Not only is Jennifer Kingwell a delight to chat with – a voice full of character and quick to laugh – but her music is outstanding.
The Melbourne-based songwriter’s debut EP The Lotus Eaters elevated her status among local music aficionados, and fans are now primed for a rather pleasant sense of déjà vu. Teaming up with fellow performer Plum Green for a string of shows across Australia and New Zealand, the Night Terrors tour will see Kingwell unveil an updated release. First though, the pair are making sure they both hit the road in style.
“It’s pretty crazy,” Kingwell laughs. “I’ve done my fair share of foetal-position-curling over the last couple of weeks, what with the tour, getting the EP ready to go, as well as all of these other projects starting to creep forward. But it is very exciting. I’m just trying to keep focused on when Plum and I actually hit the road. That will be a great feeling.”
Theirs is a partnership that has been some years in the making. Although their backgrounds are quite different, in other ways the two have evolved into each other’s musical counterpart, and something like the Night Terrors tour has been at the back of their minds for an age. The real surprise is that they haven’t already set out to conquer their respective countries.
“Plum moved here [from New Zealand] about three years ago and we met very soon after,” Kingwell explains. “So we’ve been very good friends ever since. Prior to heading off on tour, we just finished a residency at the Wesley Anne [in Melbourne] to kind of test out the material, see what works, what wouldn’t work – try and shape the show into a really beautiful evening of sharing stories and songs, working on covers, gradually incorporating more of each other into our work. It ended up being a really beautiful run of shows, so we’re looking forward to taking that energy with us around Australia.”
Of course, this wonderful friendship could yet go the way of the Hindenburg. One aspect of this tour is the chance for fans to see Kingwell and Green reinterpret each other’s material, taking a song and completely reworking it into an entirely new beast. Thus far, there has been a happy absence of flames and despair.
“When the other person is sitting there right opposite you onstage while you interpret their music, it can be kind of nerve-wracking. But luckily so far we’ve both really loved each other’s interpretations. I think that’s why this has already resonated with people who came to the residency, and why we’re so excited to be taking on this project with each other.
“I love and admire Plum so much as a songwriter and a performer, and it’s such an honour to kind of get inside her head and work on her material in a completely different way. We’re very complementary I think, and so far our interpretations have been very different from the original. Mostly Plum is guitar-based, and I’m piano-based, so they’ve been quite strong departures from the original, while keeping the same intent and intensity.”
Both Kingwell and Green also had the enviable pleasure of supporting the inimitable Amanda Palmer on her Australian dates (and if this wasn’t enough, Palmer’s husband Neil Gaiman also cameos on The Lotus Eaters). Such a support is a remarkable step in each of their careers, but observing Palmer in action was perhaps the most beneficial facet.
“I learned a lot from supporting Amanda,” Kingwell says. “In some ways, it was like a really fantastic apprenticeship. Seeing her incredible work ethic, seeing her incredible connection to her fans, which is 100 per cent authentic. She really taught me about valuing the people who support you and support your music, because that’s a relationship like any other. Like your family, or with your lover or best friends. It’s an incredibly important one to nurture, and that’s probably the main thing I’ve taken away from that.”
Jennifer Kingwell performs atThe Newsagency, along with Plum Green, onThursday January 28. The Lotus Eaters (The Night Terrors Tour Edition)is out Friday January 15 independently.
