Why Ngaiire Travelled To PNG For Inspiration On Her New Album

She’s taking some time out at her family home, relaxed, confident and prepared to talk about her whirlwind career so far. “I haven’t had a holiday for a while so I thought I’d start the year right,” Ngaiire says, priming herself in a less windswept spot to talk. “I’m actually returning to visit family, on a little island north, spending some time here.”

A holiday in such a wonderfully tropical environment is an excellent chance for the vocalist to prepare her energy reserves as she gears up for an extensive round of festivals, including a headline slot at Goat Island Sounds on Australia Day, where she’ll share a stage with the likes of Nina Las Vegas and Basenji.

“I mean, it’s always nice to be considered good enough to headline a festival, so you know, it’s just going to be kind of what I’ll do at other festivals this year,” Ngaiire says. “It’s a beautiful island – me and Nina Las Vegas went out and checked it out, and I think it’s gonna be a good one. Hopefully the sun stays out for the whole event.”

Ngaiire’s performances are always electric, and if her standout set at Splendour In The Grass 2016 is anything to go by, or even just the excitement with which she speaks, her Goat Island set will reach new heights. Though she is working on new material, she says she’s unlikely to unveil anything new at this gig.

“I’ll definitely be bringing material from both albums to the set, until we get the new album sounding like songs. We’ll start editing that throughout the year, but for now, we’ll be playing songs people have been loving off last year’s album [Blastoma], but definitely songs from Lamentations as well.”

Ngaiire oozes confidence as she speaks, surprisingly clear and concise with no hint of an overseas accent – there’s a tone in her speech that carries the same edge that can be heard in her music. Ngaiire has toured the world over, played the famous Glastonbury Festival and won a number of esteemed awards, including R&B/Soul Live Act of the Year at Australia’s National Live Music Awards. Such achievements didn’t come naturally, however. Some fans may remember her from her stint on Australian Idol, where Ngaiire got as far as the top 30 – unfortunately, it wasn’t an experience the star particularly relishes.

“I always wanted to do it the traditional way and I wanted to see what it was all about, and I’m glad I didn’t get any further,” she says. “It was a bit of a weird thing and I’d only just moved to Australia at that time and I was adjusting to being in a different country, especially a Western country, and then to be thrown in front a camera in front of all of Australia… it was really daunting. It’s TV, they want a story and to make good television, and you end up like you’re feeling you’re being used, and I don’t think it’s natural to play with people’s emotions like that.”

Though Australia is her adopted home and where she launched her career, Ngaiire still maintains close ties with her home country and her family. Her personal history is something she’ll address on her next record.

“One of the reasons I came back to Papua New Guinea was to do a research trip because the next album is gonna draw on a very PNG aesthetic, very different to the last album,” she explains. “I’m looking to release it later this year.”

Travelling to a different country just to research new material would ordinarily seem like quite a venture, but really, Ngaiire is at home.

“I think it was more to do with the amount of questions people have for me about my background – everyone feels so fascinated about PNG and don’t know much except that it’s Australia’s closest neighbour. People haven’t seen a lot of imagery and interesting things, things that I took for granted growing up as a kid, things people in the world wouldn’t see. I’m really excited to take things about here and put it on the stage and say, proudly, ‘This is where I come from.’ Everyone in the world has the same issues, everyone has jealousy and heartbreak, but this will be different – imagery and film will be tied in with photos and such, and I’m really excited about it.”

Ngaiire’s goal of sharing the beauty of her heritage and her home with audiences is admirable, but it’s a long road to get there. “I’ve got a few festivals coming up but we’ll try not to focus too much on performing,” she says. “We brought my producer of the last album over to PNG last year to see what it’s like so he can work closely with what’s around us, so this year is just about the new album – a lot of creating, a lot of writing.”

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