2017 With Richard Kingsmill

For four years now, Jesswar has been shaking the ground with her bass-heavy and savage hip hop. With the release of her debut EP called TROPIXX, the Meanjin-based rapper speaks here to Richard Kingsmill about her music and Fijian background. Having won over the likes of Thelma Plum, Briggs, Miiesha, B Wise and DZ Deathrays – all of whom have collaborated with the MC – she can’t wait to get back out on stages to build her fanbase and show off the rest of her new material.   

After growing up in the tiny WA coastal town of Denmark, Maaike Kito Lebbing (better known as just Kito) emerged out of the Perth dance scene in the mid-noughties. Travelling has always been a calling for her, having spent years in London before heading to Los Angeles where she’s currently based. Her work out of Los Angeles has been especially fruitful. Collaborating with the likes of Empress Of, AlunaGeorge, ZHU and Channel Tres, Kito is on a roll. Recently, she’s also been producing up hits for Jorja Smith, Banks and Ruel. There’s more to come too this year for her, as Richard Kingsmill found out when he caught up with Kito.

It was January 1998, and only one half of Daft Punk had made it to Australia for their first visit. Reportedly struck with a fear of flying, Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo never made it on the plane. Left carrying the record cases for their first DJ’ing appearances here was his secondary school friend and the other half of Daft Punk, Thomas Bangalter. The duo’s debut album Homework had been out for exactly a year. Excitement had built steadily everywhere across the previous 12 months, thanks to the album’s standout singles ‘Da Funk’ and ‘Around The World’, the innovative videos that accompanied both tracks, and for their live shows that Europe and the United States had enjoyed across the majority of 1997. In Daft Punk’s first triple j interview (they only ever did three with us), Richard Kingsmill speaks to Bangalter to find out their thoughts on dance music at the time, why he thought their album was succeeding, and how anonymity was what they craved then and forever.

He’s been one of the most respected MC’s on the UK grime scene. After fifteen years of mixtapes, singles and studio albums, the East London rapper Ghetts now has a major label (not to mention a revolving door of big-name collaborators) backing him. Known for his intricate wordplay, Ghetts has also been open about his life through his music. In and out of the system, he put his days of crime behind him to pursue a hip-hop career. His epic 3rd studio album Conflict Of Interest hears the 36yo opening up like never before about his upbringing. Hear Ghetts speaking in depth with Richard Kingsmill about his journey, how seeing Jay Z at work inspired him, and what it was like collaborating with Stormzy, Skepta and Ed Sheeran on his new album.

From winning the Unearthed J Award in 2012, to topping the Hottest 100 in 2016, The Rubens have now reached another milestone. With 0202, the band have taken control, self-producing the first of their four albums so far. After working with overseas producers, the decision to do so this time was encouraged by the success of 2019’s ‘Live In Life’. That single has become one of the band’s biggest songs so far. Sam and Elliott Margin, the band’s main songwriters, speak to Richard Kingsmill about putting this album together song by song, how the brothers differ in their songwriting, and some of the album’s biggest moments.

Shame arrived on the London post-punk scene in 2018 with an impressive debut album. With all the acclaim that followed the release of Songs Of Praise came a ton of international touring; and then the inevitable emptiness that followed such a hectic schedule. On top of that, singer Charlie Steen faced up to the end of a personal relationship, which heightened the feelings of isolation even more. Finding security in an unlikely new home, and an even unlikelier colour scheme, helped Steen face up to his inner turmoil. Hear Steen speak to Richard Kingsmill about the writing and recording of their new album Drunk Tank Pink, which took them first to the wilderness of Scotland and then onto France to work with Arctic Monkeys’ producer James Ford.

Arlo Parks arrived on the music scene two years ago. Since then, she’s impressed as a lyricist, tackling issues centred around mental health and the various struggles facing those around her. Always with an underlying message of hope and positivity, songs like ‘Eugene’, ‘Black Dog’ and her debut single ‘Cola’ have also seen her worldwide fanbase rise into the millions. Richard Kingsmill speaks to Arlo about her approach to lyric writing, her background and wide-ranging influences, and where she got the album’s title Collapsed In Sunbeams.

