Kim Churchill is an Australian folk, rock, and blues singer, songwriter, and musician
Date/Time: Nov 5 2018, 8:00 pm to 10:00 pm
Langley, Chief Sepass TheatreCost: $25.00
Find tickets: here
Hailing from New South Wales, soft-spoken KIM CHURCHILL seems the archetypal blond, blue-eyed surfer, but his laidback demeanour hides a secret; he’s an extreme risk-taker. Having spent 18 months working on the follow-up to his breakout LP Silence/Win (2014) with release plans in place and promotion offers from around the world, Churchill decided at the last minute to throw it all out and start again. He wrote a second version of the album in one frenetic week, then spent two months piecing together the new recordings with ARIA-winning producer Ian Pritchett in a garage in Western Sydney. The resulting LP, Weight_Falls, is a kaleidoscopic collection that is bound to take both fans and critics by surprise. This album is set apart from his previous releases by its sense of adventure and unpredictability, characterised by chopped-up drum samples, unusual harmonies and moments of disarming lyrical honesty.
Those familiar with Churchill’s radio smash “Window to The Sky”, which reached number 42 in Triple J’s Hottest 100 in 2014, will recognise signature elements in these new recordings: intricate guitar work, intuitive vocal melodies and a wonderful feeling of space and warmth. New single “Second Hand Car” is immediately identifiable as Churchill’s with its retro keys, propulsive guitar line and rousing chant-a-long chorus. On “Heart of You”, Churchill pairs a sinister guitar line with propulsive hand claps before introducing a monstrous chorus that locks in perfectly. Later, on the delicate “Rosemary”, he ruminates on love and death against a guitar/strings backdrop that rises and falls like ocean waves.
If there’s a common thread tying Weight_Falls together, it’s Churchill’s self-belief. Whether he’s blazing through a distorted guitar solo or harmonising with himself over feather-light instrumentation, there’s a sense that this music, this album, is authentic. Ultimately, he hopes, it’s that authenticity that will secure his place as an artist to remember.
“I just want to write music to entertain and to move people and to be the soundtrack to their lives,” he says. “I want to become a figure in the world that helps people see that it's all ok, and the world is what it is – the best and worst parts of it.”
This is his only lower mainland stop on this tour, so get your tickets early to avoid disappointment.
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