There are few bands that you can remember the exact moment you first heard them. You probably can't even remember the first song you heard.
Katy Steele is one of those few, unforgettable voices that sends you right back to the first moment you heard her ethereal, dramatic voice as the frontwoman of Little Birdy. A voice so iconic the words 'relapse' and 'soda' are heard in her voice every time.Forging her solo career in 2010, Steele marked the occasion with a fresh move to New York, where her debut solo album 'Human' was formed and released in 2016.
Following on, she married partner Graham McLuskie (a musician in his own right) and gave birth to two beautiful daughters, settling down in her home town of Perth.
With time on their hands during the pandemic, Steele and McLuskie got to work on the new album 'Big Star' that's due Friday (9 June) with singles 'Come And See Me', 'End Is Near' and 'Feel So Bad' already released, showcasing the album's '80s edge.
"I had plans to go into the studio with a band and record some songs I had written, and do an acoustic record," Steele shares.
"Then Graham and I started collaborating and trying things. He brought his '80s influence, saying 'let's speed it up', like in 'Feel So Bad' it's 180[rpm] or something. I've never done that before.
"He's brought his flavour, and when we started, he wasn't a producer, so he learnt and we became a team of producers and songwriters, and we do all the art direction as well.
"It's been hard, but it's all been very natural. We find what we like, try it, and throw a million things at the wall and see what sticks.
"It's been a long process, and super hard with kids. I get woken up three or four times a night, but this is what I do. Music is more than just a job to me, I've done it my whole life since I was 19."
The lengthy process can be attributed to an endless desire to tinker, as well as the pandemic, but Steele couldn't see herself doing anything else.
"A deadline is always good. That was hard during COVID, not being able to plan anything, and 'oh, where's the deadline?'. You couldn't see it because there wasn't one.
"I've had breaks where I've gone 'I can't do this anymore', and I'll go on Seek to look for a job, and then I never go get one.
"Having kids changed things too, because the best thing you can do as an artist is be a bored artist. Reset your brain and fill up the creative well again. The only time I get to do that is in the middle of the night. It's just about compartmentalising."
Katy will commence her nationwide tour in July, another element with a new dimension now that she has two small children.
"The hardest thing is finding babysitters. But honestly the hardest thing is punters waiting until the last minute to buy tickets. Which I totally understand; the cost of living is just crazy. It's just hard for artists to plan.
"It's funny because you spend months planning a tour, and then there's the travel time, and soundcheck, and all the waiting around for the one and a half hours of absolute heaven, because it's so enjoyable to be onstage.
"It's the best feeling in the world and you don't want it to end. That's the best part."
Steele was recently Double J's artist in residence, handpicking songs that have shaped the journey of her life into four episodes. "It was really heavy emotionally, in a good way, but also in a distracting way because I was so busy with everything.
"I started down the path of America and that brought back the emotions of being there. It was great going through the Little Birdy period and looking back on those memories quite fondly, remembering what we were inspired by. It's been an honour."
As for the piece of advice that changed her life, Steele embraces the cliché. "It's corny, but try to be yourself. Find what drives you and makes you happy, just be yourself. Could I be any more cliché?"
Steele is certainly far from that, and her 'Big Star' tour will be an unmissable shooting star.
'Big Star' is released 9 June.
Katy Steele 2023 Tour Dates
Fri 7 Jul - Mary's Underground (Sydney)Sat 8 Jul - Heritage Hotel (Wollongong)
Sun 9 Jul - Lizotte's Newcastle
Fri 14 Jul - BBQ & Beer Festival (Adelaide)
Sat 15 Jul - Altar (Hobart)
Thu 27 Jul - Black Bear Lodge (Brisbane)
Fri 28 Jul - Tank Arts Centre (Cairns)
Wed 2 Aug - Ararat Town Hall (Ararat)
Thu 3 Aug - Sooki Lounge (Melbourne)
Fri 4 Aug - The Workers Club (Melbourne)
Sat 5 Aug - The Bridge Hotel (Castlemaine)
Sat 12 Aug - Mojos Bar (Fremantle)
Thu 24 Aug - The River (Margaret River)
Fri 25 Aug - Six Degrees (Albany)