Since the release of her second EP towards the end of 2018, Gretta Ray has been pretty quiet on the new music front. However, behind the scenes there’s been a lot of work going on. Exploring new collaborations, and growing as a person herself, the now 22yo Melbourne singer has been refining her sound and song writing. With a lot more new music to come in 2021, Gretta premiered her new single ‘Passion’ with Richard Kingsmill, speaking to him about the ground she feels she’s covered on the song, the challenges behind writing it, and what she’s learnt about herself from working with others the last two years. She also touched on her recent single with Japanese Wallpaper, reflecting on how her connection with him dates back to her final year at school when she was on the eve of winning Unearthed High in 2016.

This year, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard are celebrating their 10th anniversary. To mark the occasion, they were all set to do some of their biggest shows ever. Instead, the Melbourne band couldn’t even be in the same room to make their 16th album. Not ones to withdraw from a challenge, King Gizz devised a new game plan. It was a working arrangement that resulted in one of their best and most cohesive albums yet. Simply called K.G., it explores the microtonal territory they first experimented with on 2017’s Flying Microtonal Banana. The group’s Joey Walker speaks here to Richard Kingsmill about those ideas, how they managed to keep the chemistry between them, and the intensity of their worldwide fanbase which they’ve steadily built across the past decade.

Two years ago, in her first year out of school, BENEE dropped ‘Soaked’. It was only her second single, but it’s effortless charm flagged her as a talent to watch. The Auckland artist only built on that interest with a succession of hits that saw her score three songs in the 2019 Hottest 100, including ‘Glitter’ which is now streaming in the hundreds of millions. For her debut album, the 20yo wanted it to be a personal message to her fans, as if it was a door into her brain. Working once again with producer Josh Fountain, BENEE collected some pretty big guests as well like Lily Allen and Grimes to help her out on various songs. Richard Kingsmill speaks here to BENEE about the process of making Hey u x, what inspired the title, and how a relationship breakup inspired some of the album’s key songs like the mega-hit ‘Supalonely’.

After the success of her award winning 2018 debut album Thick Skin, Tia Gostelow changed her home base, her producer and ultimately her sound for Chrysalis. In 2016, Tia Gostelow was finishing high school in Mackay, Queensland. The confidence of her early songs like ‘Vague Utopia’ attracted the interest of our Unearthed team, which led to her being nominated as a finalist for the annual Unearthed High, as well as taking out the Indigenous Initiative Award as part of that competition. Her debut album Thick Skin followed two years later, resulting in Tia becoming the youngest ever winner of Album of The Year at the Queensland Music Awards. In the lead up to her second album though, Tia changed her home base, her producer and her sound. With the release of Chrysalis, Richard Kingsmill spoke to the 21yo about how hard she found relocating to Brisbane, and how she has gained a stronger sense of her indigenous identity over the last few years.

Kwame is one of our past J Award winners, taking out the Unearthed Artist of 2018. Since then, he’s been exploring different sides of his musical personality, and on his latest EP Please, Get Home Safe, he’s stretching the rulebook like never before. Richard Kingsmill speaks to the 23yo Sydney rapper/producer about working with CLYPSO, Phil Fresh and Arno Faraji on his new music, taking control of his career and direction like never before, and how he’s staying optimistic about the future in spite of the times.

With the release of his Fantasy album, Whethan has surrounded himself with all the alternative artists he loved growing up. Having released music since 2016, the now 21yo Chicago producer started pretty young. He quickly cemented a working relationship with Oliver Tree, but he also collaborated early on with the likes of Charli XCX. Working with big names didn’t phase the teen producer. And he’s continued that spirit onto his debut album, asking many of the artists that he was a fan of to work with him on new songs. The release of Fantasy was delayed due to COVID-19. But now the full album is with us, we can see the entire guestlist and it includes The Wombats, Grouplove, RL Grime. K.Flay, The Knocks, Chrome Sparks. STRFKR, as well as Oliver Tree.  Richard Kingsmill spoke to Whethan about some of these collaborations, and the outlook he has towards how he works.

