On Rude New Yorkers, The Internet And State Of The Art Festival

Increasingly, Western Australian music is finding a way to become noticed not just around the country, but around the world. It also correlates with an increasing number of music and arts festivals that Perth has to offer – there seems to be one happening every month of the year, jam-packed with all sorts of goodies. State Of The Art is one of these festivals, a yearly showcase of pure WA talent. Like last year, there’s a hell of a lot on offer – almost 60 bands and artists, multiple stages and venues, and plenty of food and drink to enjoy along the way.

"Working with male American producers, they’re not all like that, but there was a certain level of arrogance."

This year, The Music had a chat with Katy Steele – former Little Birdy singer – who is on the cusp of releasing her debut album as a solo artist. She disappeared off the radar up until roughly mid last year as she flew halfway around the world to New York in search of some inspiration, and as you’d expect, it was a wildly different experience to time spent in little ol’ Perth. She certainly learnt a lot about production while she was over there. “I worked with this Brooklyn producer called Joel Hamilton and did a whole album with him, but it just didn’t sound right; it didn’t have the sonics. I’d done a lot of the production at home. I basically moved over and wrote the whole record by myself, but it had this kind of twee vibe. I took it into a high-end studio and worked with Joel and it just kind of lost some of its magic. So then I started working with this other producer and started writing a whole new batch of songs, but none of them are going to see the light of day because I had a bit of a falling out with that person. So yeah, then I ended up coming back to Perth and I was kinda over the whole thing because there was so much work and I hadn’t really seen the fruits of my labour.” On moving back to Perth, however, things brightened up immediately. “I came back, and started writing again, and I guess I kind of locked into that spot that I’d been searching for, and started writing about all the stuff that happened over there. I found a studio in Leederville... and ended up recording the whole thing in Perth!” she chuckles.

It was definitely the fast-paced nature of the bustling streets of New York City that took its toll on Steele; she believes it affects the attitudes of the people that live there permanently. “It was pretty hard over there; no one gives a shit. Not that I needed those feelings of ‘you’re this, you’re that’. It wasn’t an ego thing; it was more a respect thing. A lot of people over there, they’re pretty rude, to be honest. I’ve really enjoyed being back and being around people who are generally friendlier. Especially, I guess, working with male American producers, they’re not all like that, but there was a certain level of arrogance. It’s pretty frustrating in this day and age.”

"The industry changed under my feet basically while I was overseas; the whole industry has been flipped on its head"

If anything, the trip certainly highlighted the stark differences and the importance of immersing oneself in the local musical produce that continues to grow in quality and quantity. “You go the The Bird on a Friday and you know everyone there. It’s good to get feedback from your peers but you have to do your own thing. I got back from America and I was in this head space where I was getting influenced by who was on the radio and, you know, they were working with this producer, so maybe I should be too, and I was hitting up these hot producers and doing tracks here and there, but at the end of the day, that’s not me.”

Steele features amongst acts including Birds Of Tokyo, You Am I, The Scientists (who she’s really looking forward to seeing) and more at this year’s State Of The Art Festival, all of which have developed large followings around the country and abroad. While there are “a million platforms” online to use that will get your music heard these days, developing a local following is still incredibly important to work your way up, and that’s what Steele recognises as one of the most vital components of the festival. “You’ve got the internet – it’s a fucking different ball game now. That’s what happened while I was away, the industry changed under my feet basically while I was overseas; the whole industry has been flipped on its head... It’s a different world now, it makes it harder to stand out from the pack... [For] artists these days, and musicians especially, it’s really hard to get yourself out there... to really get the exposure that you need, it’s harder every day, so it’s really great that State Of The Art exists. I’ve been telling friends that I’m playing and everybody that I’ve spoken to just loves the festival.”