Owl Eyes, real name Brooke Addamo, is one of Australia’s fastest rising stars. Building buzz and radio airplay through a string of successful EPs, tours and covers, Owl Eyes has finally released her debut album. Nightswim is a deep, progressive and personal collection of indie synthpop with razor sharp pop instincts. I caught up with Owl Eyes ahead of her national tour, which kicks off in Adelaide on May 4th.
Your tour starts this weekend, doesn’t it? How are you feeling ahead of it ﹣ excited? Nervous?
Yeah, really excited! I’ve got a lot to do this week, but I’m really excited. It’s been really great rehearsing. It’s pretty much all new songs, it’s really fresh and it’s very different to what I’ve done live before.
What can we expect from this tour? What have you got in store for us?
Well there’s definitely new songs, of course. It’s a very synthy set, there are three synths on stage. And we’re gonna throw a special cover in there! It’s definitely a lot more upbeat and fun, I think, this time around.
Tell me a bit more about the cover!
It’s a secret! I can’t tell you yet. But it’s very fun and upbeat and yeah, I can’t wait!
Now, you’ve toured extensively across Australia over the past year or so, you’ve released a string of EPs and singles leading up to your album, Nightswim. How do you think you’ve grown as an artist over the last year?
A lot, yeah! I’ve grown a lot. Since starting the album I’ve been very wary and a little bit sad because it was such a big thing to do, but I just kind of got on with it, and overcame hurdles that I hadn’t before, and it made me very diligent and patient. I’ve grown up a lot in the last two years I think, going from age 20 to 22. For a woman it’s a very maturing stage in life.
Your debut album, Nightswim came out at the end of April ﹣ congratulations! What was the inspiration behind it?
There’s a lot of inspiration behind it. I don’t know! I wanted to be very real. In previous work, I’ve kind of disguised things with metaphors and stories and things like that, and I’m still a big fan of telling stories, but I really wanted to make a document of myself and be a lot more honest. I think I achieved that in a lot of the songs. It’s very nostalgic, especially ‘Nightswim’, and there are songs about falling in love, heartbreak, all the usual things. It’s very special to me because it’s very honest.
I’ve noticed you start a lot of your tours in Adelaide. Are you a fan of our city? Have you had much off-stage experience with Adelaide?
I am a fan! I think everyone’s really lovely. But I haven’t had time to explore Adelaide much to be honest, I’m kind of in and out every time I get there.
What’s next on the agenda? What have you got coming up beyond this tour?
I want to work on another project, maybe another EP or something. There’s talks of going overseas, I’m not too sure yet, I think by the end of the year or the start of next year I’ll get over there. I definitely want to do another single and tour again, but I don’t know! I haven’t thought that far ahead, I’m just really working on this tour.
Owl Eyes will play The Gov, Saturday May 4. Buy tickets here. The album Nightswim is out now.
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