Interviews with Richard Kingsmill

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 c...

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...

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 close...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

The Adelaide bred MC has been on the scene since she was 17, but it’s only now she’s figuring out who she is. And who she can be. A self-proclaimed ‘extroverted introvert’, Tkay Maidza has continued to deliver different sides of her musical personality with each release. For instance, the heavy and aggressive ‘Shook’ sits happily alongside the soulful pop jam of ‘Don’t Call Again’ on her latest EP...

The Bunbury band traded west coast vibes for the east coast to hang out with Matt Corby in Byron to make their debut album. Having built up a sizeable following from touring over the last four years, Great Gable decided to record their first full-length release at the renowned Music Farm studios outside Byron Bay. They approached Alex Henriksson to be their producer, who in turn brought Matt Corby...

The award-winning Canadian band has delivered a beguiling second album that has more than just a few references to death. After taking out a Juno Award for their 2018 debut Baby Teeth, the four-piece from Oshawa, Ontario, decided to take charge of their follow-up. The amount of work ahead for them was a surprise. For fans, the fascination with death across the new songs has been more than curious....

Soon to turn 17yo, the Sydney rapper The Kid LAROI has already seen and felt a lot. Despite a hard road, he’s on a path for US success following his impressive debut mixtape.  A finalist in Unearthed High in 2018, The Kid LAROI (real name Charlton Howard) connected with the late Juice WRLD on the US rapper’s first Australian tour. The two bonded quickly, with Juice WRLD becoming a strong mentor fo...

Across the past decade, Sydney’s Lime Cordiale have slowly grown into one of the country’s biggest acts. Having scored four Hottest 100 hits last year, the band is only set for greater success with the release of 14 Steps To A Better You. The brothers Oli and Louis Leimbach are speaking here to Richard Kingsmill about their career, their family, their Post Malone connection, and how they ended up...

The Atlantan rapper dishes up 6pc Hot – a new EP that both reflects on his past and projects to the future. Speaking to 6LACK on his 28th birthday, Richard Kingsmill covers racial politics, fatherhood, his influences like T-Pain and Usher, and how he’s delving into the food game these days.

This one man music machine has been on the rise the last couple of years, and now with his debut mixtape, he’s sure to continue to draw in the fans. Officially, he’s named Ian Muhayimana. However, Stevan is the recording moniker for the Wollongong 19yo. Having scored an international deal early on, he’s been building a fanbase amongst both the public and other musicians. In his first interview wit...

With a major label deal and another new single streaming in the millions, the US muso speaks about his road to success. Born Sven Gamsky, Still Woozy was born into a family of Californian doctors. Not interested in following that lead, and after a failed experiment in a math rock band, he found his calling making upbeat and soulful music all by himself in his garage studio. Over the last three yea...

The West Australian band have built up plenty of momentum the past year. This album confirms their place as one of the country’s best new bands. However, the story of Spacey Jane extends back a lot further, to teenage years in Geraldton, forming friendships and jamming on Red Hot Chili Peppers through the night. For singer and main songwriter Caleb Harper, his musical development has existed along...

Over the last year, he’s featured on five Top 10 UK singles, and his rise doesn’t look like stopping anytime soon. The 20yo Manchester MC Aitch (real name: Harrison Armstrong) uploaded a freestyle called ‘Straight Rhymez’ in 2018 which immediately took off. Stormzy became a fan, as did Ed Sheeran who Aitch says has already been talking with him of a collaboration. With the release of his new Polar...

Last year, the 19yo Californian named mxmtoon watched her song ‘prom dress’ explode on TikTok. The success came after years of her uploading covers and originals, played simply on the ukulele. With the release of the first of two EP’s this year, Richard Kingsmill speaks to mxmtoon about her passion for that instrument, putting herself in the social media spotlight at a young age, and how she felt...

The debut album from the Bruny Island native arrives with plenty of small town honesty, as well as a strong and proud Tasmanian accent. Maddy Jane arrived on the scene five years ago, and after some breakthrough hits like ‘Thank You and Sorry’ and ‘No Other Way’, she’s now delivered her debut album. Titled Not All Bad Or Good , the album carries with it a wisdom and philosophy that sees the world...

With an album to come in July, two big names on the electronic music scene have announced a collaboration. Under the name BRONSON, Golden Features has followed up his recent pairing with The Presets to work now with the American duo ODESZA. With the forming of a strong friendship years ago, the decision to start making new music together happened naturally, despite the two acts coming from very di...

Local artist merci, mercy is riding high with her official debut single. One of the most popular tracks on triple j right now, ‘Fucked Myself Up’ is a forthright song that came to the 19yo after hitting a low point that she needed to address. Richard Kingsmill spoke to her about that, all the travelling she did growing up, and her road to gaining the confidence to enter the music industry.

Who’s the Canadian behind one of the year’s biggest songs? Isaiah Faber is the 21yo who is riding high worldwide with ‘death bed (coffee for your head)’. It’s a song which had a slow birth, plus he’s an artist who’s been uploading songs for a four years now. So it’s no overnight success story. Richard Kingsmill speaks to Powfu about his early musical start, collaborating with beabadoobee on his hi...

With their debut album, London band Sorry have an exciting take on indie music. Inspired as much by trip hop and jazz, they never wanted to be a straight guitar band. Richard Kingsmill spoke to Louis O’Bryen to find out how they evolved, whether they really are as cynical as some reviewers think, and what’s at the heart of the album’s title 925.

The Canadian duo have taken five years to release a third album, but the timing is eerily apt. Singer Megan James speaks to Richard Kingsmill about how the album works for her, how religion shaped some of the content, and why it took longer than planned.