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...
May 13, 2021•19 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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 Jone...
May 04, 2021•22 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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.
Apr 27, 2021•19 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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 ...
Apr 20, 2021•18 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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 Bla...
Apr 12, 2021•20 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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 ...
Apr 05, 2021•15 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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, ...
Mar 29, 2021•19 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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 ex...
Mar 22, 2021•18 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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....
Mar 15, 2021•22 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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 fo...
Mar 08, 2021•20 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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...
Mar 01, 2021•17 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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 openi...
Feb 28, 2021•25 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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 put...
Feb 15, 2021•25 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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 t...
Feb 08, 2021•20 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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 ...
Feb 01, 2021•20 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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, t...
Nov 30, 2020•18 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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 experime...
Nov 23, 2020•24 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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 wi...
Nov 16, 2020•39 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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 a...
Nov 11, 2020•25 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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 spi...
Nov 02, 2020•18 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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 w...
Oct 26, 2020•19 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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....
Oct 19, 2020•25 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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 e...
Oct 13, 2020•30 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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 Co...
Sep 29, 2020•17 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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 ...
Sep 24, 2020•19 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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 writ...
Sep 15, 2020•25 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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 Te...
Sep 08, 2020•23 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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 influe...
Aug 26, 2020•23 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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. Last Year Was Weird,Vol. 2 is the second in a trilogy of EP releases that she started rolling out ...
Aug 19, 2020•23 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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 into the process. As fans of Matt’s work, the combination was daunting, but ultimately fruitful for...
Aug 14, 2020•16 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
