CAN YOU TELL US A BIT ABOUT YOUR INSPIRATION FOR ALBUM ‘KEEPERS OF THE MORNING’?
The album was born out of the lockdowns of 2021 and my longing for those simpler times, where we could hang, chat freely and enjoy nature with friends.

WHAT ARE YOUR INFLUENCES AND HOW DO THEY AFFECT YOUR SONGWRITING?
I have quite a collection of influences and I do tend to go through stages. With this album I was more inspired by the idea of an album as a collective but also making sure that everything had a different feel to it. I think you can hear a bit of lumineers, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Sticky Fingers, Ben Howard, Xavier Rudd and plenty more in there too.

WHAT’S THE CREATIVE PROCESS LIKE FOR YOU?
For me I built my recording studio with the goal of recording an album straight away. I had a few songs finished but there were quite a few Voice Memo’s that were really rough that I knew I could finish pretty quickly. Once the build was done I recorded the songs that were finished and then had to find the inspiration for lyrics to all the melodies and ideas of the other songs. For me it’s always melody, riffs etc. first and then the lyrics come to fit that.

IF YOU COULD CHANGE SOMETHING ABOUT THE AUSTRALIAN MUSIC INDUSTRY, WHAT WOULD IT BE?
I think the Aussie industry is pretty strong and has a great grass roots feel to it, however for folk artist there tends to be this feeling that it’s not cool so radio play, industry support etc has always been a real slog for us. It would be great to have a bit more of a balance with that. I think the amount of folk artist selling tickets is a key that the industry is missing out on something there.

WHAT DO YOU THINK LIFE WOULD BE LIKE FOR YOU IF YOU DIDN’T HAVE MUSIC AS AN OUTLET?
For me, I’m lucky that I have a few loves. I don’t think I’d ever not have music as an outlet as we as humans can sing whenever we please. If I was pursuing music as a career though I’d probably by a small piece of land and start an organic / permaculture style farm.

WHAT’S YOUR ADVICE TO YOUNG PEOPLE WHO WANT TO MAKE A CAREER FOR THEMSELVES IN THE INDUSTRY?
My big advice would be to be patient, don’t sign your life away. Treat it as a business and don’t over spend when the money isn’t there. Record yourself if you can, learn to do things DIY. You can always have that super produced album further down the track, but it’s hard to start polished and have no where to grow.

WHO’S THE MOST INTERESTING PERSON YOU’VE WORKED WITH/MET?
That’s a hard one, we come across so many people in this industry. I’d actually have to say Ziggy Alberts, we are great friends now but it wasn’t always like that. It took us a while to figure each other out as both of us haver pretty complicated views on the world and love to go in deep into every little thing.

ANY UPCOMING SHOWS?

So many! Just finishing up some shows in UK with The Cat Empire now and going straight over to Europe for 20 odd shows with Ziggy Alberts. Back to UK for festivals and then later in the year I’ll be touring my new album ‘Keepers Of The Morning’ all through Australia.

A Quick Chat with Tay Oskee