: Your music is new to me, but now I’m obsessed. When I pressed play on “Banksia” I felt such a rush. You have this natural storytelling talent that is conversational but also poetic. Are you just one of those people to which this skill comes naturally?

Alex the Astronaut: Not at all, I’ve been writing since I was about 13 so I’ve had 12 years of learning and lots and lots of bad songs and still some days I have no idea how to write a song.

Kendra: Because you started as a soccer star. With that, If you had to compare the heart and spirit of ‘The Theory of Absolutely Nothing’ to a soccer mascot, which would it be and why?

Alex the Astronaut: Star is a bit generous haha, but I do really like soccer. The mascot for ’The Theory of Absolutely Nothing’ should be a sea turtle, I’m not sure why but they’re very cute.

Kendra: You’ve dropped a good deal of singles from this record already and each one varies so much from the last. I adore the RomCom realness of “I Think You’re Great” just as much as the impact of “Lost.” For the latter, abortion is a topic that still garners so much debate around the world. Why do you feel people still have this need to want to control that aspect of women?

Alex the Astronaut: I think it’s because it keeps the powers that be in place. Giving minority groups their rights, especially reproductive rights, means they have agency to control their own lives and people that don’t believe that minority groups are equal to them will do whatever they can to keep them from having that agency.

Kendra: Before we talk about “Banksia” more, I just want to say I’m sorry for your loss, and that I’m sure Maddie is somewhere listening to this song because it’s just beautiful. When you wrote “Banksia” and then released it as a single, were you wary about the idea of facing those emotions every time you would then play this life going forward?

Alex the Astronaut: Yes, I knew Maddie in school and I wrote “Banksia” to her as a way of talking to her and telling her how sorry I was that she went too early. She was a beautiful person and her and her closest friends and family are the ones I think of when I sing this song.

Kendra: Just want to hit rewind for a second and ask how you felt when THE Elton John spun “Not Worth Hiding” on his show?

Alex the Astronaut: It was very very surreal. I was in London on tour and I woke up in the middle of the night to listen to Elton John talk about my music. It was like a very cool dream.

Kendra: Also, how important was it to write that song and give such a great anthem in many ways to the LGBTQ community?

Alex the Astronaut: At the time it felt like I was just talking to my 16-year-old self. I struggled a lot with my sexuality. I sometimes still get self conscious so this song is my way of telling myself I’m okay as I am. It’s really humbling to know that it’s helped other people too.

Kendra: With everything that is going on, how do you feel 2020 has shaped your creativity and drive moving forward?

Alex the Astronaut: It’s given me a lot more time to think which has meant I write more. I think I’m loving music more and more everyday. I am learning the drums and more guitar and I listen to more music than I ever had.

Kendra: Usually, this is where I ask people what they have planned in the coming months but with the world in a strange place right now, plans aren’t as concrete as they typically are. You can go ahead and let us know what you have tentatively planned but can you also share a song that never fails to get you through when the world around you feels like a mess?

Alex the Astronaut: I have no plans yet, and the song I always go back to is “Under Pressure” by Queen and David Bowie. It is a great song for a big world mess time.

The post Alex the Astronaut: Theoretically Everything appeared first on ZO Magazine.