Australian singer Kylie Auldist is no stranger to bright lights and big stages.
As vocalist of funk-soul ensemble The Bamboos, Kylie's toured the world under the leadership of Bamboos frontman Lance Ferguson. But with the release of her fourth, solo record 'Family Tree', Kylie finds herself in the captain's chair for the first time. “I'm nervous, but I wouldn't do it if I didn't find it exciting and stressful,” Kylie says.
“Realistically, this is my first time out on my own and I'm the boss. So usually Lance pays all the bills and does all the work, and all I have to do is tag along. Now I'm the big kid, and it's scary. Also, I'm starting at the bottom again, because I don't have the name of The Bamboos or anything like that behind me; I'm just Kylie Auldist and everyone says 'who?'.
“So I have to start from the bottom again. It's like you're undressing in front of the audience for the first time and it's like 'no, they're going to hate me!'”
Kylie's new album, 'Family Tree', harks a revival of the rich and glamorous sounds of 1970s' soul, funk and disco. Drawing on her own life-long passion for electro funk, and a little help from her friends, Kylie says the album is a much more personal project than some of her other releases. “This is my fourth solo album outside of The Bamboos, but it's a different style of music.
"A lot of the boys in this band are also from The Bamboos, so there's Luke Saunders on keys, and usually I have horns from The Bamboos. So I still feel like everything is ok, but I am nervous about playing new music to people. It's a new story, it's a new style and if people don't like them it's as if they don't like your children, it's very personal.”
The second and latest single to be taken from the new album is the title track, 'Family Tree', which Kylie describes as the transitional piece between the purist and electronic schools of soul and funk, as a way of easing listeners in to the new sound. “That was the first song we wrote for the album and it's the only song on the album that wasn't worked on by Graeme Pogson (drummer, The Bamboos), and I thought we'd use it as a crossover.
“So I didn't want to recreate the wheel and drag people kicking and screaming into a new style too quickly. That's the bridging song for the album, then we get a bit more electro. I have a lot of friends and fans who are very purist when it comes to funk and soul, and they've been so good to me over the years, so I don't want to alienate them. But I did want to go back to my roots; this is where I started listening to and thinking about music, understanding who was playing on what.”
Kylie Auldist Shows
Sat 29 Oct - Wangaratta Jazz FestivalMon 31 Oct - Max Watts (Melbourne)
Thu 3 Nov - The Gov (Adelaide)
Fri 4 Nov - Suttons (Ballarat)
Sun 6 Nov - Bendigo Blues and Roots Festival
Fri 11 Nov - Rosemount Hotel (Perth)
Sat 12 Nov - Odd Fellow (Fremantle)
Sun 13 Nov - 6006 In The Park (Perth)
Thu 17 Nov - Sooki Lounge (Melbourne)
Fri 25 Nov - Queenscliff Music Festival