The London 20yo wasn’t around for the ‘90s, but she lives and breathes it on her debut album. Bea Kristi is the London 20yo behind beabadoobee. Born in the Philippines, she moved to England as a three year old. Going to an all-girl Catholic school wasn’t exactly the best fit for her, and eventually she was asked to leave. Starting on the violin, and then turning to the guitar, she started writing songs to vent, and fed off the ‘90s influences she heard around her, thanks to her mum’s collection. With her anticipated debut album Fake It Flowers now out, Richard Kingsmill explores beabadoobee’s background with her, honing in on some of her biggest ‘90s influences, finding out more about her fascination with Charlie Brown and the Peanuts legacy, and her feelings towards being part of Powfu’s international hit ‘death bed’.

Starting PC Music in 2013, A. G. Cook had a vision for a label that would push and blur the boundaries of what alternative and pop music could be. He championed artists that would use pitch-shifting to confuse genders, and the surreal and hyper sounds behind many of the label’s releases irritated music fans as much as they inspired and influenced. A. G. Cook has also been a producer, working closely with the likes of Charli XCX and recently Sigur Ros’s Jonsi. But now he's stepped out more than ever before as an artist himself, with the surprise and rapid fire release of two new solo albums Richard Kingsmill speaks here to Cook about the two albums, his ideas on making music, his varied influences growing up, and the extreme reactions his label and music can inspire.

Drawing on the power of memories, the Melbourne based trio have produced their finest work so far. After forming Obscura Hail in Wollongong, Sean Conran made the move to Melbourne in 2016. A couple of albums later, they’ve now got a new EP titled Siren that’s set to win them a much larger following. Drawing on a huge bank of saved loops and musical ideas, he and the band have crafted a collection of new songs that draw on some pretty unique childhood memories. Richard Kingsmill speaks here to Conran about how he writes, how Sufjan Stevens through to They Might Be Giants have influenced him, and how we all need to bounce back from apocalyptic times.   

The 20yo London artist lost his mum at the age of seven. A CD compilation of her favourite songs helped set his own course. From the age of eight, Oscar Lang has been uploading songs. Encouraged by his father (who himself came close to music fame as an early member of The Housemartins), Lang turned to music to help make sense of the shifting world around him. Now signed to Dirty Hit, and with the release of his strongest collection so far with the Hand Over Your Head EP, Richard Kingsmill spoke to Lang about his background. They covered his love for Australian psych bands, as well as the collaborations he’s been doing with other rising stars like beabadoobee, girl in red and Alfie Templeman.

The Bundjalung rapper is a powerful new voice on the local hip hop scene. At 22yo, JK-47 has been part of local Tweed Heads’ crews and the Brisbane hip hop community for a few years. Made For This is his debut solo album, and it speaks directly to his experience as an Indigenous man facing struggles within and outside his community. From a family of ten kids, JK-47 speaks with Richard Kingsmill of the importance of community, the at times fractured relationship with his late father, how his writing has changed since starting out, and how he feels becoming a father for the first time this year.

Taz Taylor started selling beats online to pay for his mum’s cancer treatment. He’s now leading a collective that’s been churning out the hits almost daily. After meeting similar minded producers online, Taylor had the idea of getting a collective together to better represent their interests. Nick Mira was one, and together they started developing a new voice on the scene called Juice WRLD. Years later, Internet Money has generated gold and platinum records for the likes of Trevor Daniel, Lil Tecca, Trippie Redd and many more. Richard Kingsmill speaks here to Taz Taylor (real name: Danny Snodgrass Jr.) about his vision, leaving school at Grade 7, working with the likes of Juice WRLD and The Kid LAROI, and the collective’s debut album called B4 The Storm which features the likes of Future, Swae Lee and Wiz Khalifa.

With their 5th album Kaliyuga, Byron Bay band In Hearts Wake have made a record to help save the planet. Planned as an album to be entirely carbon offset, the group went to extreme and exhausting lengths to achieve that. Having witnessed firsthand the fires that ravaged both California and Australia, the band felt they had no other choice but to carbon offset the recording and producing of the end product. Singer Jake Taylor explained to Richard Kingsmill the concept behind the title, the influence of Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, how they calculated and covered the LP’s CO2 footprint, and why Jake’s father and ex-partner both appear on the album.