Interviews with Richard Kingsmill

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 (...

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...

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 rehabilitati...

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, th...

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...

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...

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 tog...

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 go...

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 aft...

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 rel...

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...

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 perf...

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 ou...

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,...

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 e...

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...

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 son...

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. Fi...

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...

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 ‘Pass...

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 mo...

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 wante...

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...

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...