Jade Alice Kick Drum Interview

Jade Alice Kick Drum Interview

Winner of Bank of Melbourne's Melbourne Music Bank 2015, Jade Alice, has announced the release of her debut single, Kick Drum. The single will be launched at a gig at Shebeen on February 18 and comes to life with a beautiful performance-based video clip.

Bank of Melbourne's flagship competition to uncover Victoria's musical talent was an overwhelming success in its second year, attracting hundreds of submissions. Four finalists were voted by the public from twelve semi-finalists, with Jade Alice crowned the winner at a spectacular finale on the stage at Arts Centre Melbourne's State Theatre. The artists were judged by an expert panel featuring campaign ambassador Ella Hooper, Bank of Melbourne Head of Brand and Marketing Jac Phillips, Beat Magazine Editor Cara Williams, PBS Homebrew host Maddy Mac, 123 Agency Director Damo Costin, Varrasso PR Director Frank Varrasso and Manager Chris Robinson.

Offering insight into the quirky, fun and incredibly catchy song, Jade Alice explains, 'The melody for the song -Kick Drum' actually came to me in a dream! The song is about a feeling of uncontrollable happiness; a feeling I hope resonates with others when they listen to it. The greatest reward for me as a musician is evoking the same emotion in people that I feel when I'm writing the song."

The video for Kick Drum is a performance-based clip featuring a number of lush sets and narrative animations.

Studying music and music performance in year 12, Jade Alice has moved into Interactive Composition at the Victorian College of the Arts. She counts artists Kimbra, Joni Mitchell and Broods among her influences.

VIEW THE VIDEO | KICK DRUM

Interview with Jade Alice

Question: How did it feel to win Bank of Melbourne's Melbourne Music Bank 2015?

Jade Alice: Very surreal, I was over the moon! I honestly had entered the comp with hopes of making it to the top 10… then came top 4 which I thought was a bit ridiculous, which led to winning the whole shebang! It was such an incredible honour, especially when I was amongst so many other talented artists who could have easily done incredible things with the win, and having the belief of some of the industry's finest behind me now, it's been a wonderful boost in self esteem and confidence.


Question: How would you describe Kick Drum?

Jade Alice: Kick Drum is such a joyful, fun song about uncontrollable happiness and the feeling of effervescence, and I hope this feeling resonates with people when they listen to it!


Question: Do you write your own songs? What's your inspiration?

Jade Alice: I love songwriting more than anything...except maybe food - they rank pretty closely! I have written my own songs since a very young age having a musical family around me, I wrote all through my teen years drawing on my encounters with first love, fantasy and food. My songs act as little snapshots of moments in time in my life, and the process is always different for each of them. Some song ideas come to me in dreams and I hear melodies in my sleep!

Question: What music/artists do you listen to when you are not playing your own?

Jade Alice: I am deeply inspired by Joni Mitchell, her melodies are so poetic and she is such a wonderful story-teller. I love Kimbra as an artist whose energy and music is a force of nature! I admire Taylor Swift, Broods, Matt Corby, Queen and The Beatles, they all have such powerful music that gives you goosebumps or makes you hold your breath.


Question: What's next? Tour/Album/Single?

Jade Alice: I am very excited to put an EP together, the songs are all ready to go and in the future a tour would be such a wonderful dream come true! There's nothing that compares to that live energy and vibration of the relationship between an audience and an entertainer, I would love to share my stories with people face to face!


Question: Was there a moment you contemplated throwing in the towel?

Jade Alice: I think I've had moments where I want to take on other things as well as music, but never as a replacement for it. I love English and writing, fashion and television, which are all artistic fields that I feel compliment the music industry - but music will always be my rock, something permanent in my life.


Question: Do you prefer performing live or recording?

Jade Alice: I love them both in completely different ways! The recording process is building and creating, being able to bring all of those elements I originally heard in my head to life! Performing is being able to share it and put the creation on display for people to see, it's the presentation of the work and I love to get peoples reactions. When I perform the music, it no longer belongs to me, it belongs to the person listening to it and becomes their story that they see themselves in.


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

Jade Alice: I was really brought into the musical world by my parents, and I co-produce all my music with my father Michael at his studio – Big Hand Studios. Their experiences in the industry over the past 20 years have really inspired me.


Question: What is the biggest challenge you have faced along the way to your musical success?
Jade Alice: Being a young storyteller, I don't have the life experiences that an older person would and wanting to write a song about something I haven't felt or been through is definitely limiting. We may be taken for a ride and promised the world because we are less knowledgeable about the music industry and our age may work against us when it comes to being taken seriously. Being young, we are prone to making more mistakes, but we learn from these experiences and sometimes this is what makes us stronger.


Question: What's a typical day like?

Jade Alice: At this time of year, before uni starts up again, I like to fit in time either writing or messing around on guitar/piano. Do a bit of work on social media with promotion and networking (something I've had to improve on seeing as I've never really been a social media person), spend time with friends or talking to friends. Improvise a recipe for a meal (this can either turn out well or very bad). Exercise…this is probably not every day but I threw it in there to sound good.


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

Jade Alice: Creating a sound for myself has been such a great adventure, I've gone through classical, jazz, music theatre and even opera as a singer. As a music lover of many genres I've had to condense all of the styles I love and mould them together. My music has become an amalgamation of electro pop, indie and folk fusion!


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

Jade Alice: If I could work with any musical artists, I would have to choose Kimbra. I am absolutely in love with Kimbra's originality and quirky -out-there' ideas and incredible talent as an artist. I would be very interested to see what it would sound like if we combined our ideas, I would be thrilled and honoured to work with her.


Question: Do you have a website fans can visit?

Jade Alice: You can listen to most of my songs on soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/jade-alice-1

And stay up to date with with whats happening on my Facebook page! https://www.facebook.com/jadealicemusic/

Question: Can you tell us 5 things required for a happy healthy & enjoyable life?

- Jade Alice: Love
- Imagination & creativity
- Food
- Family/friends
- Dogs in general


Interview by Brooke Hunter