Interview by Amar Gera / Image via Warner Music Australia //
Queen of the surf and heartfelt tunes is back!
It’s fair to say that Brisbane born Kita Alexander has had a rough go of it the past couple years. With her partner Owen Wright suffering a horrible head injury in 2015 at the surfing world championships in Hawaii, Kita was forced to drop everything to become his primary carer. Now five years later, with Owen recovered, the couple having a gorgeous son and getting married just the other week (congrats guys!), it’s fair to say that 2020 is truly the start of a new chapter, and what better way to start it than with new music?
Luckily for us, Kita has more than come through today with a mad new song ‘Against The Water’, and an equally beautiful music video, all shot in Byron Bay. Giving us a little insight into what she’s had to go through and overcome the last couple years, Kita delivers a truly heartfelt tune that’s impossible not to feel moved by.
With The Drop kicking off at the end of this month, it’s clear punters are gonna be in for a treat with the new track, and you’d be crazy to miss her live. We got to catch up with Kita for a really cool chat over the phone, check it below!
Congrats on getting hitched last week! How was the whole day?
Ah thank you! Yeah, it was beautiful. It was a scorching hot day and nothing went wrong thankfully. But yeah, it was just the most perfect day ever. We were so stoked. It was a pretty big like adjustment to reality afterwards though [laughs].
How does it feel to be a married couple? Does it feel any different at all?
It feels safe. You feel safe and I don’t know, you just kind of feel a bit calmer. It feels really nice though. It’s different.
Now onto music, congrats on ‘Against the Water’! It’s super gorgeous and gives us a bit of a look into some of the challenges you and Owen have faced over the past couple years. What can you tell us about it?
Thank you. Yeah, look, it was definitely an experience and I suppose I’m just telling my side of it. But yeah, it’s a little insight into how I was feeling, that’s for sure. It was such a crazy, crazy time, but we’re just so stoked to be through it you know? Just to be married now and kind of have closed the door on that chapter is really huge for us, because it was such a tricky time.
Are you at all nervous for it to be released and let everyone in on what you guys have gone through?
Yeah definitely. O’s been, you know, he’s just taking his time. When he wants to talk about it properly, that’s his story to tell. When we found out the song was gonna be released, I was definitely a little bit anxious and I had to be like, “Hey, are you okay? Like are you cool with this?” And he was like, “Yeah, I’m 100% cool with it.” But yeah, it’s my side and it’s a little snippet into how I was feeling, like I said.
But he’s frothing for the song and my side of the story to come out,… He’ll get to his side when he gets to it. But I’m definitely a little anxious because it kind of opens the bag a little.
Other songs like ‘Between You & I’ and ‘Hotel’ talk a lot about hardship and adversity as well. Are you at all apprehensive when being vulnerable in your music? Or is it just part of the way you sort of process everything?
Yeah, it’s definitely my process and how I make sense of everything and it really helps me. Once I write a song about a topic I’m struggling with, it helps me find closure in it for sure. And I don’t know why, but a lot of my good songs just come from that place. Maybe I just live in that place quite a bit. Everyone goes through adversity and stuff, but I’m just lucky enough to have an outlet to express myself. I might not talk to a psychologist a lot, but I talk to my guitar sometimes [laughs].
Now that you guys are through it and are on the other side of everything, is there any advice you’d give a young Kita and Owen at the time?
Oh God, advice. That’s actually a really good question… Just try and find the good in every moment, yeah. Try and find the best in every situation. Because if you want to look for the negativity, it’s always there. But the good is always there too and focusing on that really helps.
I also wanna touch on the music video for ‘Against The Water’ which features some gorgeous Byron Bay scenery and has a real down to earth vibe on it. What was it like making that vid?
Yeah, it was really cool! It was really nice to do a video shot in Australia where you can’t really tell where it is. I always feel kind of conscious of going, “Oh that looks really Australian or sounds Australian” I love Australia but I don’t want to… I just like that I can create stuff so close to home and it still feels like it could be anywhere in the world.
And that was done in like Bangalow Hall and in someone’s pool in their backyard. We also shot in the Tea Tree Lake in Lennox. So it was really local and I feel really lucky that we could pull it off so close to home because that always makes life easier [laughs].
I read that you actually lived in Byron for a bit after you left school to pursue music. Was writing music in a place like that and always surfing as amazing as it sounds?
Yeah I did! When I was out of school for sure. That was huge in my songwriting because I had so much… I don’t know, you know when you go to Byron, you’re like, “Do people even work here?” I was one of those people and I was just being creative and taking time to enjoy life you know? That made me really creative and then I just kind of got to a stage of like, “All right, next step. I’ve got to move away and do something more”.
