Montaigne Ready Interview

Montaigne 'Complex' National Album Tour

Following on from her national For Your Love single tour in April, Montaigne has released her new single Ready, and confirmed details of her forthcoming LP and national tour.

Ready is undoubtedly Montaigne's most anthemic single to date, and is lifted from her soon to be released second album entitled Complex, the follow up to her ARIA Award winning, Top 5 debut album, Glorious Heights. Complex is set for release on August 30 and is available to preorder now, with all preorders scoring a bonus illustrated poster. There will also be a spectacular limited edition red vinyl of Complex available to preorder, along with CD/vinyl bundles with an environmentally friendly tote bag included.

To celebrate the new record, Montaigne will be hitting the road for her Complex album tour (presented by triple j) in November 2019, kicking off in Adelaide on November 7, then moving through Perth, Fremantle, Maroochydore, Brisbane, Byron Bay, Bendigo, Torquay, Melbourne, Canberra, Sydney, and finishing up in Wollongong on November 30. Montaigne has partnered with PLUS1 so that $1 from every ticket goes to support Bush Heritage Australia a national non-profit organisation conserving biodiversity in Australia.  

New single Ready is a heartfelt call to arms, a soundtrack for activism. There's an undeniable element of pop to this song as Montaigne's soaring vocals elevate the chorus, and the irresistible hook 'I think I'm ready to go, I think I'm ready', cycles like a mantra around shifting drumbeats. However, like all of Montaigne's music, there is a deeper element, a considered purpose for this song, as she explains, "To me the song is about this political moment, where humanity is starting to realise how actually cooked this planet is, that it never had to be like this, and that we have the power now to overthrow those who've forced us into this corner. It's music that I'm proud of representing, because I think that it reflects the feelings swirling around the current political shitfest my generation is facing, and it attempts to transform the anxiety amongst those feelings into angry power. It's like a fuel source."

Complex is certainly an accurate name for the articulate popstress' second album. Themes will range from loneliness, isolation, distorted love narratives, confused sense of self, the desire to escape, self-image issues and self-realisation. All these concepts interact and percolate amongst themselves on Complex, and Montaigne does a spectacular job of expressing herself with eloquence, passion and powerful vocal authority. Speaking on the inspiration and work behind the album, she says, "The right songs all came together over a couple of years and each song pertains to a different period of my life. It's basically a series of portraits of all of my insecurities, or the weird relationships I've been in, or neurotic feelings I've felt while being attracted to others. The album's like this veil behind which I stashed all these secrets I was keeping from myself."

Montaigne worked with a wide range of producers on Complex, including long-time collaborator Tony Buchen (Courtney Barnett, The Preatures), Wynne Bennett (Twin Shadow, Janelle Monae), Kyle Shearer (Dua Lipa, Broods, K. Flay), Mozella (Madonna, Miley Cyrus, One Direction), Dave Sitek (TV On The Radio, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Foals), Mario Späte (Tkay Maidza, Urthboy, Allday) and Eric J Dubowsky (Flume, St. Vincent, Dua Lipa).

Montaigne will be playing shows around the country in November to celebrate the release of Complex. Her unique, theatrical and emotional performance style never fails to impress. Fans should get in early to avoid disappointment.

Ready is available now. STREAM/BUY READY SINGLE
Complex is set for release on August 30, PREORDER COMPLEX NOW.
Tickets available from www.montaigne.oztix.com.au

Montaigne 'Complex' National Album Tour
Presented by triple j
www.montaigne.oztix.com.au

THU 07 NOV - THE GOV, ADELAIDE

FRI 08 NOV - BADLANDS, PERTH
SAT 09 NOV - MOJO'S, FREMANTLE
THU 14 NOV - SOLBAR, MAROOCHYDORE
FRI 15 NOV - THE ZOO, BRISBANE
SAT 16 NOV - THE NORTHERN, BYRON BAY
SUN 17 NOV - THE ZOO, BRISBANE
THU 21 NOV - TAP HOUSE, BENDIGO
FRI 22 NOV - TORQUAY HOTEL, TORQUAY
SAT 23 NOV - THE CROXTON, MELBOURNE
THU 28 NOV - UC HUB, CANBERRA
FRI 29 NOV - THE METRO, SYDNEY
SAT 30 NOV - UOW UNIBAR, WOLLONGONG

Interview with Montaigne

Question: Congratulations on Ready, we love it! What inspired this track?

