Kate Miller Heidke - Exploring Eve

Kate Miller-Heidke is a busy woman.

She calls The Dwarf on her mobile phone just as she slides the key into the lock of her erstwhile home; a hotel room, as is often the sole time of respite for a touring artist. As she walks into the immediately familiar yet impersonal surrounds, Kate

Miller-Heidke divulges that just yesterday she finished shooting the film clip for 'Make It Last'. The shoot process turned a long day into a long night with the camera turned off, the lights packed away, and the crew emitting a collective yawn at 6.30 that morning. Despite the lengthy shoot and the resultant lack of rest, Miller-Heidke is happy. But now is not the time for Miller-Heidke for kick off her shoes and rest upon her laurels. Miller-Heidke speaks to The Dwarf only to have to flit off to a gig that night. It certainly appears that things are going at warp speed for this beguiling 26 year-old songstress from Brisbane.

Not bad for a girl who grew up listening to Kylie Minogue.

Thankfully, the intervening years have seen Miller-Heidke expand her influences; taking in the folk-tinged honesty of Joni Mitchell, the theatrical grandeur of Queen and an entire raft of 60’s and 70’s music movements. Miller-Heidke lovingly draws on these influences; working them into her own unique brand of musical alchemy. This growth comes from years of studying the masters and some jesters.

Miller-Heidke’s piano lessons and opera training strengthened her musical nous, but do did learning covers; not unusual for a musician, but Miller-Heidke’s take proves that she is an artist that is committed creating in her own, unique way.

In the main, once an artist develops their own sound they tend to leave covers versions behind them, but not Miller-Heidke.

Reproducing a handful of cover songs, both older and contemporary works and uses them in her live show as an adjunct to her own compositions. By Miller-Heidke’s own admission, cover versions are a bit of a "cheap trick with a live show", but do not misunderstand her intentions; this is no mere party trick; as Miller-Heidke continues "Covering songs that the audience already knows gives them a bit of a focus and something that they can recognise”. This recognition and unity ingratiates them to the Kate Miller-Heidke live experience, which can be as challenging as it can be entertaining.

In her live shows Miller-Heidke uses her "folky philosophy" to "give people an insight into who I am" as opposed to delivering song after song like a lot of other artists. She explains that "some bands are too cool to entertain people; I prefer to take the audience on a journey and meet them halfway".

Having been previously trained as an opera singer; it has taken Miller-Heidke a few years to feel out her own way and carve her own musical path. Her move away from the highly prescribed nature of opera has seen her take stock of its influence on her current musical direction. Miller-Heidke explains that her previous background has been both "help and a hindrance that's hard to unlearn". However, as audiences have found, her new direction gives her unique voice opportunities that she would never have explored previously.

Miller-Heidke further reveals that collaboratively she is in safe hands, applauding her band as a great support both in allowing her to explore her original ideas and personally, "They work with me, it's my project and we're all really good friends'.

Miller-Heidke reveals that her greatest excitement in this process is "creating a song that didn't exist 10 or 20 minutes before" however, writing a constant process.

Her recent album, Little Eve has been lauded both by critics and audiences and has cemented Miller-Heidke as a fixture on both the solo and festival circuit.

As for her own festival experiences, Miller-Heidke pinpoints the Woodford Folk Festival as a memorable playing experience and the communal environment is the one in which she most enjoys. Her wacky on stage costumes have a distinct theatrical bent and she places her inspirations as coming from Cyndi Lauper and Alice in Wonderland and relishes the opportunity to op-shop for new pieces to add to her collection. It is from this attention to detail that Miller-Heidke has developed a known uniqueness and a ready recognition to Australian audiences.

Up next for Miller-Heidke is the Femme Funk Festival in New Caledonia, which will be followed by her own Trash and Treasure Tour, which sees her taking Little Eve nationally this October. Here's hoping that she can continue making some wonderful eclectic and original Aussie music for many generations to come.

Share this article on Facebook