You can get stuck in a bubble down there. So, I kind of went away to focus on my music more, but it’s super nice to come back and be there with my family now. So yeah, it’s nice to come back, for sure.
Just wanna focus on the surf for a second. You’ve talked about how it’s a huge source of inspiration for you creatively. What is it about being out on the water that inspires you so much?
There’s nothing there. There’s no buildings, there’s no… I don’t know. For some reason visual stuff really distracts me. If I walk in a shopping centre or something, I just get really overwhelmed with how much there is to look at and my brain just kind of gets fried [laughs]. I think that’s kind of normal though. But being able to go out there and be in the ocean while looking at the horizon, it just instantly calms me down. I just feel I write best when I’m calm and there’s nothing distracting me, and I’m just in my own tiny little world. That’s the main thing.
I’m not like writing while getting on a wave or anything. It’s mainly just being out there and being still, and then obviously getting waves is really fun [laughs]. But it’s just the creativity part comes when I’m like out there in my own mind and nothing else is distracting me.
Do you have any go-to surf spots in Sydney?
Not in Sydney. In Byron for sure though. I’m a point break kind of person. So if it’s two foot and offshore conditions, then I’m out there. If not Owen has to be like “Come on Kita get out there” and I’m always like “Ah, it’s a bit windy” [laughs]. But to get me out there, it has to be perfect conditions. I’ve gotten better though, I’ll sometimes get out there if it’s kind of average though [laughs].
And you came up playing pub gigs as a young teen. Do you have any stories from those days you can share with us? I imagine it would’ve been quite rowdy.
Yeah! You know I haven’t fucking been to a pub in a long time but the last one I went to was in Ballina and I just needed to use the bathroom and I was like, “Wow. I used to play in these pubs.” And you’re so right, it’s pretty rowdy and it’s not… you know there are some older and some younger people that are so off their heads, but they weren’t the type of people that probably would listen to my music. But when I’d get a clap out of those kinds of people I’d be like, “All right, I’m getting their attention.”.
So that was really, I don’t know, it’s not like it gave me confidence, but it was kind of like, “Oh, if they can stop talking for a second and listen to this song, this song must be all right.” And they’d usually clap when I’d throw in an original and not say anything and I’d be like, “Oh, my songwriting, that’s one of my songs. Maybe I should write more music.” These days if I see someone playing at the market, I always take time out of my day to actually stop and listen, because I know how much that means to someone. So yeah, that’s kind of… it was good doing all that.
What songs would a young Kita Alexander pub set consist of? Any Thirsty Merc or Fleetwood Mac at all?
Yeah heaps of Fleetwood. Ah, I’m just trying to think… Definitely some Laura Marling. I probably had some Angus and Julia in there. Also some Bon Iver, then I’d throw my own stuff in. I had a few Of Monsters and Men tunes in there too. Just whatever was on Triple j really, but also whatever suited my voice, so had some older stuff too like Crowded House. Wow. You’re really taking me back. I’d play for three hours, so I’d have quite a few songs in there [laughs].
And you posted a super cute vid on Insta last year of you jamming with your son Vali on some guitars. Can we expect any Vali features on Kita Alexander songs in the future?
I’ve never thought of it, but he actually fully could hey [laughs]. You know sometimes he’ll ask me to sing, but then I’ll get too serious trying to sing and he gets bored and wanders off. Then he’ll take my guitar and go “No, you just hang out!” Or he’ll be like, “You play the drums now”. Maybe if I do an upbeat song I’ll get him on the drums or something though [laughs].
Now onto the future, what does ‘Against The Water’ mean for you and your career in 2020? Is this the start of a new chapter?
Yeah, for sure! It’s the start of the new decade, and it’s really nice to experiment with some new sounds. It just feels fresh. I used to be inspired a lot by older music, which I think held me back a little. So it’s been nice to experiment with some modern sounds. I’m pretty excited about the future.
You’re playing the Drop Festival that kicks off in a couple weeks, how you feeling for it all?
I’m so excited to get back up on stage and play some songs that hopefully everyone knows. So yeah, I’m really excited to see what the crowd does and yeah. It’s really exciting to get back up. It’s probably the thing I’m looking forward to most this year.
Lastly, what else can we expect from you in 2020? Are we getting any more new music or live shows at all?
Yeah absolutely! Both of those are in the plans, I’ll let you know when they’re locked in!
Kita will be gracing the Drop which kicks off at the end of this month. You can cop tickets here.
