Richard Kingsmill Announces Podcast On You Am I's 'Hi Fi Way'

You Am I’s second album, Hi Fi Way, is turning 30 next year. To commemorate the release, Richard Kingsmill will drop the new podcast, Hi Fi Way: The Making Of You Am I.

The first episode of the podcast will be released on Tuesday, 17 December, and the other two episodes will be released on the same date each month. Hi Fi Way will celebrate its 30th anniversary on Thursday, 20 February 2025.

• Why Critics Still Love 'Hi Fi Way', Even If Tim Rogers Doesn't

Kingsmill’s podcast is set to offer “rare insight” into the machinations of the band and album they were creating, which wound up having profound influence on Australian bands.

Recalling his journey from the ringside seat, Kingsmill remarked, “After nearly 40 years of working in radio, I had some time to finally breathe this year. I had the luxury of looking back. I started revisiting some favourite albums. Quite quickly, I realised there was an untold story around one of them - Hi Fi Way.

“This record constantly makes great Australian album lists, and I thought I knew everything worth knowing about it. But once I started scratching away at it, I realised how wrong I was.”

Upon investigating it, Kingsmill discovered an album that “contained all the ingredients—the strengths and the fragilities” of the band.

Kingsmill added, “The ride You Am I were on in the mid-90s was a rollercoaster. They thrilled their quickly growing fanbase. And although they were on a roll, they also often appeared close to losing control.

“Their singer and songwriter was captivating but unpredictable. It was often difficult to read how he was coping with it all.

“This is in an era when every single movement of a band was not documented. This was in an era when men - let alone men in bands - never talked about their mental health. Much of the process behind You Am I's brilliance went largely unseen. Much of the anxiety, panic attacks and phobias that accompanied that brilliance went largely unexplained.

“I felt like it was time to uncover what exactly went down when this legendary album was created.”

The first episode of Hi Fi Way: The Making Of You Am I will air on Tuesday, 17 December. Check out a podcast teaser below and on Apple Music.

Richard Kingsmill departed triple j after 35 years last December. Since then, he’s contributed to The Music – including honouring the Sydney venue, Selina’s, and hosting the first-ever The Music Sessions with Fanning Dempsey National Park in Brisbane in August.