Melbourne’s Kilns are a slick bunch of musicians whose profile has been steadily rising over the last few years thanks to their stunning array of tunes.
If you’ve had your finger on the pulse of the Aussie music scene over the last few years, then the chances are good you might have heard of Kilns.
Having released a handful of amazing tracks, and supported big names like British India, the quartet recently shared their debut album, You Can Bet Your House On Me.
A record that focuses on human relationships and anxiety, vocalist and guitarist Mickey Cooper described the album as “a document of an eighteen-month period of our evolution as individual people, as a group of friends, and as a band”, and is arguably one of the finest releases you’ll hear this year.
With a bunch of shows under their belt for this year, and 2020 shaping up to be another exciting chapter in an already exciting career, we had a chat to Mickey Cooper to learn more about Kilns and their stunning music.
Check out ‘Alka Seltzer’ by Kilns:
How did your artist name come about?
We are named after the forgotten tobacco kilns of Myrtleford. None of us are smokers but James comes from a long line of tobacco farmers.
How would you describe your music to your grandma?
I’d probably tell her we sounded like her favourite singer (Broadway star Michael Crawford) just to make her proud.
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Tell us about a few tracks; their titles and what they’re about?
‘Alka Seltzer’ is currently my favourite song on the album which is about searching for solutions in solutions. ‘Pinky Finger’ is a song about obsession, anxiety, hallucinations, and the capacity for the brain to turn against itself in a myriad of ways.
‘Go Slowly’ is partly a dreamy story about following a stingray out into the ocean, partly a song about refiguring relationships. The last song on the album, ‘Risk’, is actually about my Grandma. Regrettably it sounds nothing like Michael Crawford.
What do you love about your hometown?
I grew up in Montrose at the bottom of Mount Dandenong. It’s a very slow moving suburb and I love that about it. It still looks exactly the same is it did in 1996. You can’t get a good coffee. It had a Video Ezy up until only very recently. When the sun sets on the mountain it glows orange, and that’s very beautiful.
Career highlight so far?
Releasing our album on the same day as playing to a sold-out Gershwin room at the Espy. Also Dave recently got a significant discount off of our Uber Eats order at rehearsal because they forgot to include sauce.
Check out ‘Pinky Finger’ by Kilns:
Favourite non-music hobby?
Me: Noticing how people living on the south side of Melbourne rarely wear socks
Davey: Telling us about how he got his number plates stolen
Sam: Taking over the Spotify queue at weddings
James: Having a fructose intolerance
What’s on your dream rider?
Corn chips, hummus and coca-cola OR Hot chips, tomato sauce, and plunger coffee.
Dream music collab?
Neil Finn.
Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
Hopefully fulfilling my lifelong dream of running a Christmas tree farm and still playing music with my friends.
What’s your go-to Karaoke song?
‘Heaven’ by Bryan Adams.
Check out ‘Go Slowly’ by Kilns:
