A Quick Chat With Sage Roadknight
Melbournite Sage Roadknight (she/they) continues to carve out their unique sound with the release of their latest single, 'Wake Up'. At just 18, Sage is already working with highly credible reps in the industry, with ‘Wake Up’ co-produced and mixed by Ricki Rae, known for his work with Taylor Sheridan, Living End, Baby Animals, and Tina Arena. 'Wake Up' is a retro-inspired, synth-infused exploration of late-stage capitalism and class disparity, and with its disco vibes and emotionally charged lyrics, Sage invites listeners to dance, sing, and voice their frustrations about the world's inequalities. We caught up with Sage to find out more about the track, her influences, creative process and more.
Can you tell us what this track means to you and what you want people to take away from it?
From conception, this track was really demanding! I couldn’t stop working on it, the synthesiser just took over my whole world. I write a lot of protest music, and something that's really been on my nerves lately is the massive disparity between the working class and the ultra rich. Why is it that you can work your butt off full time and still struggle to afford the essentials of living, whilst people hoard more money than they could ever spend in a thousand lifetimes? It's insane how much labour is required to afford to simply survive when you aren't in the upper class.
Who are some of the band's influences, and why?
Some of my biggest influences for this song include Nena, MGMT, Empire of the Sun & Daft Punk, I really drew on that euphoric, anthemic vibe that those artists achieve so skilfully.
What's the creative process for the band, from writing through to recording?
Every song is different- Wake Up began as a very rough idea on my phone, the melody came before the lyrics in this case. I already knew what I wanted to write about but it took me some time to find the exact words, so I just went ahead and produced the entire backing track on my laptop. It was a very fun process!
What do you think makes a great song?
I honestly can't pin it down! There are so many elements, it's part of what makes music so amazing; you can have two equally 'great' songs that sound entirely different!
If you could collaborate with any artist, who would it be and why?
Definitely Daft Punk! They're top shelf musicians and producers and I reckon they'd be super fun to work with- plus it would mean getting that duo back together for another song!
When not working on music, what other creative outlet/s do you have?
Art! I do a lot of drawing and animation, which ends up pairing super well with my music.
Who are some local bands we should check out?
I'd definitely recommend Wybie, My Giddy Aunt, and Sadie Mustoe, they are all incredibly skilled musicians!
Winter or summer and why?
Logically I would say Winter because you can always rug up, however, my heart is saying Summer (I can't stand the cold at all, plus something about a Summer morning is so lovely for the soul)
What else do you have planned for 2024?
Enjoy the rest of my gap year! I’m heading to Europe in August and hoping to finish my sophomore album by the years end.
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