Q&A: Evie Irie Is Ready For Her New Musical Era
THE NOTION THAT ‘MUSIC IS LIFE’ RINGS LOUD AND CLEAR for Australian Artist Evie Irie. Music as a facet of self, music as language, understanding and rebellion, weaves its pertinence into the fabric of her artistry, one that finds home in a deeply entrenched desire to share and a lifelong connection to sound. The question of “Who am I?” bears answers that are simultaneously so simple, yet so infinitely complex and at times, no answer finds its way to the forefront of rational thought. Evie finds solace in this unknown, in the idea that life yields pain, beauty, complication, and that this is okay. From a young age, music has been an instrument of self-navigation for Evie, a way to ride the ebbs and flows of growing up. A natural profundity defines her music, where effortlessly, she becomes a voice for youth, embodying the essence of the zeitgeist- unafraid to be afraid, free to search for self.
From her 2019 EP 5 Weeks in LA, to her latest collaboration with Netflix’s film Back to the Outback, Evie has amassed a global fanbase, carving a well-deserved place within a broader pop-punk revival. Now older since her first release, Evie is crafting a new song for her upcoming era of music, kicking things off with an album coming early next year. Her lyricism is rare and transparent, her production eschewed from rigidity and constraint. Working closely with Australia producer Xavier Dunn and Creative Director Farnoz Shay, the team has built worlds, sonic and visual, where introspect is externalised, where micro becomes macro. Her process is candid, sporadic in conception, and this is evident in each track. Shredded whispers and urgent chants, seductive musings and playful commentary are only a slither of Evie’s stylistic range. She subtly subverts conventional pop tropes, embracing a boundless creativity while celebrating a sincerity in growth. Each track feels like a conversation, a diary entry of stray thoughts and messy doodles, touching the hearts, riling the mind, and grasping the perfect balance of needed chaos and calm for her listeners.
Read on as Evie unpacks her artistry, internal landscapes and unreserved thoughts.
LUNA: Could you tell me about your earliest memories of music? What about music personally resonates with you?
IRIE: My memory is really bad but I vividly remember laying under the veil on my bed listening to the most iconic album of all time, the Saddle Club Soundtrack. I felt like I was levitating and buzzing, whilst crying. It was obvious that the six year old me was very very moved by the music. Not much has changed except now I cry on my bed listening to my own music, haha.
LUNA: How has your journey been as an artist, from passion to career?
IRIE: If my journey as an artist had a title it would be “Lucky”. I’ve always had a deep solar connection and love of listening, writing and performing music. I truly don’t know exactly what I did to turn this love into a career. My mother would say that ‘All of the stars aligned’ and all I know is that I put myself out there and I guess fate did the rest.
LUNA: It is clear you have an affinity to music that goes beyond just a love of listening. Things align in strange ways sometimes, for sure. You are at the onset of your career and adulthood. How do these two coincide and how have both been mutually significant?
IRIE: Being at the beginning of my career and adulthood really excites me. Now that I'm coming into my own as a young adult I feel like my music and voice is finding itself too. I'm still young enough where I can say weird, ignorant, cocky lyrics and get away with it, which makes me feel like I have so much space and freedom creatively to explore and express myself in this amazing and strange period of my life.
LUNA: What is it like being back home after visiting New York? I know you’ve traveled a lot, particularly in your recent years. How has this influenced your artistry and developed your music-making and creativity?
IRIE: To be completely honest I love food so much and all I did in New York was eat everything, anywhere and everywhere. This just made me want to write about food, especially candy, which is my love and obsession. To be honest I’ve traveled a lot for as long as I’ve known, so it's really just my normal and what I'm comfortable and used to. When I couldn’t travel it was so hard, but it slowed the pace of my life down, which really let me have a solid time understanding myself, all of my flaws and all my accomplishments which helped me develop as a human and therefore in my art.
LUNA:Your music explores the nuances of growing up. There is this profound vulnerability to your music, as you share moments of frustrations, passions, reflection, angst, boredom and exhilaration. How has music served as a source of storytelling for you?
IRIE: When I was living in Nashville I learnt that the art of songwriting was storytelling, which is so true and valuable and something that I attempt to master. Coming into myself as a young adult and as an artist, I’ve grown from the perspective of my songwriting being observational to now being insanely personal. It's easier to write about other people and make it sound like it’s you, than it is to really understand yourself and write about that honestly. I love the space that I am in creatively because I don’t feel like I am holding anything back, especially with this new era of music that is coming up.
LUNA: Would you say the purpose of your music is to express your inner psyche, the ins and outs of feeling and thinking?
IRIE: It's so extremely personal and playful, and that comfortability and trust in yourself while writing also is reflected not just by the lyrics but tone and vocal delivery, and all the new music is filled to the max with all of the personality and my heart and soul. So to answer your question, yes definitely, 1000%. The purpose of my music is to express my inner psyche. It took a while to get to that honest place but yes!
LUNA: What is your musical process? How do you construct and execute your ideas?
IRIE: Making music is such a simple, effortless process for me. I don’t think. I just do what naturally and instinctually feels right in that exact moment. I try not to change whatever I’ve created after the first day that it's done. The dream as an artist is to find your perfect collaborator and I'm so lucky that in the last 4 months I’ve found and been working with the most freakishly talented human, alien cat man, Xavier Dunn. The world has brought us together to fuck shit up and thats what we do.
LUNA: What is your approach to your lyricism? Your words are so unapologetic and genuine. What sparks these ideas?
