Oz You Like It

Miller-Heidke has recorded O Vertigo!,her fourth album independently,after having recorded with Sony previously. “This is going to be my first independent album,and it’s very exciting. It means more freedom to do things on my own time,and to choose the people I want to work with,” says Miller-Heidke,who broke records by raising funds for the album through crowdfunding within three days. “The response was overwhelming,I didn’t expect it to go so well. It’s going to be exciting,to make an album knowing there’s an audience who wants to hear it,” she says.

Miller-Heidke’s first EP, Telegram,was also independently recorded and released,although she says that it feels quite different this time round. “Telegram was when I was starting out. Now it feels likeI am taking control of my destiny,” she says. O Vertigo!,which she says should be ready by March next year,will be different from her last album Nighflight. “The last album was quite dark and cinematic. This record is going to have breezy pop songs about love and joy,and will be more straightforward,” she says.

Miller-Heidke has been applauded for her soaring vocals and unusual lyrics,which set them apart from other pop songs. The song Caught in the crowd made her and her husband and co-songwriter Keir Nuttall,the first Australians to win the International Songwriting Competition in 2008.

Telling the story of a girl who remembers watching a boy being bullied in school and regrets not having done anything about it,the song went on to become an anthem of sorts for an anti-bullying campaign in several schools. “I listened to a lot of folksy music growing up and I love the way that music can tell a story and talk about characters rather than just be about how I feel,” she says.

The two continue to write songs together and also perform live. Apart from their performance at Aussie BBQ on Thursday,psychedelic-pop act Her Geronimo,glitch hop and bass performer Spoonbill and audiovisual electronic artiste Sampology will also perform.