The Dust Settles

Kate Miller-Heidke's Nightflight was a different recording for the Brisbane songstress. Where her previous albums ensured her vulnerable songcraft arrived intermingled with a certain degree of quirk and theatricality, Nightflight stripped away most of her decorations. There was very little of the baroque-pop of her 2007 debut Little Eve and even less of the art-pop eclecticism of her 2008 follow-up Curiouser. It was a rawer, more honest sound. 

“I still love that album, surprisingly enough,” Miller-Heidke reflects of her 2012 album. “It's definitely the most honest I've been on record. That was very conscious. It still has moments of that theatricality, I think. Sarah has a little mini-opera bit. Humiliation is a little bit surreal. I think I wanted to tap into my folky roots, though. Having gone on those long tours of America with Ben Folds and seeing what really worked for those audiences live – I wanted to keep going in that vein.”

“You know, I think people can tell when you're being honest. Curiouser was a much more layered, playful pop record, by comparison,” she muses. “I think I'm just really getting into the craft of pop music and really getting off on the idea of being, you know, absolutely, unselfconsciously daggy if I want to be. The freedom of not being a 'triple j artist' means I can kind of do whatever the fuck I want. I'm feeling quite liberated, these days.”

Consciously or otherwise, it seemed to herald a new phase in Miller-Heidke's life. Having spent nearly ten years developing her reputation as a singer-songwriter, Nightflight has seemed to usher in a new era of experimentation for Kate Miller-Heidke. She's an increasing fixture within the English National Opera (having sung principle roles in 2012's The Death Of Klinghoffer and 2013's Sunken Garden) and is currently in the process of writing an opera of her own.

“That came about through Opera Australia,” she explains. “I sort of know [Opera Australia Artistic Director] Lyndon Terracini and he knew I'd been involved in that world over in London and obviously knew I was a songwriter and asked if I wanted to write an opera – so we're writing a show based on Shaun Tan's book The Rabbits. He's this incredible illustrator from WA and it's a big analogy about the colonisation of Australia.

“It's going to be an opera for children and adults. We're still in the early stages, though. It's obviously a massively project,” she elaborates. “I've never written anything like this before, so I hope I can do it. I'm collaborating with a guy called Ian Ramage, who has a lot of experience writing for theatre. Because of my classical background, I'm going to come at it from the angle of the singing – the melody and the harmony. Ian maybe will tackle the bits in-between.”

In addition to her return to opera, Miller-Heidke's been branching out in other areas. In 2011, she debuted her side-project Fatty Gets A Stylist with an eponymous debut album (debut single Are You Ready? scoring advertisements for both America's National Lottery and Australia's Channel 7). Previously, she's starred in Jerry Springer: The Opera. Whereas once she turned her back on a career in opera in pursuit of pop music, she now embraces an entire range of careers.  

“I think it has a lot to do with getting older,” she says – Miller-Heidke having turned 30 last year. “When I was younger, I thought I should have a strong musical identity and know what that was and stick to it. As I get older, I realise I'm still struggling with that idea and I'll probably never really know what it is; I just have to settle for getting a little bit closer to it every time. It's exciting and terrifying, really – though I have go for the former, mostly.” 

Ironically, it's coincided with her actually settling down. After years of bouncing between various cities and continents, Miller-Heidke has made a home for herself in Brisbane with her husband and constant collaborator Keir Nuttall. In contrast to her seemingly cluttered workload (in addition to her current Heavenly Sounds tour, she's also committed to a regional tour of Australia), she's trying to take time and enjoy her work.

“I have actually been quite protective of time at home. For the first time in years, I actually have a home – with my own piano and everything,” she enthuses. “This apartment came up in a building filled with heaps of old friends and we just kind of loved the idea of this musician commune. Me, my band's old violinist Sallie Campbell and this fabulous guitarist John Rodgers have just been jamming on covers. We put on a concert of covers for charity over Christmas and it was great fun.”

Except her relatively sedate domestic life has only been a necessary prelude to even more chaotic creative work. Eager to avoid a lengthy gap between releases, Miller-Heidke has already begun work on her fourth solo album and plans to have it recorded and released by next year. Like many things about the current period in her life, it stands in considerable contrast to her old habits. Her last album didn't arrive until four years after its predecessor.

“I've got about ten songs. I think I'm going to go into the studio later this year and have it out early next year,” she says. “It is a fast turnaround for me. I was kind of paranoid about leaving it as long as I did last time so I've actually been saying no to things this time. Not touring internationally as much and, like I said, being quite protective of my time. I really wanted it to be a fast turnaround this time. As always, this album's a total reaction to the last.”

“I don't go looking for these projects, really,” she laughs. “You know, between writing that opera and preparing a new album, I've got more than enough stuff on my plate. I am going overseas next year to reprise my role in The Death Of Klinghoffer, which will be playing at The Met in New York, and obviously that's going to be great – but I'm kind of sticking with the current projects, for the moment. You know, life is good.”

“I'm writing songs, I'm doing demos, I just got back from London,” she smiles. “It's early days for the next album but I want there to be a lot more joy on it. I think I need a bit of a release.”