BIGSOUND 2019 is gearing up to be one of the festival's biggest years yet! Let us take a peek behind the purple curtain and learn more about some of the up and coming artists soon to be featured on all of your playlists. First up: Adelaide native Alana Jagt.
Where are you from?
I live in Adelaide and have been based there for nearly 10 years now, but I was born in Whyalla and raised in both Whyalla and Napperby, in South Australia’s Iron Triangle and Mid North Flinders Ranges districts respectively.
Who makes up Alana Jagt?
Alana Jagt, Luke Eygenraam, Tyler Venter, Ryan Hutcheson, Aaron Nash (Tom Kneebone not attending)
How would you describe your sound in three words?
Electric Folk Rock
Who would you consider your three biggest influences?
This is a hard question whose answer changes all the time, and I really can’t give a solid three.
I grew up in a household which had music playing constantly ranging from folk/blues acts like Harry Belafonte, Odetta, Fats Domino, and then pop like The Beatles, Split Enz, and Fleetwood Mac as well. Being exposed to so much music at that time in my life makes those artists collectively influence # 1. Even if it’s not an active influence today.
More specifically, a few years ago I discovered American duo Ween and their uncanny ability to turn pretty much any genre on its head. Their song craft is superb and yet they don't take themselves too seriously. My set usually includes a Ween cover so they are an influence, probably less in song writing style and more in the mentality of creating and having fun with it, and not taking myself too seriously too. I recently acquired an old drum machine so we’ll see where that leads.
Paul McCartney would have to be up there, albums like RAM and McCartney 1 and 2 I always revisit. I’ve spent a lot of my life listening to those albums.
Looking forward I’m drawing on inspiration from the creativity and song writing of incredible women like Aldous Harding, Brittany Howard, Stevie Nicks, Bjork, Kate Bush, all those folk-rock/pop powerhouses.
I’m also right into Australian music, listening habits include; Julia Jacklin, Tropical Fuckstorm, Ainslie Wills, and I think you’re influenced by whatever you’re listening to at the time to be honest!
So there’s 5 of my main collective influences!
What made you want to play Bigsound?
Bigsound is the ideal showcase opportunity in Australia, so many great acts have showcased there so just to be included in that prestigious list is motivation enough. But also, being from SA it can be a bit isolating as it’s so far away from any other major centre, it’s particularly far from the East Coast, so Bigsound gives this great opportunity to meet other bands and artists who are at a similar career level that we can maybe play with in future. Also meeting new industry and being amongst all of that is obviously a huge factor as well. The whole band is really looking forward to every aspect of the experience.
What element of your music or live act are you most looking forward to sharing with the crowd at Bigsound?
I am really lucky to have an amazing set of musicians in my band, and performing with them is a pleasure no matter the gig.
I’m a very ‘live’ artist. I test everything I write in a live environment first and my audience has really come from building up that live base. I’m so glad I could wrangle almost the entire six of us up to Bigsound because we shine live, and sharing that with people and having fun doing it is really what I’m looking forward to.
Who would be your dream act to open for and tour with?
It kind of depends on the scale we’re talking but I love Aldous Harding so that would be incredible, or maybe Julia Jacklin or Alabama Shakes. I don’t know. On a much bigger scale Fleetwood Mac would be super cool.
What does the next three years hold for you?
I’m hoping more touring, I’ve done a few solo tours but Bigsound is the first time I’ve taken the band anywhere other than Melbourne and regional Victoria. Taking the whole band on the road for interstate shows and hopefully some festivals would be amazing. Maybe some international shows too, who knows!
I’ve got new music lined up for later this year and early 2020 so definitely that, since recording those songs I’ve been writing more as well so I think there will be a pretty consistent flow of release over the next few years.
It’d be nice to accrue a bit of a team as well, right now I’m completely self-managed, self-booked and self-releasing, so that could help me find more time for the creative side. But also I want to find the right people, so I’m not putting pressure on myself in that aspect. For the moment I’m happy being all those things and learning as I go. It provides a very well-rounded look at the ins and outs of the Music Industry!
Catch Alana Jagt at BIGSOUND 2019 3-9 September.
Tickets available here