A laugh as bright as Christmas bells, a friendliness as warm as a Spring morning, and when she sings, a voice as cutting as a knife on bread but as welcome as a hug from a friend – what’s not to love about Alice Ivy?
It’s been quite the year for the Melbourne electronic producer. Every post on her social media is either thanks to her audience after one show, or an announcement for yet another. Since the release of her debut I’m Dreaming in February Ivy hasn’t stopped, and she’s loving every minute of it. “I love it so much, I love being on the road,” Ivy says. “I kinda go a little crazy if I’m at home too long.
“I released my debut album this year, I’ve been on non-stop support and headline tours, I went to the States a couple of times, and yeah, I’m the kind of person who wants to take on everything and do as much as I can!”
Her growing success has meant Ivy can now work in music full-time so her approach to how she conducts herself is a very healthy all or nothing attitude. “I can’t stop!” she laughs. Ultimately Ivy will see out this year the way she saw it in, with touring – a run of shows in Tasmania, on the bill at Beyond The Valley festival – at this velocity, is Ivy not concerned she’ll burn out, or is she just riding that wave of love for craft and it’s seeing her through? Ivy admits, “It can be pretty tough.
“When you’re on tour it’s the biggest adrenaline rush, go, go, go, then the burning and crashing is those days at home.”
To crash and burn takes a lot for Ivy, a strong and happy person, who has the support of great friends and great fans to add to that rush of passion we hear in her amazingly soulful, electro and experimental music. When she’s travelled around the world Ivy has been a rolling stone gathering moss in terms of the artists and new collaborators she creates music with. Playing many shows is one thing, but networking and meeting like-minded people has complemented her work and influenced what she might do in future. “In my opinion, collaborations are the best way to get better as an artist,” she says. “You’re thrown into a room with someone and it’s like okay cool, eight hours to write a song which is the most personal thing. The hardest part about going into a collaboration is how personal it gets.
“It’s the best way to get better at what you do – they’re bringing their best skills to the table, you’re bringing yours, you learn different things, you pick up so much. Either it works out or doesn’t but it’s totally cool because you’ve made a friend in the industry, and those are experiences I’ll remember for the rest of my life.”
Life for Ivy right now is one massive learning curve and one she seems to be enjoying. “I feel like that’s an important thing – keep going! Just keep going! Don’t think about your own mark, think about what you can do to be a better person, a better artist.”
Alicy Ivy will be heading to this year’s Beyond The Valley taking place from the 28th of December 2018, through to the very early hours of January 1st 2019 at Lardner Park, Lardner – just 90 mins drive outside Melbourne.
Tickets are now sold out but via you can purchase valid second-hand tickets from their official ticket resale platform Tixel.
Written by Anna Rose