Brisbane indie pop artist Lili Kendall has announced the release of her new single, ‘Moonlight’, which kicks off a project that will see Lili release an original song each month before dropping her debut full-length album at the end of 2014.
Who is Lili Kendall... A 17-year-old Brisbane singer/ songwriter, I started writing music when I was 11, travelling to the States when I was 13 and go there regularly now. My management, Monroe Management and mentor, Cameron Jaymes, who I write with frequently and also produces my song are based there. I am in my last year of high school, and attend an alternative music school (Music Industry College).
I sound like... I would like to say that I sound like myself but that is a little boring. A lot of people describe my voice as “having the pipes of Adele with a twist of Rihanna”. My music and songwriting is influenced by my mentors and even artists that I look up to, my influences always change, at the moment they are Sia, Sam Smith, Justin Timberlake and Tove Lo to name a few.
My first gig was… I started vocal lessons with my coach Sharon Rowntree when I was 12 and a week after I began them she had a Christmas show for her students. I had never been more terrified in my life and I remember walking out on stage and tripping a little, I could barely hold the mic because I was shaking so much.
When did you settle on your stage name... I am ‘Lilian’ and hate it! I have always gone by Lili and it felt right to use it as my stage name as well.
In the studio I usually... Eat Lays potato chips 24/ 7 and write with Cam as well as listening to him talk non-stop about the LA Dodgers.
The LA DodgersIf I could tour with anyone... The person that I would choose to tour with, without hesitation, has completely different music to me. I admire Matt Corby, he has such great artistry and I have even got my American friends a little hooked on him!
Matt CorbySocial media is... Really important to me. I try to post daily as much as possible as I feel like interacting with the people that are there to support me deserve to see what I am doing to create new music for them as well as who I am as a person.
To date, my most embarrassing moment was the time... Falling down multiple flights of stairs, which involved turning a corner. (How Lili?)
Life on the road can be... Interesting! From bad accommodation to made up games that involve getting the band to play a pop-up show outside a hotel, it always brings many laughs.
If you’ll have me on your bill, all I ask is that my rider contains... Nothing too outrageous, maybe a couple of exotic animals and unlimited Ben and Jerry’s.
The most scary scenario I've found myself in, was... I went on a trip to China with my parents when I was younger, and when we landed at the airport we had to drive four hours to the village we were staying in. It ended up being a 15-hour car trip as we drove into the middle of a typhoon. Limited water, mud slides, fallen trees and at one point our crazy driver got out in torrential winds and rain to take a quick toilet break on the side of the read, of course with the protection of his pocket umbrella (nice). What celebrity would you love to be your spokesperson... Queen Bey, she doesn’t need further explanation.
‘Moonlight’ is available now.
