A QUICK CHAT WITH KIWAT KENNELL

Kiwat Kennell, A proud Torres Strait Islander from the islands of Ugar (Stephen) & Erub (Darnely) in the Eastern Torres Strait, is an artist that navigates his life by walking between two worlds. A Naarm based (Melb,Au) Singer/Songwriter, with a passion for First Nations representation in the arts & a strong Mental Health advocate. His music is a reflection of being raised on the road living across multiple towns  and experiencing many peoples across this country, all represented through his music and creative path.

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Can you tell us a bit about your inspiration for your single ‘Disconnected’?

‘Disconnected’ is a song that speaks to the deep hearted yearnings for connections during emotional loss. My father was the biggest source of inspiration for this song, as it depicts the story of how he saved my life from my own dark actions during a very difficult time in my life. Co-written with Dan Sultan via the Archie Roach Foundations ‘Singing Our Futures; mentoring program, I was very fortunate to have someone like Dan guide me through such an emotional process.

What are your influences and how do they affect your songwriting? 

My influences are drawn from my experiences of living on the road, moving town to town across this country. I’ve met and lived with all kinds of people and found solace in connecting with community through music. Growing up I listened to a lot of Uncle Archie Roach, Gavin Somers, Randy Travis, a lot of it being my fathers taste in music, but as my musical identity grew, my songwriting became connected to expressing my mental health struggles into my music, drawing strength from the kaleidoscope of sounds that walking between two worlds gave me. 

What’s the creative process like for you?

Usually I begin with a melody, or a hook, maybe even something simple as a line with a rhythm… I get this idea out of my head and down somewhere,  a voice recording, a rough demo or a loop on my pedals. 

Once the idea is out of my head, the rest starts to formulate, I start to write out whatever flows through my head (even if the words don’t make sense). I then look back at what I’ve written and then try to re-interpret what I’m trying to say… the whole process sometimes takes over me and by the time i’ve stopped, 3 hours would have passed and I’ve got the beginnings of a song that may or may not be ready to finish.

The one thing I’ve learned from my mentor in this program, is that sometimes songs aren’t meant to be finished right away… sometimes you need to walk the path, in order to see where it leads.

If you could change something about the Australian music industry what would it be?

Tall Poppy Syndrome and systemic racism that still exists in this country today! We always seem to bring down those that succeed outside of our comfort levels and I think we need to start being more positive in the way we support not just our Australian artists, but our First Nations Artists as well. 

It’s not enough to book your Blak Artists during tokenistic events such as NAIDOC week or Reconciliation week… there is a great amount of talent out there that needs to be heard! Putting a First Nations artist on a spot that gives them the most amount of coverage, to a new audience, could really change someone's life! 

What do you think life would be like for you if you didn’t have music as an outlet? 

Music has been a saving grace for me in the path to understand my mental health. I suffer from depression and in the past I would be very angry, unapproachable and uncontrollable in how I expressed myself.

Since starting my journey on self healing, I’ve managed to find constructive ways to handle my emotions… so i guess i don’t want to imagine a world where music wasn’t an outlet hahah maybe I would be a scientist i guess? hahah

Is there anyone you would like to collaborate with?  Why?

I would love to collaborate with someone like Baker Boy, Dallas Woods, Dobby, Barkaa and/or DENNI… all First Nations mob who have such strength in how they represent themselves! I’m connecting more and more with my culture each day, and to work with mob who are staunch in their knowledge of culture, but pride in their identity, is a vibe that I really wanna be around!

What’s your advice to young people who want to make a career for themselves in the industry? 

Try anything! Go to an Open Mic night or enter a competition or even get up at school and try SOMETHING! Too many of us let fear take over and stop us from doing what we want to do… but fear is something that everyone experiences and you only get better with time! 

The truth is, you may not get it right the first time, but you will always miss 100% of the shots you DON’T take… so take your shot, you might surprise yourself!

Who’s the most interesting person you’ve worked with/met? 

Madi Colville-Walker is one of the most hard working and dedicated performers I’ve ever had the pleasure to work with. She is like a little sister to me, we met when she was 17 through the APRA/AMCOS SongHubs: First Nations in 2019. We co-write a song called ‘Fire’ that was all about her expressing how it feels to have people bring you down when you’re just trying to be yourself. For someone that young to speak about her experiences openly and honestly, was a true inspiration to be around. She is doing amazing things and it has been a pleasure to watch her grow! 

Any plans for a tour on the cards?

Well I will be embarking on a trip up north along the east coast for a few months later this year to do a deep dive into my Torres Strait Islander culture and heritage. 

I’ve always wanted to learn more about our language, songs and dance. ‘Disconnected’ has the traditional ‘Warup’ drum throughout the track and is the foundation for a lot of my music, but I want to start incorporating more of these elements into my songwriting.

Whilst I’m on the road though, I will be doing a few pop up shows along the East Coast, so keep an eye out on my socials to find out where I’ll be performing.