Montaigne: The track was inspired by the feeling of dissatisfaction I think people in many different industries feel when their work output or professional ability isn't met by commensurate results rendered back. That was the initial inspiration, though I now perceive it through the lens of activism and those who are most disadvantaged by the political systems we are presently enduring.


Question: Can you tell us about Complex and the inspiration behind this album?

Montaigne: There's no locus of inspiration - all the songs were written as the need arose, and that need was engineered by my own emotional generator. Everything comes from within me, things I myself have felt or experienced or didn't know I was feeling but was able to unleash in song. That being said, I do write from different character perspectives sometimes, as in The Dying Song, but the ideas being explored there always relate in some way to my own experience of life.

Question: What motivates you most when writing music?

Montaigne: I'm not really sure how to answer this question; I don't really require "motivation" to write music. It's not like having to do the dishes or file my paperwork, where I need to find the will to do those things. I write and sing music just as one would breathe - automatically and with the knowledge that it's absolutely necessary to be alive.


Question: Do you prefer performing live or recording?

Montaigne: They're two different beasts; I like them for different reasons. I don't have a preference.


Question: Which is your favourite song to perform live and why?

Montaigne: Probably Lonely. Me and my music director Niall get to make weird faces at each other while we sing and I can feel everyone in the audience really connecting with the feelings in the song. That song I don't think actually works very well as a studio recording, it's meant to be played live, with all of the drama and emotion and mess of physical performance. Also, to sing about the abjection of loneliness to and with a transient family of people who understand the very feeling you're talking about is a very sublime subversion of the song.


Question: What should we expect from your upcoming tour?

Montaigne: I don't think you should expect anything, expectations ruin experiences I reckon.


Question: If you could have anyone, in the world, attend a show, who would it be?
Montaigne: Maybe Mitski? Or David Byrne, or Björk!


Question: Which music/artists are you currently listening to?

Montaigne: I've been listening to I Trawl The Megahertz by Paddy McAloon of Prefab Sprout a lot, god I love it, Aldous Harding's Designer is one of my favourite things of the year as is I Am Easy To Find by The National, also great albums are Olympic Girls by Tiny Ruins, by O Terno, Lux Prima by Dangermouse + Karen O. And I love the song Reasons Not To Die by Ryn Weaver.


Question: What or who was your inspiration to go into the music industry?

Montaigne: No inspiration, just chance.


Question: If you could collaborate with another artist, who would it be?

Montaigne: Probably Mitski, or maybe Ezra Koenig or Rostam, or Yoni Wolf from WHY? There are a bunch now that I think of it.


Question: How does it feel to hear your song played all over the airwaves?

Montaigne: Good! I feel very privileged to have the opportunity.


Question: What is the biggest challenge you have faced along the way to your musical success?

Montaigne: Probably personal stuff, my personal life is, as all our personal lives are, very challenging.


Question: What's a typical day like?

Montaigne: I get up in the morning, eat something or other, go to my local cafe and write a to-do list for the day and journal for about an hour over a soy cap or mocha, I go back home and meditate with Headspace for 20 minutes, then I practise Brazilian Portuguese for about 45 minutes, I practise singing for an hour or so, I might get on the piano and try to write something for a bit, or might have lunch by now, I'll go for a kick with a football either by myself or will play a game later in the night, answer all my emails of course at some point, might do groceries or whatever. The morning part of my day is very structured. Might go see a movie at the cinema, might go do a therapy session, might see a friend for a meal, who knows.


Question: What has been your favourite part of becoming a music artist?

Montaigne: Time. Now that I'm earning enough to not have to work another job, I have so much time to do and get good at things I love. And I've also met some pretty amazing friends through the industry.


Question: Can you share your socials?

Montaigne: @actualmontaigne
@actualmontaigne
Facebook 


Interview by Brooke Hunter