Interviews with Richard Kingsmill

Kim Deal opened up to Richard Kingsmill in 1993 about the making of The Breeders triumphant second album Last Splash.The album came six months after the sudden and surprising announcement of the end of her other band, Pixies. Kingsmill wanted to also get Kim’s take on the split of that seminal band, and how she felt about now leading another successful group.

In 2001, PJ Harvey finally made it to Australia, off the back of her award-winning Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea album.The English artist had thrilled music fans all the way through the ‘90s, right from those blistering early singles ‘Dress’ and ‘Sheela-Na-Gig’. Her albums ranged from the austere Rid Of Me through to the gothic textures of To Bring You My Love, with each of them consistently scoring high on end of year album lists.A couple of nights after seeing her live for the first time, Richard Kingsmill spoke to PJ Harvey about her latest album, the dark personal times she went through five years earlier, and how she felt about her relationship with Nick Cave going public.

On their OK Computer tour of Australia early in 1998, Radiohead’s Thom Yorke gave just one interview while he was here.Richard Kingsmill spoke to the illusive singer about their landmark 3rd album, how he felt about his band getting snubbed by The Grammys that year, and also five songs that changed his life.

In December 1994, Nick Cave spoke with Richard Kingsmill about the five songs that changed his life.Cave reflected on the influence artists like John Lee Hooker, The Saints and Bob Dylan had had on him as a writer and performer.He also spoke about the lengthy Lollapalooza tour he and The Bad Seeds embarked on that year after the release of their 8th album Let Love In. He even touched on the next project he was then thinking about - Murder Ballads.

In October 1995, a few months after the release of the Foo Fighters debut album, Dave Grohl gave his first Australian interview since the death of Kurt Cobain.He spoke to Richard Kingsmill about now being the frontman of his own group, where all these songs of his had come from, and what plans he had for the future. He also reflected on the three Nirvana albums, as well as his memories of recording the Unplugged album.

In September 1993, Robert Smith of The Cure spoke to Richard Kingsmill about the five songs that changed his life.They spoke about Jimi Hendrix, Nick Drake, David Bowie, The Sensational Alex Harvey Band and Sex Pistols. They also spoke about the state of play within The Cure following their massive Wish tour of 1992.

In February 1997, on the release of his 21st album Earthling, and just a few weeks after he celebrated his 50th birthday with a huge concert at Madison Square Garden, David Bowie spoke to Richard Kingsmill.They spoke about his ever-changing career, the weirdness of ‘80s, what it felt like turning 50, and his then passion for Drum ‘N’ Bass.

With her debut album, the Sydney singer/muso/producer Milan Ring has emerged happy and hopeful after some dark times.Milan Ring is a highly regarded talent on the Sydney music scene as a singer/musician and producer. After years of single and EP releases, as well as working overseas with the likes of SZA, The Social Experiment and BJ The Chicago Kid, she’s only now released her debut album.The title I’m Feeling Hopeful suggests there’s been a less positive backstory to get to this point. Milan opens up to Richard Kingsmill about that, how she’s managed to reach a more peaceful place now, and the influence of everything from Jimi Hendrix to mudras in shaping who she is.

Butchulla MC Birdz has delivered a powerful second album, full of purpose, and one that focuses on the importance of family.Birdz has lead up to the release of his second album with a series of powerful singles, including the Hottest 100 hit ‘Bag-la-m Bargan’. The entire Legacy release now shows his strong sense of purpose as a rapper, sharing his stories from the generations of family around him.Richard Kingsmill speaks to the Naarm-based/Butchulla MC about how fatherhood has shaped his outlook, his tough upbringing in Katherine, and working on the album with the help of Trials, Missy Higgins and cousin Fred Leone.

