The Jagermeister Independent music awards celebrate independent music – what does it mean to you to be an independent artist?
Being independent to us means having the freedom to be the sort of musicians we want to be. That comes from having the choice to be involved in as much of our business as we possibly can. We wouldn’t give away our independence but we are happy to work together with our team, although we still have a final say in the decisions affecting the band and our music!
What’s the biggest challenge to being an independent artist?
Unsurprisingly, money. Financial independence is one of the key aspects to being an independent artist, but unfortunately its costs a lot of money to release music and tour around this gigantic country. There is means of releasing albums and touring on a tighter budget but its still a costly exercise. We are fortunate in that the recording and releasing music side of our business is assisted by an indie label [Liberation] but we’ve still experienced recording and touring on a budget, and as such developed a great admiration for the other indie bands out there!
And the best bit?
Knowing that any success we have is completely from our own doing. Obviously we have a great team helping us out but primarily everything is from our own independent decisions and determination.
Who is your favourite Australian artist/band of all time, and why?
This is a tough one, but personally I’m a huge fan of Richard In Your Mind. I love all three of their independently released albums as they keep trying new things, pushing their sound, and seem content to do their own thing. And it doesn’t look like they’re going anywhere! There would probably be a mix of artists from the other guys, maybe some Avalanches in there and some Crowded House and The Drones.
What new music to you find exciting at the moment?
I love the plethora of ‘bedroom’ artists exploding at the moment. Its become a lot easier to record music at home, and it seems like hundreds of thousands of people are having a go at it. Obviously there is a lot more music to sift through now to find the gems hidden in there, but its a pretty exciting time to be an artist as the whole way the industry works is changing it seems like anyone can have a shot at it, not just those who can afford to pay for studio time!
What makes Australian music special?
We have such an incredibly diverse and eclectic mix of musicians and artists that call Australia home. I love seeing Australian artists getting together to make music, especially on a world-class level (like Kimbra & M-Phazes – even though she’s from NZ!). I also love those classic Australian songwriters and artists who can delineate some real Australian imagery and emotion in their lyricism, such as Paul Kelly, The Triffids, and The Go-Betweens, or contemporary songwriters like Alexander Gow (Oh Mercy) and Josh Pyke.
What are you planning on performing on the night?
We’re going to play our chilled indie-tronica track Broken Bones.
