With the release of her debut LP next month, Montaigne has announced her 'Because I Love You' national tour this September to celebrate.
Before the tour, however, Montaigne was set to play last month's Splendour In The Grass using the pre-tour show as a way to warm up before hitting the road to experiment with some ideas for the live show. “I have plans brewing. I have a lot of theatrical ideas but nothing is concrete at the moment,” Montaigne says.
Her newest album, ‘Glorious Heights’, is to be released 5 August, and has been a long time coming after a string of successful pop hits including recent singles ‘Clip My Wings’ and ‘In The Dark’. Montaigne is eager to see it finally released. “I’ve had it in my pocket for a long time and I’m just ready for it to be out.”
‘Glorious Heights’ is an album that explores everything from dental hygiene to high school romance, but is largely based on Montaigne’s personal experiences over the last year. “It’s largely about last year, my 2015,” she says.
“2015 was really turbulent for me. My first, serious relationship ended. I had conflict with a few people close to me. There was not much stability in my life at that time.”
With influences from the likes of Arcade Fire, Everything Everything and Depeche Mode, ‘Glorious Heights’ illustrates that nostalgic '80s sound Montaigne has been influenced by. “It sounds very '80s and its inspirations are from Arcade Fire, St Vincent and Owen Pallett. So I think the songs all sound very different from each other.”
Montaigne’s rise to success may have been short, but there's been a whole lot of performing thrown in playing opening slots for Boy & Bear and Megan Washington, as well as playing sold-out arenas with Hilltop Hoods earlier this year. So there’s no doubt she’s looking forward to her headlining national tour. “I’ve actually headlined three national tours before. I still don’t feel like I’m a black belt just yet. I have a lot of work to do and experience to get to that point, but I will,” she says.
Between now and embarking on tour, Montaigne has a lot to look forward to with the release of her new album and plenty of work to be done. “[I’ll] just be perfecting my set. Lots and lots of promo and organising a video game stream,” she explains. “I think this will be the most fun tour yet. It’s going to be like a grand quest, and what we’ll be questing for is les frissons which come with live performance. It’s going to be so nerdy and great!”
‘Glorious Heights’ is to be released 5 August.
Montaigne Tour Dates
Tue 13 Sep - The Spiegeltent (Brisbane)Fri 16 Sep - Toowoomba Carnival Of Flowers
Fri 23 Sep - Fat Controller (Adelaide)
Sat 24 Sep - Jack Rabbit Slims (Perth)
Fri 30 Sep - Caloundra Music Festival (Sunshine Coast)
Sat 1 Oct - Greenhills Centre (Canberra)
Sun 2 Oct - Cassegrain Winery (Port Macquarie)
Mon 3 Oct - Kings Beach Park (Sunshine Coast)
Fri 7 Oct - University of Wollongong Uni Bar
Sat 8 Oct - Oxford Art Factory (Sydney)
Sun 9 Oct - Lizotte (Newcastle)
Fri 14 Oct - Workers Club (Geelong)
Sat 15 Oct - Corner Hotel (Melbourne)
