Q: Can you tell us a bit about yourself and how your childhood impacted your musical direction?
A: I’m an indie pop musician from Melbourne, Australia. I’ve been a dancer since the age of 3, so music has been very important to me since I can remember. As a child I trained for a while with Yamaha Music School, learning piano. As I got a little older, I started learning singing and guitar. I started a band with some friends during high school, which was a lot of fun. We never really went anywhere, but we had a great time jamming in the back of a band shirt shop every week.
When the pandemic began, I started writing songs to pass the time, and learned a little on how to produce with Logic Pro. After the pandemic was over, I got really lucky when I made friends with someone at university who worked at a music studio. I started writing and recording songs with them, which was a huge and really exciting learning experience for me. Now, I’m recording music with Noise Candy Collective. I’ve released three songs with them, as well as a music video and will be releasing my debut EP in September. This is something I’ve wanted to do since I was really young, and I still have to pinch myself sometimes, to realise this is actually happening.
Q: How are you planning on growing your fan base and sharing your music with the world? What message do you have for anyone who is about to discover “Kirrilee”?
A: I think social media has become a massive way for musicians to get their music in front of new audiences. It’s also something I’m really interested in, and I recently graduated with a Bachelor of Design degree, which helps a lot in how I make content, as well as designing my covers and merchandise. I love to keep things lighthearted, and I feel lucky that I can do that through my content and designs. I’m also really excited to start performing live, and hopefully see people enjoy my music.
For new supporters, I’m starting a petition to move the letter Q lower down the alphabet so it can be with all of the other weird gothic letters. You should all sign it. I also hope my music is the kind you can scream in the car with your friends or sit back and listen to when you have a moment to yourself. If anything, I hope you love the stuff I put out. Especially the petition.
Q: Who is the most inspiring artist for you right now? And where do you find inspiration for making music?
A: There are so many inspiring people in the music industry. I’m drawn to anyone who has the confidence to express themselves freely and creatively. I love Doja Cat’s music, for how much of her personality shines through in not only that, but her art as well. Olivia Rodrigo and Billie Eilish also have a lot of personality in their music, and I think that really takes guts. It’s so important to be yourself in music, but putting yourself out there can be really vulnerable, and yet they do it anyway.
I’ve found that my art goes in a very feminine direction. It’s not like ‘no boys allowed’ or anything, but I’m proud of my femininity and I want to show that. I love to keep things light hearted as well, which is why I design pixel art frog shirts for each song I make. Basically, I just kinda grab whatever comes into my head and run with it.
I also get a lot of my inspiration from situations I’ve been in, people that I’ve met or even my own insecurities. But sometimes, it doesn’t even have to be my own experiences. One of the songs on my EP, ‘Electric Blue’, is actually inspired by Rue and Jules’ relationship in Euphoria. I think in that case, I found their longing and vulnerability towards each other really inspiring. Emotions and moments like that are so powerful, so I wanted to write something that shone a light on it.
Q: Can you tell us about the story or message behind the song, “Rollercoasters.”?
A: I wrote Rollercoasters when I was in a situationship with a boy I really liked. It was actually my producer, Brodie. He came to me with an instrumental demo he’d made and asked me to write over it. At the time, we were on the verge of getting together, and it was the only thing on my mind. I had no clue what was happening and I’m not sure he did either, so I wrote him a song asking him what was going on and if he wanted to be mine. It worked, and we celebrated our one year anniversary back in August.
Q: How would you describe your sound in one word for potential listeners?
A: Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious
Q: Did you face any challenges while writing or recording “Rollercoasters”?
A: I actually didn’t like Rollercoasters when I first wrote it. All of the songs I’d written before it were kind of sad, so to write a love song was a whole new ballpark for me. I wrote it in two hours, so I definitely had a lot that I wanted to say. I think it was when we actually sat down to record it that I realised how much this song meant to me. When I heard the final version, I fell in love with it immediately.
Music means so much to me, so that can also make me a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to getting a result I’m happy with. I think one thing I learned was that, no matter how meticulously you plan something, it’s never going to go 100% perfectly, and that’s okay. When things came out differently to how I’d originally planned, like with the Rollercoasters music video, I found that I actually appreciated it so much more.
Q: What is the message of your music? And what are your goals as an artist?
A: I want to make music that gets people through whatever they’re going through or that they can just enjoy and make memories with. For me, music has been there through some of the best and worst times, and I want to make music that will do the same for other people. I remember leaving a particularly awful exam in high school and putting my earphones in. Spotify immediately started playing ‘The Middle’ by Jimmy Eat World, which I’d never even played before. But honestly, the lyrics were exactly what I needed to hear at that moment. I’d love to be that for someone else. It’s like my music would be the soundtrack to their life, and that’s such a cool thought.
I’ve made so many friends in creative industries and I’d love to be able to help as many as I can get where they want to go. Honestly, I also just want to be happy with the music and media that I put out, and have it make other people happy too. If I got to do this full time, it would be an absolute dream.
Q: Who is your dream artist to collaborate with? (dead or alive)
A: There are so many incredible artists out there that I’d love to work with. I’d probably have to say Labrinth or James Blake. Both of them are talented artists and producers that I’ve admired since I was a teenager. To work with someone who has that much passion towards their craft would be absolutely out of this world. I like that they both just create the music they want to, and it makes them so incredible and unique in the process.
Q: What is your advice for people interested in pursuing music as a career or for those trying to enter the industry?
A: Honestly, just go for it and keep going. Just make sure that no matter what happens, you’re doing it because you love it.
Q: If you could go back in time and give a younger you some words of wisdom, what would they be?
A: Don’t let self-doubt hold you back. If you want to do it, do it. Life is too short to not do something that you love. I think it took me a long time to show anyone my music because I held so much doubt towards myself and my abilities. Once I let that go, as much as I possibly could, it opened a lot of doors. Now I’m doing something that I really, truly love and can see myself doing for a very long time.
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