How did you get started in the music industry?
I won this radio-station competition when I was 17. My sister sent in a demo tape of one of my songs and it won this competition called Triple J Unearthed. I was away at boarding school and my sister rang me up and said, “My boyfriend and I think you should enter your song in Triple J Unearthed,” and I was, “Triple J what?”
I said, “Sure, if you want to do, it fine.” I totally forgot about it and then I got a call saying I had won. I didn’t realise that it was a big deal and that it would become so huge for me; I thought I had just won some little talent search. The prize for that competition was to get my song on high rotation on the radio station for a couple of months. Two months after that, I signed a record deal with EMI when I was 18.
How important is the Triple J radio station as a platform for Australian musicians?
It’s amazing. You know, I probably wouldn’t have been here if it wasn’t for Triple J. They give exposure to so many amazing artists every single year. Not only do they support Australian artists, but they also unearth new artists. They are nationwide, so they do have a large impact in Australia. Also, they don’t just play slick pop because it is easy to listen to, they play interesting music.
Who would you consider your influences?
When I think of my childhood I always think of my dad playing piano in the house. My brother is a few years older than me and he was into music a long time before I was. He was writing songs and performing in jazz bands a long time before I was; he was a big influence on me.
I used to listen to what my brother and sister listened to. My brother was listening to Kiss and my sister was listening to Mariah Carey; I loved them as well because they did and I thought they must be cool. Then when I realised I was an individual, I started listening to more grungy music and I guess it coincided with my more rebellious stage, when I started smoking and wagging school and getting into trouble. It was a really to escape, my friends and I used to listen to Courtney Love. After that I started listening to jazz. Natalie Cole was the first jazz singer that had an impact on me and then after that Ella Fitzgerald and Nina Simone. Now I am into more singer-songwriter stuff like Gillian Welch and Ryan Adams.
Has the rapid rise to fame been a difficult thing to deal with?
It has been difficult at times because things have got really crazy in Australia because the album has done incredibly well in Australia, better than we could ever have bargained for. It was really hard to fathom at times where I am leading this life where everybody now knows my name and recognises me. It is a strange reality to live in. I was always an observer and quiet. Now all of a sudden I am the centre of attention wherever I go. But I am also extremely lucky with what I get to do.
How did you end up recording your debut album in Los Angeles with producer John Porter?
I listened to a lot of albums and one that stuck out to me was one he produced, Love Is Hell by Ryan Adams. I didn’t know a lot about production so it was a stab in the dark, but I just felt that he put the songs above everything. He put Ryan Adams out the front and let the songs speak for themselves.
When I found him I went to work where he wanted to work. I had never played any of my songs with a band before. I needed musicians and he knew a lot of great musicians. The easiest thing was to work where all the musicians were based.
You recorded your debut in late 2004, so you have been touring and promoting this album for a while. Are you getting frustrated with these songs and want to do some more recording?
I have been at that point for a while. I have had these songs written for a while. I go through different stages of hating certain songs and then really appreciating certain songs, even if they are old. I have a lot of new songs now, so when I play live I like to mix it up. I will probably be recording again in the next few months. I am looking for producers at the moment; I already have all the new songs.
How did you get Josh Cunningham from The Waifs to play with you?
The first band I supported on tour in Australia was The Waifs and I thought he was a really amazing guitarist, but I never imagined I would get to play with him. I was doing my first TV performance and I needed a band. So I got a bass player and drummer that were friends of my bother and I needed a guitarist and a good friend of mine recommended that I ask Josh. It turned out that Waifs were getting pregnant and having babies, so their touring was slowing down, and he could tour with them and with me.
Apparently you played for Australian troops in East Timor?
Triple J put together a tour de force to go play for the troops in East Timor and they chose me to go and play. It was me, Paul Dempsey from Something for Kate, Killing Heidi and a DJ called Groove Terminator. So we went over there and toured all the base camps. It was an amazing experience; East Timor was such a beautiful place. A lot of the times the soldiers were causing mischief like letting off smoke bombs and there were plastic female dummies floating all over the place. They were just really glad to be having a fun night out.
You also played at the Wave Aid concert in Australia to raise money for tsunami victims.
That was really amazing, it was huge. There were 30Â 000 people there, the biggest crowd I have ever played for. I got to share the stage with Australia’s top musicians like Midnight Oil, Silverchair, Powderfinger and Neil and Tim Finn. The general vibe in the air was love and everyone was getting together for a good cause.
What has your first experience of South Africa been like so far?
I have had a great time, we went to a game farm and we played with some little lion cubs and the other day we went to Soweto, which was quite eye-opening. We had a walk down a poor area and got taken inside a house where this woman was cooking dinner for her children. When I say a house it was a tin shack, and it made me look at my own life and realise how lucky I am.
Missy Higgins is playing at the Independent Armchair in Cape Town on July 7 and the Green Dolphin on July 8. Her debut album, The Sound of White, is available now through Gallo Records