Montaigne Q&A
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Montaigne Q&A

Triple j may have unearthed Montaigne into the world, but everything she’s done has been a result of her pure determination to succeed and passion for what she does. Not afraid to be thrown around or share all of herself to her fans, we had a chat with Montaigne about new music and the industry.
Hi Montaigne, thanks for taking the time to chat with Forte. How are you and what are you up to at the moment?
I am very well! As we speak I am sitting in Tony Buchen’s studio at Studios 301 working on songs for the album.
So the ‘Clip My Wings’ tour is a few days in, how is it all going?
Pretty well! My voice wasn’t at 100% health for those first two shows so they definitely weren’t my best but it is now back and I am very excited for the next round.
The clip of the same name is also out and it’s a bit of an unusual one where you’re thrown around a little bit. What was the process like of filming that one?
It was long and physically arduous, but rewarding! I felt like I was in an action movie which was cool, but at the time I had no core strength so it was difficult to pull off some shots. I had to use almost pure mental fortitude in order to get through that 12 hour day. But it was fun! Everyone kept up a positive spirit which made it easy for me to persevere.
The song and clip touches quite a bit on freedom and control, how freeing have you found your pathway to becoming a musician?
Well, I’m not sure if it’s necessarily the actions directed towards becoming a professional singer-songwriter that have led to me being “freed”, which I’m going to define as being an autonomous human being, but rather whatever else happens in my life and relationships. Music has always been a place I feel “free” because it’s emotionally limitless and non-judgemental, but that doesn’t stop other things in my life exerting their force on me. Me becoming autonomous has been a process not totally disparate from music, but not necessarily interwoven with it either.
Coming to fame through digital channels is pretty common these days and it often means so much of you is shared online, how much of yourself are you happy to share with fans on social media and in your music?
I’m pretty happy to share a lot of me. I don’t have a great amount to be ashamed of, or that I feel I should be ashamed of (I’m sure people would express their disagreement with that but um I don’t care).
Singing/music can quite often be a cathartic process for many, what is it for you?
Of course it’s that, and more. It’s entertainment, it’s a mood affecter/determiner, it’s inspiration, it’s a stimulant, an anaesthetic, a blah blah blah it’s pretty much ubiquitous in my life.
We saw that you were possibly going to go down the path of becoming a soccer player, when was the moment where you decided to pursue music?
When I realised that it was actually possible to pursue music! Unearthed high opened me up to the world I’m in now and it took about a year and a half for me to decide absolutely that being in the music industry was my lot in life.
And your mum actually managed you to begin with, how was that dynamic? Was it ever hard to work out the line between ‘mum’ and ‘manager’?
Oh man the line was never worked out. We tried to get other managers almost as soon as I finished high school because it was too difficult for me to function creatively or independently.
Thanks again for taking the time to chat with us, are there any last words of wisdom you’d like to share with our readers?
Don’t be unnecessarily mean or judgemental or negative – can’t deal with people like that. Everyone should be doing their best to make this world a better one.
When & Where: Northcote Social Club, Melbourne – November 6