Hiya Kate. How’s it going? Well I’ve been up since 5am, doing morning breakfast TV, so I’ve been pretty busy. I’m kind of crashing now.
The new album is quite a change… I was soaking up a lot of what I was listening to, a lot of 60s girl groups. It was just about expressing myself truthfully and, you know, you just literally soak up what’s on your mind.
Is it scary putting your innermost feelings out there for the world? It can be, ha! But then I think that’s why music touches people, because it is honest. It is scary sometimes to be that honest. People relate to it because everyone’s felt those things in different ways. That’s why music is so important.
Have you ever had any backlash from people you sing about? Ha, no I haven’t actually, not yet. I don’t really think I’ve ever written anything that’s distasteful you know. I mean, I wouldn’t write about somebody in a really distasteful way.
You had a long break between albums. Was it hard starting again? I was pretty much really ready and excited about doing it. I took the time out because I was kind of hoping that I’d get the passion back, which I did.
What brought the passion back? It was just the break. Honestly, if you’re doing the same thing, over and over again, touring, playing the same songs, you start to get confused, you’re tired, you miss your friends. You lose sight of why you started doing it and for me it’s so important that music stays something that is enjoyable for me and fun and a passion. I just think that if you feel like you need a break, then take one. This is my career, I’ve got the rest of my life left to do it. I don’t need to rush anything. The most important thing is that the songs are right.
Those early days must have felt crazy? Yeah, I’d say so. I was very young at the time and it was a bit crazy. I can’t even really remember now. I just went on tour for like ages, and did loads of weird things and won a Brit award, it was all very exciting.
Anywhere you want to see in Oz? I’m really excited. Just all of it. I’d really like to spend more time in Sydney and Australia in general I think. It’s such a massive place, there’s so much to explore.
You recently went veggie. Will you be able to resist a barbie? I do really fancy eating meat quite a lot actually. It’s gonna be hard. I haven’t eaten any meat since September.
Any particular cravings? Roast lamb would be good. Cheese burger is my favourite food.
Why do it? I care about animals really and it was an OCD thing. It kind of happened because I was getting obsessed and had to obey certain rules. Somebody put the idea in my head and it was like, if I do this then I don’t have to obey the other rules. It’s kind of weird.
So do you have any strange requests on your rider? Not really, just like cava. I’m allergic to wheat and dairy so it tends to be the right type of bread and stuff like that. Kate plays Splendour in the Grass (Jul 30 – Aug 1), plus Melbourne (Aug 3 & 4), Sydney (Aug 5), and the festival (Wisemans Ferry NSW, Feb 17-20)
