New Zealand-born singer Kimbra's voice might sound familiar -- she was featured on Australian singer-songwriter Gotye's "Somebody That I Used to Know," now the third-best selling Australian single of all time.
But she's also making tracks of her own, with her American debut, Vows, debuting at #14 upon its May release, and her April show at the Troubadour selling out in 45 seconds. Tomorrow and Friday she's performing at the Fonda Theater. We spoke with her about big labels, big collaborations, and tampons.
Hopefully not too many people think you're Australian because of the Gotye collab. Who else well-known comes from New Zealand?There's a band called Unknown Mortal Orchestra; there's a lot of acts that you might not know but they're making it famous. It's a very small country and it's very far away so it's natural for a lot of people to move into a bigger market once they've kind of exhausted the local venues and radio stations.
Speaking of a bigger market, when you came to America you signed with a pretty big label, Warner. As someone who has a lot of creative input into your music, was signing with a big label nerve-racking for you?
Totally, yeah. Up until the signing, I had made the whole record independently with my manager... and, like you said, had kind of set out my direction so it was a nerve-racking thing because I was letting in a team of people who have a reputation, sometimes, to shift and change that agenda. But I've been very lucky, to be honest, and at the end of the day people can say what they want about big labels but they're still all just people, and if you find the right people that connect with your vision [you'll be fine] ... I think if I can manage to stand my ground, I'll be OK (...)
Totally, yeah. Up until the signing, I had made the whole record independently with my manager... and, like you said, had kind of set out my direction so it was a nerve-racking thing because I was letting in a team of people who have a reputation, sometimes, to shift and change that agenda. But I've been very lucky, to be honest, and at the end of the day people can say what they want about big labels but they're still all just people, and if you find the right people that connect with your vision [you'll be fine] ... I think if I can manage to stand my ground, I'll be OK (...)