AMY SHARK: Confronting The Inner Self
An interview by Sarah Kidd.
The digital age of music has certainly opened the doors for many a new artist, one such artist being Amy Shark who began her music career three years ago on YouTube. Fast forward to 2016 and Amy suddenly found herself at the centre of a media storm as one of only two frontrunners for the illustrious position of Number 1 in last year’s Triple J Hottest 100. Her single ‘Adore’ won both Pop Song of the Year and Song of the Year at the Queensland Music Awards as well as being certified platinum. Not bad for a relative newbie to the music industry.
Amy Shark recently released her first EP entitled Night Thinker, following it up with a critically acclaimed performance at Splendour in the Grass.
So Splendour in the Grass went well then? (laughs)
(laughs) Yeah, that was a really amazing experience! I kinda like didn’t expect that many people to rock up to the tent so I was literally just breathless when I first walked out – it was crazy!
You are still a relatively new artist in the grand scheme of things, so what did you take away from that experience?
I still feel so new, that my confidence levels weren’t at the level of probably anyone else on the bill that day! So for me it was such a great confidence boost that people were listening to the music.
I have a lot of time where I feel like maybe I’m not meant to be here type thing; I’m pretty self-deprecating as it is but I’ve got a really great team who remind me ‘You’re a good songwriter’ and ‘This is what’s happening and you are meant to be here so just go out really confident’. That day, seeing all those people, all of a sudden it was just like ‘Yeah, this is it! This is what I’m meant to be doing! I’m so at home right now!’ So yeah I guess I came away excited to just keep bringing out music and playing as many shows as I can and I think that was the best outcome from Splendour.
So Coachella next?
(laughs) Let’s line it up! I’m ready when you are! I think it’s always Coachella and Lollapalooza and all those sort of festivals that are just like you know – they’ve got the biggest names and it’s always an A Grade line up – it’s a dream for sure.
Your first single Adore – did you ever expect to get the #2 position on the Triple J Hottest 100?
Yeah it’s so funny, every person I speak to about it, no one understands how ‘nothing’ I was you know. I really did come out of nowhere and I had no idea that I would get anywhere near that. I was like ‘Oh I might scrape in this year’ and I wasn’t buying into any of the blogs that were being written about it because this happens every year; people write about whose going to be up the top of the list and it never really happens. The last thing I wanted was for everyone to be texting me saying ‘Aw you must be bummed that you didn’t get higher up’ cause in my mind I was like ‘Man if I come in at 100 I’m going to be so happy and proud of myself’ because it is such a prestigious list!
So when it came in at No 2 I was in a ball of tears because I thought I’d missed it, I thought ‘Oh I am definitely not in this’. Just knowing that they are real votes, they are real people that have voted for it – that’s a lot, that’s a lot of votes! I still think about that night, I’ll probably never beat that – like that’s a real achievement in my life already!
You started your career on YouTube – so would you say that the digital age of music is the pathway to success or obscurity?
It’s a funny one, on one hand everyone is doing it and everyone can do it; everyone has got a home studio! It is scary but in saying that, good songs have a way of shining through the mess. It doesn’t matter if you have all the gear in the world and have all these epic videos – if you don’t have a song that connects and if you don’t have an honest sort of difference in your art, you’re going to fall by the wayside. I think with the way that it is now, there is so much competition the weak sort of give up and the ones who are persistent with a bit of talent get to shine through.
It’s a tough world, it’s tough to make your mark and shine through all the artists and bands that are out there at the moment so you have to work a lot harder. People do get lucky obviously and upload a video that might go alright, but to last in the industry is another game really.
People get confused as to what they want, like what are you actually wanting to get out of music? Do you just want to be famous, do you want to just make money or do you actually want to do it because you are obsessed with writing music?
Speaking of songs that connect, you covered Silverchair’s ‘Miss You Love’ – I take it you are a bit of a fan?
Oh yeah I love Silverchair! I had pretty cool parents that listened to a lot of rock stuff so I have been listening to Silverchair from a pretty young age and had a bit of a serious crush on Daniel Johns as well so I’m always going to be a Silverchair fan.
I’m a Daniel Johns fan as well; I just think you know as wacky as he is, he is still an amazing artist. I couldn’t pick an album, Frogstomp, Diorama, Neon Ballroom; I wouldn’t know if I could pick one because they are all just such great albums. I think it’s a real talent to write a great record not just a couple of hits, it’s really impressive.
So if we were talking classic Australian influences – who would you say were yours? Here in New Zealand it would be a band like Crowded House for example…
Crowded House? Didn’t we claim them? (laughs)
(laughs) Yeah no sorry, most definitely Kiwi!
Oh Bummer – I think we tried to claim Lorde too, we try to claim all your people. (laughs) There are so many indie/Aussie bands, I love the Smith Street Band, they’re sort of really happening at the moment; I was always a big fan of Missy Higgins, I loved her. There is so much Australian music – females as well like Alex Lahey who I love; I’m a big Tegan and Sara fan and she writes very similar to them. Powderfinger were a big thing for me as well. We miss them actually at the moment, like the big Silverchair’s and the Powderfinger’s in our industry, we really need them to all come together again (laughs)
Now with your EP Night Thinker, is ‘Drive you Mad’ still your favourite track?
It will always be my favourite; the day that I wrote it was a really weird, hard day for me. I was really tired, I had had a couple of arguments with people and life was just changing and happening so rapidly. It just took one thing for me to be like ‘Hey, like just chill out for a second; everyone you have just given an absolute mouthful to today doesn’t deserve it – you’re just tired and everyone is just trying to help you’. I kinda spent the whole day just trying to understand that I am not like an easy person to be around; everyone has their downfalls but I think being able to recognise that is a really hard thing and it’s really confronting.
And then that just set me on a roll, that song came out in a way that I was so proud of; the melodies are crazy and they are not what you expect, it’s not even how I usually write! Even the guitar, the way I wrote it was just built for that siren that you hear at the start of it – and I didn’t even know that I was going to put a siren at the start of that song until I got in the studio!
As soon as you feel comfortable listening to it, it makes you feel uncomfortable and then comfortable again; it’s a rollercoaster of emotions that song, I had fun writing it and I was really proud of it once it was finished!
In regards to an album – what and when hmmm? (laughs)
(laughs) I’m forever saying things that I shouldn’t, so I kinda navigate myself around conversations – but I’ve been in the studio for like three weeks and I’ve got so many songs! I have done for a while, it’s just what I do, I write songs all the time!
So yeah there’s so much new music that is being prepared and made ready for the world at the moment, so hopefully – I don’t know if I can say anything (laughs) but yes there is music coming.
Amy Shark is gearing up to play two shows in New Zealand as part of her Night Thinker Tour, and we have a double pass to give away to the show of your choice! To enter, go to our Facebook page and answer the skill question to be in the draw. Competition ends Thursday 31st August 2017, for terms and conditions go here.
