For astute lyricist and Paul Kelly aficionado Alex the Astronaut, doing the media rounds in 2022 for sophomore release 'How To Grow A Sunflower Underwater' was like running under water: they had to recount their recent and raw PTSD and ASD diagnoses.
Now, coming off the most fun songwriting year of their life, and having found pride in their neurodiversity, Alex returns to the Waywards in Newtown, where they drank as an 18 year old, for a rare intimate gig as part of the New South Wales Government's Great Southern Nights programme of live music.When Alexandra Lynn, better known by their stage name Alex the Astronaut, burst into the national music stratosphere in 2017 with debut EP 'To Whom It May Concern', their songs were character driven rather than autobiographical, but the abundance of stories they'd managed to collect did reveal something about their personality.
"I'm always the one at the party where people come up to me and tell me things about their lives that I'm just lucky enough to hear. That's been part of telling those stories and those characters," Alex says.
"I think because I'm open to hearing or maybe I ask some inappropriate questions, people tell me personal stories about their lives and I get to know things that maybe I wouldn't get to know if I didn't ask those questions."
Since being diagnosed with ASD a few years ago, though, Alex has begun to piece together her own story, including why she asks questions that others might not ask. "It's funny going through the [diagnosis] process. It was such a good experience for me in the end," Alex says.
"I guess as a young person to have that now in my back pocket of: 'Ok sometimes I'm not that good at talking to people in some situations but this is what I am good at, this is who my friends are, this is what I like to do day-to-day, and this where I manage best.' I don't think that many people get that opportunity to go through their lives like that and figure themselves out."
As she usually does, Alex mapped out how she felt about the diagnosis in lyrics and chords. The product of their diagnosis processing was '...Sunflower''s 'Octopus', with its cost-benefit analysis of: 'I need a little help with little things I didn't notice; sometimes I see things you don't.'
"['Octopus'] was almost a milestone for me with the diagnosis. Initially, I thought with social situations: 'Oh my god, have I been misreading everything and are my friends not really my friends,'" Alex says.
"As I moved along with it, I was like 'this is why I can write songs. This attention to detail, this perspective that I have is different from everyone else's and that's good.'
"Look at all these songs where I've been able to tap into my life and other people's lives and that's been good for the world and maybe if I didn't have ASD, I wouldn't be able to do that."
Like with some of their previous personal anthems, 'Octopus' has led to a raft of disclosures from fans. "It's really interesting because I guess I've released a couple of songs about issues that are very personal to people like 'It's Not Worth Hiding' and 'I Like To Dance' and I've had the honour of hearing people's stories because of these songs," Alex says.
More stories means more songs, so Alex has a spacecraft loaded with precious new tunes, including some out-of-this-world collaborations which are more top secret than Area 51. You might catch a glimpse of an Unidentified Musical Object in Newtown, though.
Alex the Astronaut plays Waylands (Sydney) as part of Great Southern Nights 17 November.
Great Southern Nights 2023 Taster Series Featured Tour Dates
Thu 16 Nov - Beccy Cole @ Riverside Theatre (Parramatta)Fri 17 Nov - Alex The Astronaut @ Waywards (Newtown)
Sat 18 Nov - Dami Im @ Q Theatre (Penrith)* limited tickets remain
Sat 18 Nov - Isabella Manfredi @ The Great Club (Marrickville)
Sat 18 Nov - Tasman Keith @ The Crown Hotel (Parramatta)* free show
Wed 22 Nov - The Temper Trap @ The Factory Theatre (Marrickville)
Fri 24 Nov - Thelma Plum @ Joan Sutherland PAC (Penrith)
Sat 25 Nov - Thy Art Is Murder @ Marrickville Bowling Club (Marrickville)
Sat 25 Nov - 3% @ The Crown Hotel (Parramatta)* free show
Sat 25 Nov - 4ESydney Festival @ Warrick Lane Precinct and Main Street (Blacktown)
