Proud To Be Pop
"I mean, I have a Sunday best album that I always play on Sunday, and maybe I hope that one day one of my albums can be that special for someone."
In all honestly, the whole Aussie pop princess scene hasn't been too barren of late, what with Delta and even, to a lesser extent, Missy Higgins flying the flag for the chicks. Brooke Addamo (aka Owl Eyes) is content to consider her music pure pop. Not indie-pop, or rock-pop, she's all pop and proud of it.
On stage, Addamo is confident enough to just stand and sway and sing, not feeling the need to perch herself upon a stool with guitar in hand, or plonk herself behind a piano to prove herself as a bona fide ar-teest. Instead, Addamo lets the music move her as much as she hopes to move the crowd. “I make pop music and I'm not ashamed to admit it,” she states.
After her brief dalliance with reality TV, the bird-like Addamo went MIA for a few years, during which time she says she took to focus on what came natural to her musically before re-emerging under the moniker of Owl Eyes, something she says she chose to “separate myself from myself”. In 2010, Addamo released her first EP, Faces, before teaming up with homegrown hip hop artist Illy on It Can Wait. The track exploded with Addamo's flirty, crystallised, airy vocals married perfectly with Illy's homeboy gruff. “It was a lovely fit. I mean, we are such different artists but I really enjoy doing something different,” she says.
After touring with the likes of Andy Bull, The Wombats and Darwin Deez, Addamo released her second EP in 2011, Raiders, before agreeing to the challenge of triple j's Like A Version, with her take on Foster The People's dark pop-smash, Pumped Up Kicks. At the time of going to print, the video has clocked up nearly 400,000 views on YouTube. “I had no idea it would be so big!” Addamo gasps. “We kind of brainstormed a few songs and we only got told we could choose from a few songs for Like A Version and I just picked that song and went with it – I didn't really expect anyone to pick up on it.”
Don't miss a beat with our FREE daily newsletter
The songstress admits though that the popularity that comes with a cover can make establishing yourself as an artist in your own right just that little bit harder. “Sometimes I'd be playing a set and people would yell out for me to play Pumped Up Kicks and I would have to say, 'Guys, I've got my own songs'. But I still think it was a great thing for me to do”.
It was during her last bout of touring that Addamo began crafting what would be her debut album. “I started trying to fit the album in between touring and I think I just got a little bit stressed,” she says. “I mean, you're always writing on tour, taking little notes here and there, but I found it very hard to juggle the two.”
It was then that Addamo split from the scene and gave herself over to the music. She began working with producer Jan Skubiszewski, who divides his time between playing as one half of hip-hop Afro-rockabilly outfit Jackson Jackson and working with a slew of other artists such as Kram, Ian Kenny and Mark Ronson. “I just love Jan,” muses Addamo, “and I've always tried to work with people I'm inspired by.”
After laying the groundwork, Skubiszewski moved off to tinker with his myriad of other projects, giving Addamo the opportunity to work with another 'inspiration', 2012 ARIA Producer of The Year Styalz Fuego, who received said gong for his work on 360's album Falling And Flying. “I started with Jan to get a base and to find my feet after touring for so long. Then [midway through the album] Jan had to go and do a few gigs with The Cat Empire and so that's when I met Styalz. I had never worked with him before and so we did a little practice session together and it worked. There were a few songs that I did with Jan that I ended up working over again with Styalz just to make sure everything was linear, to make sure the whole album really flowed.”
The album itself is a hybrid cocktail of '80s-inspired sleepy electro pop. “A few people have told me that the album sounds like the soundtrack to a cult '80s film,” Addamo giggles. “I love that!”
But for Addamo, there's only one mould she believes her music should squeeze into. “I think of the album as predominately pop. I'm not afraid to say that; you know, pop isn't a dirty word. I do hope though that it's also a bit more intelligent and electronic. I mean, yeah, there is kind of a throwback to the '80s sound especially with the synths and the drum pad samples, but it's not like I intended to make the album with an '80s sound.”
And Addamo is adamant that despite the throwback, she certainly doesn't credit the decade-that-style-forgot as the catalyst for her decision to make music. “I have always liked to listen to a lot of music. I get inspired by all kinds of different music that makes you feel a different way. I mean, I count Phil Collins as an inspiration, along with Justin Martin and Fleetwood Mac, especially Stevie Nicks. My mum used to play a lot of Stevie when I was younger and the thing with Steve and Fleetwood Mac is that if you strip the song away the melody is still strong and I think that's the test to a good song.”
But she's coy when it comes to picking her personal favourites, only saying that for her, it's all about the way a song makes you feel. “And that's what I want my album to give listeners, a kind of feeling,” she sighs. “I don't want them to just go, 'Oh yeah, that was alright – whatever'. We all have different music for different times in our lives, like when you're falling in love or when you get your heartbroken. I mean, I have a Sunday best album that I always play on Sunday, and maybe I hope that one day one of my albums can be that special for someone.”
Owl Eyes will be playing the following dates:
More From Our Network