Parcels have always had ambition. But they’ve gone sky high with the vision for their epic second album.With their new album Day/Night, Parcels wanted to reach for the stars. Keen to avoid any second album syndrome, they went bigger, wider and more extreme than they’ve ever gone as a band.Exploring the duality of the band, the darkness and light within the group, they arrived at an epic double album called Day/Night. Self-produced at the La Frette studios in Paris, drummer Anatole ‘Toto’ Serret and Richard Kingsmill go into how the album progressed through an ominous Australian summer, then months of separation during a worldwide pandemic,  as well as playing cover versions for weeks on end.

Since arriving on the scene at the start of 2020, Sydney’s Azure Ryder has continued to impress.Three from three. That’s pretty much it in a nutshell.Riding high since arriving on the scene at the start of 2020, Ladder To The Moon is the third EP from the Sydney talent Azure Ryder, and it continues the upward trajectory of the singer.Despite the lack of travel and writing opportunities she had pre-COVID, this year has still had plenty of highlights, including a recent performance with the Bangarra Dance Theatre. Ryder speaks with Richard Kingsmill about that, some of the new EP’s key songs, and her love of great backing vocals and Kate Bush.

At 24, with eight Grammy’s and a game-changing working relationship with his sister Billie Eilish, FINNEAS now has his own debut album.We know FINNEAS has worked alongside sister Billie Eilish every step of the way. It’s resulted in two huge and game-changing albums, as well as numerous awards for the writer and producer including eight Grammy’s.Outside of the sibling connection, FINNEAS has also been working with the likes of Justin Bieber, Selena Gomez and Demi Lovato. The desire to make and release his own music might appear unnecessary, but it’s remained a key element of his career so far.With the release of Optimist, Richard Kingsmill touches base once again with FINNEAS to talk through the debut album’s creation, some of its key moments, and his aims behind making it.  

The London 20yo has blown up on TikTok with her updated take on jungle and 2-step.PinkPantheress had a few fears about launching her music on TikTok. Would people get it, she wondered? But those fears soon vanished when the positive reactions started flowing.The London 20yo is working off the nostalgic sounds of ‘90s and early noughties jungle and 2-step. With her distinct high-pitched vocal on top, she’s cut through fast to become one of the most tagged new names on the music scene.With the release of her debut mixtape to hell with it, Richard Kingsmill speaks to PinkPantheress about her teenage love for Paramore and My Chemical Romance, how she arrived at her sound, and if she likes the Lily Allen comparisons.

Sam Fender’s debut album signalled the arrival of a voice readymade to inspire festival singalongs. On his second album, he now shows his considerable skills as a songwriter, tackling both the personal and political with equal measures of insight and heart.Seventeen Going Under is Fender’s follow-up to 2019’s Hypersonic Missiles. From the working classes of northern England, an unsettled childhood from divorced parents, plus an undisclosed health issue, has given the now 27yo plenty to reflect upon.Wanting to avoid writing about the pandemic, he couldn’t ignore though the toll it was taking on family, friends and himself. With his activity completely restricted to protect his own health, his observational song writing muscle that he flexed on his debut was now severely limited. Knowing he needed to draw on deeper personal subject matter for his new songs, he channelled a lot of the personal therapy he’s been undergoing into some powerful material.With some big shows in the UK to launch him back on the scene, Fender speaks here with Richard Kingsmill about the album, his personal growth and the scope of his new songs.

With Shadows and Shinings, Drapht is back with one of his best and most cathartic albums to date.With five Hottest 100 hits to his name, as well as the platinum selling 2011 album The Life Of Riley, he’s managed to stay in the hip hop game across two decades now. On Shadows and Shinings, his seventh album, he’s never sounded stronger. Centred around working with familiar allies, the return to roots approach of this album hears him collaborating with the likes of Pressure (Hilltop Hoods), Dune Rats, Jeswon (Thundamentals) as well as his now regular bandmate Eli Greeneyes.Writing the bulk of this album while living in an RV and driving around the west coast of the USA for eight months, Drapht talks to Richard Kingsmill about what this album means to him, and some of the highlights off it.

