Hi Theia and thanks for taking the time out to speak with us at Musicology.
Firstly congratulations on all your recent success.
You clearly have a love of the water as is evident from your video clip Roam and previously working as a lifeguard. How influential has Tangaroa and the landscape of New Zealand been in formulating what makes its way into your music?
I do love water! And even though I’m no longer a lifeguard, you’ll always find me at a beach, river or a lake. New Zealand is a beautiful country and it has been the source of much inspiration for so many artists. But my music tends to be based more on personal experiences and I’m not overly aware of the influence the NZ landscape has had on my work. I do find, however, that getting out into nature really helps me creatively. When I know I’ve got a stressful or busy time coming up, I make sure I get out of town for a few days.
You draw inspiration from fashion, art and life experiences. Equilaterally these make up a whole in producing the music you make but do you find that one tends to deliver more in terms of providing a healthy amount of subject matter to aid your song writing?
It’s really hard to measure how much of a part fashion, art and life plays in my music, because as you say they all make up a whole. For me it’s just about being influenced by the things in my life that I love.
Having just finished touring with Broods, were there any particular instances that really took you by surprise?
It was my first-ever tour, so I really didn’t know what to expect. As it turns out, it was such an amazing experience and things seemed to run so smoothly, other than the time when my manager couldn’t get the rental car to work and we sat in the carpark at Nelson airport for like 30 minutes in the sweltering summer sun. Georgia and Caleb from Broods were so supportive and it was such a pleasure touring with them.
Looking forward, you will be playing alongside The Kite String Tangle as a part of your east coast tour of Australia. How did this come to be?
The wonderful team at Warner Australia suggested it would be a great idea for me to come over and play support on a tour. I was so thrilled when I got asked to open for TKST. His music is dope! I LOVE the new track Selfish. I’m so thankful to be supporting an artist that has as much love as TKST has.
You have been receiving so much attention as if the world has finally caught on to what you are doing. Next stop L.A and what is on the cards for your time in the states?
I’m playing an industry showcase in LA, which will be equal parts nerve-wracking and exciting. I’m also spending some time in the studio working on new material. Because it’ll be my first time in LA, I’ve got some days off and I’m really excited about exploring. I intend to do some shopping and check out all the cool spots. I’d love to go to Disneyland too but I’m not sure I’ll have enough time on this trip.
If you could perform at one international festival, which would it be and why?
Probably Coachella. It’s the festival of festivals. It’d be a dream come true to perform there and follow in the footsteps of so many amazing artists.
THE KITE STRING TANGLE + THEIA TOUR DATES – APRIL 2017
SYDNEY Thursday 6th April Newtown Social Club
MELBOURNE Saturday 8th April Northcote Social Club
BRISBANE Thursday 13th April The Foundry
