A QUICK CHAT WITH INDIANA WILLIAMS

What was it like moving from Melbourne to LA? 

Sometimes in life things just fall in place and moving to LA has been one of those moments, I decided in June 2022 on a whim and moved by September. The reason I knew it was right was every single step I needed to make from finding a place to all the moving essentials just seamless came together which I was astounded by. 

What have been some of the highlights and low lights? 

When I first moved there definitely were hesitations as to whether I was in the right space, I started in the valley (which inspired the single) and it felt like the right space to begin in and understand the communities and families that are born and raised in Los Angeles. 

Over the first year, I met a group of friends who invited me to a drag show on West Hollywood, I would go every Wednesday night and from there built a really solid community of friends who believe in me and made me appreciate living in LA. 

How has your music journey been since moving there? 

The music journey has been nothing short of life-changing it’s given me new perspectives on artistry and also understanding there is importance in authenticity when creating music. My goal has been showing up for myself and nurturing my inner child through my music. 

Tell us about your live show set-up and some of the live shows you’ve done over there.

I performed my own music for the first time this year in some incredible spaces, my first show was in the precinct in DTLA a small queer venue that felt so incredibly accepting and freeing to be surrounded by people who support each other. 

Recently I performed as a guest for the duo TilDusk at West Hollywood pride and it was such a fun energy set, although I love creating music with an ethereal flow, I love performing with upbeat energy! 

There’s much much more to come from

In my live sets I want to tell a story to my fans through my performances so watch this space!  

Talk us through the writing process of the track, what is it about?

The Valley was one of the second records I made with Tony Rodini, he had recently begun working with the band Terror Jnr and I was discussing how I was super inspired sonically by their album ‘Bop City’ and their minimalist yet high-end aesthetic. We started bouncing ideas with some minimal beats and I really wanted to tell a story that set an ethereal visual to the melody. The valley developed into a two-sided coin of what an experience can be to find love and life in Los Angeles. 

Guard and I had been working together on music in the past year and he inspired me to move to LA so I wanted a song with him to signify that and be a representation of the stories he has shared with me on his own experiences both high and low. 

The Valley is one of my favourite songs I’ve released so far in that it sounds so authentically like me from sound to vision. 

How have you captured The Valley in the track?

Moving to and living between Sherman Oaks and Studio City, my intention was to show the two sides of the San Fernando Valley, and how it's depicted in the minds of people who hear about it from film and TV around the world as being glamorous and perfect, how I originally thought it might be potentially not too far from everywhere in LA that I needed to be and the overall outsider idea versus the everyday reality. 

My impressions were completely wrong but not in a bad way. Where I was situated was a very “out of view” suburban escape within Los Angeles that is at its core where a lot of stars tend actually to be if not in the Hollywood hills. I would encounter amazing industry artists of all kinds including bloggers and influencers that I grew up watching and meeting like they’re my next-door neighbour. It made me feel like I was meant to be in this space. That aside, there is this hidden not so luxurious part of the Valley that I understood but couldn’t describe. I felt like ‘Guard’ would be the right person to tell that story. Without missing a beat his perception perfectly captures the darker tone of the track.

How does it differ from your home town in Australia? 

It’s reminiscent of Melbourne in its own way. Sherman Oaks and the San Fernando Valley overall really feels to me like another version of the suburbs within my home city. It's familiar with a more gritty quality that I resonated with but the ability to go into industrial buildings and find music and dance studios has been so cool.