Ali Barter, a self-proclaimed “Queenslander at heart” and known for songs like 'Girlie Bits', will be gracing the stage at Sea N Sound Festival on the Sunshine Coast.
Ali began her singing career young. “I started singing really young; my earliest memories at school were music class and that was the first thing I liked at school – singing.
“I was in a choir for ten years from the ages of eight to seventeen and I was classically trained, so I did all of the exams and boring stuff. I've been singing forever,” Ali says.
With the goal to become a musician, Ali put her faith in persistence and kept grinding away at her craft. “I started writing my own songs and going to open-mic nights a couple nights a week and singing my terrible songs.
“Then I eventually put some stuff up on YouTube, and then a friend knew a producer and he asked me if I wanted to record an EP, and I was like 'I don't even know what an EP is'.
“So I didn't have a plan; I kept writing and kept being in places that other musicians were. Then someone asked if I wanted to record and I was like 'Cool, I guess that's the next step?'. And then I put that up on triple j Unearthed... So that's kind of where it's gone for me,” Ali explains.
Ali describes her sound as 'grunge pop'; she's heavily influenced by '90s grunge, but also includes pop because that's what she grew up with. The result is a fun, high-energy sound.
However, a lot of her songs have a deeper meaning or at least can be interpreted that way. “I wouldn't call my music political, and even though my song 'Girlie Bits' became political I'm not massively political myself.
“I am really interested in people and behaviour, including my own behaviour... I've gone through a bunch of stuff in my life that makes me look at myself or other people around me and question things.
“So I'm writing a lot about stuff I've been through or my mistakes or feelings I have that I don't know how to deal with maturely. I think that's why I love songwriters like Courtney Love, because they wrote about stuff that I was thinking about and it made me feel less alone. For me, my songs are so personal.”
With a national tour and a new album part of her 2019 plans, Ali says she is more grateful than ever for the little things in her life.
“I just did a three-show tour supporting Liz Phair, which was amazing because I'm such a massive fan. I played solo and I really enjoyed performing like that because it's so intimate and I can really tell the story rather than just singing along to a big sound.
“I also [managed] to meet an idol and talk about songwriting with her. I've done bigger things, but the more I play music, it's more the little things that really stay with me,” Ali says.
