Known for his magnetic, dynamic stage presence, Kim Churchill unites lyrical artistry with fierce vocals; he is a sonic architect – using his guitar to create landscapes that animate his lyrics.
You have found a more unconventional pathway into music. What made you decide to take the route of the troubadour?
Well, I grew up down on the far south coast and there wasn’t an enormous music scene. I made a lot of friends and learnt from some great mentors down there, but as far as the global music industry went I was pretty much completely in the dark. So I bought a camper van and hit the road, playing anywhere people would listen, and sleeping in the back of my van. I just thought that’s what everyone did. I also had a quite strict classical guitar background and went to a fairly harsh Catholic school. I was ready to bail and do things my own way.
Why do you make music?
Because it is the perfect combination of everything I love, everything I’m good at and everything I dream of giving the world. The world can be a pretty messed-up place. Going around playing music and making people happy is a pretty foolproof way to know I’m offering the world something good.
What is the essence of good songwriting for you? How do you approach composing or writing music?
I think a good song finds a harmony between structure, pragmatic musical and poetic understanding, and communicating with an honesty deep enough to resonate with other people on levels they cannot reach on their own. If you get all that right the song will fly off on its own accord and help guide people back to themselves.
Tell me about your time in Europe and in Sri Lanka. How has that influenced the music you make?
Sri Lanka was an odd time for me. It was the most beautifully colourful and spiritual place. But I was somewhere else emotionally. I struggled to find peace of mind as I travelled around and a lot of things stressed me out.
It definitely injected a beautiful dose of colour into my melodies and lyrics, but I think I needed to come back to Australia and find some real grounding before I could utilise any of it. Europe was one massive party and I grew a lot and made a lot of friends but wrote very little. Again though, when I got back to Australia I had songs flowing out of me quicker than I could write them down. I think all of the adventuring just didn’t leave much room to write and I had to stop to let it all out. But each place inevitably encourages the music to take specific forms and vibes, and I hear it as clear as day in hindsight.
Tell me about your follow up record to Silence/Win.
The new album is a lot more groovy I think. We went more in a beats direction, but also in a very acoustic direction. The songs were all picked from about 60 candidates and the whole album took me more than two years. I have never grown as a person as much as in this album-making process and the result is something I will look back on forever more with a tickle of pride. I can’t wait to share it with everyone – or anyone!
Surfing is a big part of your music as well.
Surfing has always fascinated me – how it’s the one ‘sport’ that seems to wrap itself in music culture.
How do the two intersect for you?
Both are so fluid. No performance can ever be the same. A different collection of people are gathered in a different place and you have a completely unique emotional reaction to all of this, while also dealing with where you are naturally at internally. It means every time you pick up an instrument the results will be different, which is terrifying, and liberating and in an odd way calming, as it forces you to let go of the outcome. Surfing is kind of identical. No wave is the same; there are infinite variables and conditions and the fluidity of it all leaves you equal parts in awe and in control. I think on a spiritual level they go hand in hand.
Who are the songwriters who have influenced you most?
Dylan and Nick Drake initially. Then later Neil Young. I love the Lennon/McCartney combo also. Chris Martin for a contemporary.
What’s in store for 2017?
Lots of touring – to release this new album and to have a very wonderful time playing music to whomever out there wishes to respond.
What should we expect for your upcoming local gig?
I’m playing the entirety of the new album just on an acoustic guitar. It’s very ‘unplugged’. I think new songs need to be introduced to the world in their most raw and essentially vulnerable state. I also wanted to go out there and find people whom I love and love to play to and show them the songs in person first, before the album comes along. It’s like a performance/listening party.
Kim Churchill plays at the Mullumbimby Civic Hall on Friday 17 February.
Tickets: musicglue.com/kim-churchill.
