“When you’re 16, you’re kind of growing into a young adult, and redefining your place in the world,” she informs. “There was a lot of adjusting to be done!”
Ngaiire, set to release her smouldering debut record Lamentations this June, seems to have been born talented. Her thoughtfully smoky vocals, layered on top of her skillful guitar playing and preternatural ability to craft song that wash over you with their depth and emotive powers, seem to be something she was born with – yet funnily enough, she kept these talents of hers quite secret.
“Nobody in my family even knew I could sing!” she laughs elegantly. “I was so shy when I was young – I would never sing in front of people, I would sing in my room with the door jammed shut. It wasn’t until I was about 18 when my parents discovered I could sing at a birthday party; [singing] was just something I did personally.”
From that point, she ended up studying for a Jazz Degree at the Central Queensland Conservatorium of Music in Mackay. But she soon grew bored – central Queensland was not where the action was, so after two years she packed up her bags and headed on down to Sydney, “where stuff was happening!” she exclaims.
Stuff was happening indeed. She threw herself into the musical world feet first, touring with roots collective Blue King Crown and gypsy jazz outfit Monsieur Camembert and getting a good taste for the wide-open road. But it was a performance of hers on a television show – “that will remain … unnamed!” Ngaiire giggles – that put her in contact with consummate professional and all-around nice guy Paul Mac, electronic maestro, tastemaker, and mentor.
“[Paul Mac] immediately wanted to meet me and try me on his album,” she says casually. “His management got in touch with me and said, ‘Paul loved you on the show!’ and wanted me to come over and potentially sing on a couple of his tracks. And so I came down, he loved what I did, and we just became friends!”
The first single off her upcoming debut, the wickedly smart and throbbing Dirty Hercules is now set to drop. Featuring guest vocals from Nai Palm of much-adored local electro-soul combo Hiatus Kaiyote, Dirty Hercules is at once the flamboyant sound of the future, and reminiscent of all those jazz and soul greats we’ve all known and loved throughout the generations. Ngaiire is here to stay, and the music world is all the richer for it.
BY THOMAS BAILEY
