A Quick Chat with The Kind Hills

If Little Epiphanies had to be described in three words, what would they be?

Martin: Relaxing, optimistic and joyful. I’m sure if we thought about it longer, we’d come up with something more fitting, but that’s what immediately came to mind and I’m sticking with it.

What’s one memory from Perth that instantly takes you back to the time captured in ‘I Love Perth’?

Bea: Well, this is actually a cover of a Pavement B-side. The song came out around the time we were all in Perth, and Pavement even played a gig there back then. But I think most of us were too broke to go. And Bea probably wasn’t even interested anyway. Maybe that’s why we made her sing lead on this one.

What was it like having Roman’s daughter guest on ‘Dance Dance Dance’?

Roman: For everyone else in the band it was business as usual. Her contribution was a request I couldn’t really refuse, and it actually went surprisingly smoothly. Especially once we decided to let Bea record vocals first and have my daughter add hers afterwards. The rough version featured my vocals, and there’s a reason I’m not a singer in this band. It was nearly impossible for her to find the right pitch. Once Bea’s vocals were there, it was plain sailing. But now that the song’s out, I’m apparently not allowed to tell anyone that she’s singing on it. Hopefully she never reads this either.

Which song on the album came together the fastest?

Jess: That’s difficult to say. We usually have a lot of songs floating around at the same time, and different people need to add different bits, so sometimes things take longer simply because someone’s busy. Or lazy. Most songs actually come together pretty quickly. We learned a while ago not to obsess over details too much. Either a song happens naturally, which means quickly, or there’s a good chance it’ll never get finished.

What’s one thing you learned about making music across multiple continents?

Chase: That flexibility is important. If you’re all in the same room you can discuss things endlessly and hopefully end up with something everyone agrees on. We’ve learned to love, or maybe get used to others’ contributions and only redo parts if someone feels very, very strongly about it.

What do you hope listeners take away from Little Epiphanies after hearing songs like ‘I Love Perth’ and ‘Dance Dance Dance’?

Martin: The world is a hectic, loud, challenging and busy place, and I think we just want to add a bit of kindness, calm and optimism to it. Be nice to yourself and be nice to others!