We recently interviewed local soul musician Kelly Brouhaha who releases her brand new song ‘As Long As There’s A Smile’. today.
Here is a transcript of the interview
Where do you get the ideas to write the music you write? I usually write about whats going on around me. The first draft kind of flys out, I usually set my phone to record and get the first part down in about 20 minutes, then spend time later fleshing out the arrangement and the hooks and finding more depth in the lyrics.
I like your “living in the moment” philosophy. Is this something that you believe more people should be doing?Absolutely, I think the glorification of busy has contributed to the worlds mental health issues and created a lot of unnecessary anxiety by living too far in the future and not enjoying the present moment for what it is. I’m looking forward to a lifestyle change which forces me to live more in the moment to cope with the challenges of touring, I think i’ll find a lot of grounding in the unknown purely because i’m not focused on the fear of the future.
Tell me more about your van “Pamela Vanderson”? Pamela Vanderson’s a 1993 Toyota Hiace Hightop Campervan. Basically she’s a house on wheels. I’ve got an in-built stove and fridge & really clever storage. I bought her from a sweet old lady who had her sitting in her driveway for 10 years after her husband got sick and forced them to stay home more often, so she’s done hardly any km’s and was a really cheap find – plus she’s auto (which is really great for me because i’m a little mechanically challenged). The only downside is she’s so high I can’t get through the KFC drive through, which I think is going to be a real positive with attempting to staying healthy on the road.
Who is your biggest inspiration? My mum! She has this uncanny ability to get on with things and find the positive to keep going regardless of what gets thrown at her. She’s the strongest person I know. Right now she’s dealing with my nanna in hopsital after a fall, my grandfather who’s quite old and frail and my dad with althzeimers as well as dealing with the everday support my siblings and I need. It’s been a really hectic few years with hopsital visits between them all, and she just pulls up her big girl knickers and gets on with it. She’s pretty much wonder woman.
What do you think of the soul music scene in Australia I love it ! There’s so much of it around at the moment. I’m really digging bands like Saskwatch and Kylie Auldist and the energy that comes off their stage, and a lot of the old rockers are switching their sound to the soul thing which I think is just great. Who doesn’t love soul ? I think what I like about it the most is its diversity, it can be a mix of roots and blues and country and everythign in between – and then when the soul shines through , it really hits you in the heart and gets you every kind of happy.
What have you got planned for rest of 2017? I’ll be touring for the rest of the year, we’ve just finished pre-production on my debut album which we’ll hold off recording until I create the cash-flow to get back into the studio and put it down. I wanted to give this EP the touring life it deserved, its been such a long time coming and a huge project emotionally and financially and i’m so proud of the music we made, so i’ve taken my time to release and tour it. I’ve also got a number of collaborations coming out in the next 12 months which i’m excited for, i’ve spent a lot of time as a session vocalist this year to help pay the bills and it’s been really fun singing on music thats really different to my sound. There’ll be some pop co-writes, hip-hop top line vocals and a jingle or two hitting the radio’s at some point before the next album, it’ll be interesting to see how they go.
What are some of your passions outside of music? I love drinking tea with good humans and kayaking. There’s something really special about the outdoors and camping off grid to help get you grounded. I love anything to do with the water and it’s always such a privilege getting out on the river when there’s time around gigs (which isn’t very often). Other than that I love watching live music as much as I love playing it.
What advice would you give to aspiring artists?
I think patience is the key for aspiring artists, It takes so much time to develop your craft. When I was younger I thought I was so totally done improving once i’d released my EP, now I feel like i’ve still got so far to go. These days I think artists spend too much time marketing their music when what they should be spending their time on is their instrument and their songwriting, i’ve certainly been guilty of that in the past and i’ve really noticed the difference with this EP spending more time on the craft than the marketing. Now I feel I have a product I’m really proud to share with the world.
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