Kimbra On Opening For Beck & Hoping For A Janelle Monae Collab

"I just finished a seven-week tour where I went to places I'd never been before, places like Birmingham, Alabama and San Antonio, Texas, and got a real snapshot of just how diverse, and certainly politically different, certain parts of America are," Kimbra says, talking from her Manhattan home.

New album Primal Heart is a cracker and it's bloody exciting to have her touring it to Australia. On the record, her voice is like a sonic postcard, giving snapshots of the different places she's been. While she says America is 'interesting' at the moment, she adds it also remains a real land of musical opportunity. "That [broader] tour was fantastic. Because when you only tour New York and Portland and those kind of places, you don't get a real overview of what the place has to offer, both good and bad," she laughs.

In addition to developing her own sound, audience and following, America is the place that has allowed Kimbra to also explore music-making with kindred spirits such as eclectic darling, Beck. "Yeah, it was such a dream to play with him, I've been following him since I was really young and we already had some connections - we already play with some of the same musicians... We had a few common friends and, yeah! The shows were great," Kimbra says of opener a series of shows for the legendary genre-bender. "He said so many cool things to me while we were on tour, one of them was, when he was young, his dad was playing him his favourite band and he [young Beck] said, 'I like it, but why does every song sound the same?' And his Dad said, 'Oh, that's just kind of the genre, that's the sound,' and he [young Beck] was like, 'But wouldn't it be so much better if every song was different?' So that basically became the premise of his kind of art: he's just trying to be that kind of artist that follows their interests down the rabbit hole. And I love just how unapologetic he was; I was the same as a kid. I thought, 'Why can't I like black metal and Bjork and Destiny's Child and George Michael all at the same time? Why can't I make music that takes from all of those things? Why not?'" she laughs. "And it's a really great example of continuing to do what he does and waiting until the rest of the world catches up. I think it's great and really inspiring."

Primal Heart certainly explores different genres and eras, taking a notable stop in the '80s. Driven by bold vocals and some really striking sonic choices, it's the kind of music that makes you excited to hear what sort of music might come out of Kimbra next. One rumour has been a possible tour (and collaboration) with another talented art-hopper, Janelle Monae. "It would be so amazing, I know we both would love that. But it's so important for fans to realise how much of our schedules are dictated by other people," Kimbra laughs. "Especially when we've both put out new records, and there's lots of people who have strong agendas for where we tour and how for those. We are both very passionate and committed to the promotion of our new records and if that works to, like, bring us together for some shows, then we would jump, 100%, at the chance. We both talk about it a lot." Pausing as if to consider this prospect once again, she repeats, "But it's really about scheduling. At this point it probably means that right up to mid-2019 [we're both busy], but there's so many people to bring it together and we are committed to continuing to kind of like remain musically connected, I think."

Perhaps the only way to make that work would be to actually make a record together, a formal Kimbra/Monae collaboration. Imagine how awesome it would be if both artist's combined their sounds and spectacles? "I know, it would be a great collaboration," Kimbra says warmly.