WITH A PERMANENT STAMP OF AMBITIOUS FEARLESSNESS ALL OVER HER CAREER, Olympia is back, offering a new single and news of a forthcoming EP. Having effortlessly forged her own unique path to become one of our finest artists here Down Under, she earns her cred from all directions - one hell of an electrifying live show, killer vocals and guitar chops that overflow with sophistication and swatter and are delivered with a wry wink of irreverence. Having forged a magnetic connection with her fans and followers, her new self-help inspired single 'Try Be Good' promises more of what connects her to us on a deeply personal, real and painstakingly irreverent level.
With a chorus to die for, wrapped with a spiral of "Beck's Odelay-esque chaos seeking order", the single is another beautiful addition to the ever-swelling and bulletproof cannon of Olympia songs.
BP : Hey Olympia, welcome back and congrats on the new single and, I assume, a new Olympia season
Olympia : Thank you!
Tell me a bit about your time spent between releases?
I’ve been working on my arts practice – drawing and painting. It’s always been there and a part of the writing – I love to draw sleeping passengers on the plane while touring, and try to capture every lead while mixing a record – but I’ve given it more focus. The EP now has a whole body of visual art to support it – so I might do something with it!
'Try Be Good' sounds incredible. I've always been dazzled by the ambition and fearlessness you show in your music, on top of rather flawless writing and killer hooks. Do these assets come naturally, or are they your values when it comes to writing a song?
Great question – both! I came up as a bit of an outsider to music. Self-taught on the guitar, each note or riff was a discovery to me. I didn’t realise this of course until I found myself in rooms with wonderful musicians who wanted to ‘jam’ and I would just sit there frozen in fear. I mean, jamming is like jizz FM to me. I respect it, I just did (and still do) not know what to do!
Instead, I think of music in parts – not improvising, or block chords – but a world of bits and pieces that build, are distinct and confident, come in and out of the song. Which sounds on paper very much like electronic music. A great example of what I’m talking about would be LCD Soundsystem.
It is one thing for a melody/top line to appear – but it’s an iterative process to refine each one. Working with Burke Reid has also cemented this way of working and constructing music this way.
Can you tell me a little more about the song, its lyrical themes and how it came to you?
I lost my father, who was my closest friend, suddenly during COVID. The loss is taking a long time to process, and for a while music felt empty without him there on the sidelines – phoning me with gig reviews, or threatening audience members at my shows who dared look away from the stage for a second. But I love creating music and I always will, even if there is no audience in front of me.
To get back into writing, I revisited some of the inspiration behind previous records, by looking through my song-writing journals, which are full of song ideas. I’ve started to share these on the website under Field Notes.
In one of my boxes was a photocopy of Matthew Dickman’s poem, 'Trouble'. The first time I read this poem, I was introduced to Larry Walters, who is one of the characters in the song, 'Self Talk'. The song was all about people who’ve tried and failed to do really great things. This time when I came back to the poem I was struck by the closing lines and I loved the one-foot-in-front-of-the-other, get through it attitude.
Larry Walters became famous for flying in a Sears patio chair and forty-five helium-filled weather balloons. He reached an altitude of 16,000 feet and then he landed. He was a man who flew. He shot himself in the heart. In the morning I get out of bed, I brush my teeth, I wash my face, I get dressed in the clothes I like best. I want to be good to myself.
What do you love about the track? Is there something personal in there that we might not hear?
The lyrics were so much fun to write – I’ve written another song’s worth of verses for this track. Once you get a hang of the rhythm, it turns out it's easy to place the things that we do to be good and to not be so good to ourselves.
You've returned to working with the legendary Burke Reid, he pulls such an amazing sound and has quite the legacy. What's your working relationship with him like?
I love Burke. No one knows me more, works me harder and also gets into the trench alongside me – for me. He’s an engineer, producer, mixer and songwriter. There is no one like him.
What can we expect in the coming months? More singles? An album? Shows?
'Try To Good' will be part of an EP, from which I have another song coming out very soon! I’m hitting the road with Peter Garrett this March and hope to be announcing some Olympia shows soon.
Thanks heaps for your time and see you at a show soon.
OLYMPIA'S NEW SINGLE 'TRY BE GOOD' OUT NOW VIA REACH AROUND RECORDS
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