IRIE: Xavier pushes me and inspires me to say and sing the wildest things. He has helped me find the sonic and emotional world that we landed on. And again, the process is so easy and just pours out of us whenever we are together and we write, because it shouldn’t be hard or overthought, if it's the right person, and this goes with everything in life- it should just work. That’s on period haha.
LUNA: Your sound is quite diverse and you draw from punk rock, pop and indie influences. Some of your unreleased tracks delve into really interesting dance realms, which is incredible. You play with genre and sound with a boldness that is effortless. What music are you personally drawn to?
IRIE: I think a lot of my inspiration comes from very angsty, teenage, punk influence, and also Australian music.
LUNA: How has your artistry grown as you have? I love the sense of unhibitance to it, it is wildly unhinged and paradoxically, also deeply emotional. You sing with a rawness, but also explore this visceral rebellion inherent yet hidden to so many of us- a lovely lovely reflection of being.
IRIE: My artistry has grown so much in the last few months, while I’ve been creating this new body of work that I'm dropping next year. It has been a true expression of the unhinged version of myself that I’ve grown into, and there is NO holding back. When I reflect on the music I dropped at the start of my career, I appreciate it as part of my journey and story but I know I was still trying to find a voice and myself as this young girl who was thrown into this vicious industry. I love that it's there to look back and see the growth and be able to be proud of myself then and now.
LUNA: Your lyricism is very thoughtful, you’ve never been afraid to be lyrically direct. Where does that confidence come from, have you always possessed this fearlessness in your expression?
IRIE: Writing music is such a vulnerable thing to do, so there’s no way not to be fearless in the expression. But being real and opening up like that is the magical addicting part of writing music because you put all these hurt, broken humans in a room and it's just hours of bonding and mending wounds together. And maybe if it gets released into the world it can heal people too.
LUNA: It’s truly incredible that you are so young, yet grasp the music thing so well. What drives you and keeps you grounded throughout this journey and industry?
IRIE: My insecurities keep me grounded. And as much as I get appreciated and loved by fans I also get so defeated by this industry and my own judgment as well. So they balance each other out.
LUNA: It seems your listeners, me included, are drawn to how honest your music is as a reflection of personal journey when in touch with so many external things. As an artist, what do you hope your listeners pull from your music?
IRIE: I would give the advice to have fun. That's what I try to do in every part of my life because I know having fun brings me joy and happiness that’s in my control. Alsom most things in life feel like bigger issues than they really are, so if you can stop giving so much of a shit about most things and simplify your life as much as possible, you will be winning. Options make things complicated and complication gives me anxiety. Just getting rid of all of that means I can live peacefully and joyfully. I don’t let other people and a want of validation control your happiness.
LUNA: What are some enduring memories you carry with you, personally or musically?
IRIE: I love when I played my first show in my hometown Sydney, I was told by my tour manager I wasn’t allowed to stage dive. In the middle of my set I made eye contact with my sister in the audience and I just went for it. I never ever ever regretted doing it, in fact I would do it again. That was a little teaser of me starting to rebel and now I'm just a full rebellious monster catching up on lost time as a teen.
LUNA: Are there any specific tracks that you hold particularly dear to you?
IRIE: The energy I’m walking into 2022 is this: ‘I’m not sorry for fucking up, being tall, making more money than ya’ll. I’m not sorry for being so FUCKN HOT! Wish you were with me but you're NOT.’
This is me quoting my own lyrics from my next single, it speaks for itself.
LUNA: You are such a great live performer, your energy is naturally captivating. What is your dream location to perform?
IRIE: I would love to play at American Airlines arena in Miami Florida. There is this boy I know who always talks about playing there one day and I’d love to play there before him just to get on his nerves haha!
LUNA: Who are some names you’d love to collaborate with?
IRIE: I would love to collaborate with Remi Wolf, Roy Blair, Dominic Fike, Willow Smith, Charlie XCX, Lil Nas X, Doja Cat of course, and Gwen Stefani in the No Doubt era.
LUNA: How has 2021 been for you? Has stagnancy been a difficult thing to navigate? •
IRIE: I’m such a lazy person so there was a big part of me that really secretly loved 2021 and being in and out of lockdown. It was very confusing and obviously like most of us, I struggled really badly with my mental health. I was so uninspired for the longest time. Music brings me eighty percent of my joy, so I found that I was a sad girl because I wasn’t writing or performing. It made me have to find a new outlet to let out my emotions and express myself.
LUNA:I think the year has yielded a lot of lessons, maybe more important in the present than we realized at the time, for sure. Is there anything you’ve learnt that has propelled you?
IRIE: As much as I love expressing myself through music, when you lack inspiration but still have all these bottled up emotions that you know no other way to let them by writing and performing you end up suppressing a lot of emotions until you can figure your shit out another way. Thank the lord I sort of did with the help of therapy, and a lot of writing in a diary. When I did this, all of these breakthroughs started happening. Then I became inspired again with all these realisations mixed in. With my incredible producer Xavier in the picture, everything has been surely amazing and the music too much to handle! I’m really so excited I could burst!
LUNA: I think a lot of momentum has been building itself up for the New Year. What is upcoming for you?
IRIE: I am currently so close to finishing the most iconic album ever, almost as iconic as the Saddle Club Soundtrack. I am looking forward to playing that album everywhere and anywhere around the world.
LUNA: How exciting! How do you hope your artistry develops in this New Year?
IRIE: I'm so ready for people to fall in love with this new era of Evie Irie that is about to come. I can’t wait to dominate my shit and go crazy at my shows with kids like me who just want to let go, have fun and mosh.
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