Australian country icon Kasey Chambers last week released her 12th studio album, ‘Campfire'.
Kasey explains the special inspiration behind the record as a memento to her childhood growing up in the Australian outback. “I feel really lucky with the lifestyle I had,” she says.
“We literally lived around this campfire; our dad hunted our food, which our mum cooked on the campfire. We did our schooling and created our entertainment around the campfire. It was a fairly important part of my life, hence the album title.”
Joining Kasey to record the album is her band The Fireside Disciples, which consists of three of her favourite musicians: Brandon Dodd, who has toured the world with Kasey; Alan Pilgrim, a long-time family friend and Indigenous elder from Broome, WA (from the renowned band The Pigram Brothers); and her father Bill Chambers.
Kasey has created a beautiful story within the album, opening with lead single ‘The Campfire Song’. “Usually on my records, I have what I refer to as the glue song that holds the album together, and that song is ‘The Campfire Song’ for me and usually I want that to be the first song I want people to hear.”
The single sets the tone for the entire album creating a unique and raw musical journey Kasey tells through her stories of places, people, cultures and sound.
The album finishes with a beautiful, acoustic number ‘Happy’ featuring The Little Pilgrims.
At the end of the track Kasey has included the chorus of ‘The Campfire Song’, which makes the album feel complete while also adding quite a personal touch. “It’s actually the recording of the Chambers family sitting around singing to my nana the night before she passed away recently.
“I used that recording of my dad, his brothers and sisters and the family; it was just such a beautiful send off to her, and she was a lot of the reason that we lived the lifestyle we did. That song was very much inspired by the Chambers family and just seemed fitting to use at the end of the record.”
This is an album Kasey has wanted to create her whole life, explaining that it wasn’t until a gig last year that she had a moment where she didn’t want to forget what made her who she is today. “It’s the quickest that I have ever written a record in my life.
“It just fell out of me all these songs. I was like 'this is where I’m supposed to be and who I’m supposed to be'.”
Kasey also had the honour to finally work with American country star Emmylou Harris on the track ‘The Harvest & The Seed’. “She’s one of my biggest influences; we used to sing her songs around the campfire and listen to her music. It is such a thrill to have her apart of this particular record.”
Preparing to embark on a massive Australian tour consisting of almost 40 dates, Kasey wants fans to come along to the gigs and feel like they are sitting around a campfire. Not only will there be singing, there'll also be lots of stories shared from the singer’s childhood.
Fans can also expect Kasey to perform songs off her older records like ‘The Captain’ and ‘Barricades & Brickwalls'.
