Karise Eden took out the gong for The Voice at age 20. She’d previously experienced profound moments of low self-esteem that saw her leaving school at age 12 and home at 13.
The clear winner, it seemed unbelievable that a girl whose life had been so hard could suddenly be so good.
Fast forward to 2016, where after finding her voice, Karise has found her feet, writing and recording for Universal Music and performing to crowds who just can’t get enough of her powerful music.
Her first album was the expected My Journey – hits from the The Voice, but now creativity is very much on her terms.
‘I guess now Universal gave me the time to write the music that resonated with me personally more, they tend to push those artists to be pop but they gave me time to relax into the industry, and now it’s a bit more on my terms; after all I am just a girl from the bush.’
So how does Karise reconcile the Cinderella effect of the life life she has now in comparison to where she came from?
‘You know, when I am home alone at night I just sit down and think Fuck – one minute I am sleeping at a bus stop and the next minute I am sleeping at the Hilton. When there is nothing else to believe in, believe in positivity, something could really upset me – that’s why I push for my album to be called the Things I Have Done. The sun comes through my window; that pretty much wraps it all up. When I was writing, I went through so much that one morning I got up and sat on my bed and put my head in my hands and went oh wow.’
Reflecting on her time on The Voice, choosing Seal as her mentor and coach was a no-brainer.
‘To be honest I really felt like his voice was 20 years more mature than mine and it was in the direction I am heading vocally, so I thought I could learn something from him if he were to coach me. The other coaches were very talented but for me trying to make a decision musically myself… Delta has the most amazing voice, but I didn’t want to head vocally in her direction. In the end, I love Seal’s husky, airy voice.’
Karise’s shows have what she calls ‘a theatre vibe’.
‘It’s soulful and intimate, and it suits how I sing, and the crowd that enjoys that type of music, that more relaxed tone on top of my personality.’
Her latest album Things I Have Done reflects on her rather extraordinary life story. ‘It’s a long, gruelling process but it’s a very rewarding process. Out of the 60 songs I wrote, we brought 30 to the table, then out of those 30 I agreed for those to be road-tested in a trio I did so I got a good test of what was going to run.’
Karise uses her experience to embed her songs with meaning.
‘I have a little box of the memory of what happened to me. When I sing the song I relive it, not in a way that is detrimental to myself though; I am singing because I remember.’
Karise Eden plays the Ballina RSL on Thursday 14 January at 8.30pm. Tix at the club.