In 2018, a new Melbourne band arrived featuring ex-members of The Smith Street Band, The Bennies and Apart From This. With the self-deprecating name of LOSER, they hit the ground running with their debut single immediately added to triple j. Signed to Domestic La La, the label of Violent Soho’s James Tidswell, a debut album from LOSER at the start of 2020 signalled a busy year ahead. Those plans soon disappeared, and in lockdown for much of the year, singer Tim Maxwell started to experience severe anxiety. With medication and some family help, the band ended up channelling their frustrations into building their own studio and writing a second album. All The Rage is the result, a consistent rock record that feeds off the riffs of Queens Of The Stone Age, Weezer, Smashing Pumpkins and other seminal ‘90s and early noughties acts. Tim speaks here with Richard Kingsmill about what he went through last year, how he and his brother Will returned to their original family home to build the studio, and how aliens inspired one of the album’s best moments.      

An album centred around someone’s introversion is the unlikeliest of themes for a hip hop release. Yet, with her fourth album, the UK rapper Little Simz has turned those deepest personal thoughts into one of the most exciting and outward looking albums of the year.Following on from her Ivor Novello winning Grey Area, Little Simz worked closely again with producer Inflo to capture everything from pulsing hip hop beats through to classic Motown as well as grand orchestral arrangements. It all has a widescreen feel, yet lyrically Little Simz focused on her natural introversion to project her thoughts on life, struggle and survival.Running through highlights off the album, Little Simz speaks here to Richard Kingsmill about the ingredients that make up Sometimes I Might Be Introvert, why she used actor Emma Corrin through the record, and how she wrote about subjects like her estranged father this time round.

The London duo talk about the new mindset and overall positivity behind their 3rd album.If you’re after an album to escape the times, look no further than Jungle’s latest.Born in the pre-COVID bliss of 2019, Loving In Stereo is a strongly positive and upbeat album. One that captured a fresh personal outlook for the London group.The two guys behind Jungle are Josh Lloyd-Watson and Tom McFarland (J & T for short). Friends since the age of nine, they’ve shared a lot of experiences. One of those was when their personal relationships both came to an end around the time of their last album. That shared heartbreak coloured the song writing and sound of For Ever.With new relationships in their lives, combined with a desire to write a more uplifting set of songs, Loving In Stereo is a much more direct album which still captures all their varied crate-digging influences. Richard Kingsmill speaks here to Josh about the change of outlook, some of the key moments off the album, and how it all started as a set of ideas for a hip hop mixtape.

To mark the 10th anniversary of Gotye’s global smash Making Mirrors, we rewind it back to when Richard spoke with Wally De Backer for the premiere of the album.Gotye’s third album Making Mirrors turned the Melbourne musician Wally De Backer into an international star.After going #1 here and selling double platinum, winning numerous ARIA’s, the J Award for Australian Album of the Year, and being voted the top album of 2011 by triple j listeners, it was time to watch the success of the album rollout internationally. It went to #1 in many European countries, and Top 10 in both the UK and USA. It’s success in the States was especially notable, seeing Gotye achieve triple platinum sales there, as well as scoring a prized Grammy. While we patiently wait for the follow-up, let’s go back 10 years to when Richard Kingsmill premiered the album on triple j and had Gotye talking about the writing and making of it all.

WILLOW is the 20yo daughter of Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith. With her 5th album, she continues to expand her own path in music.In 2010, a nine-year-old dazzled the world with a song called ‘Whip My Hair’. Many saw it as just a novelty, but it was actually the start of a music career that’s now five albums deep.WILLOW is Willow Smith, the now 20yo daughter of Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith. Her latest album is lately I feel EVERYTHING, and it explores her love of punk, rock and emo, hearing her collaborating with the likes of Travis Barker and Avril Lavigne. The album also follows a little in her mother’s footsteps, as Jada once was the fierce frontwoman of the metal band Wicked Wisdom in the early noughties.In her first triple j interview, WILLOW speaks with Richard Kingsmill about race, rock and the road to her 5th album.