Pop music is littered with artists who’ve found equal or even greater success outside of their home country. For Australian singer / songwriter Kim Churchill, Canada is such a place; he is signed to a Canadian label, Indica, recorded his latest album Detail of Distance in Vancouver, and continues to build a wide audience between our shores.

As we learned in this interview our country helped inspire the music in many different ways. We spoke with Churchill about his writing process, life on the road, and how surfing can make you a better person.  

In recording Detail of Distance did you use local Vancouver musicians?

Yeah. Live, I’m a solo artist. I’ve never played with a band. The whole thing is almost an experiment, because [being alone] I can really go wherever I want with the music. When it came to the record we wanted to separate [the instruments] so we could hone in on the details. And we brought in a string quartet to play on a few songs, and a local session drummer called Juice – the poor guy had to imitate my feet. All I do is kick - snare - kick - snare, the most basic thing. But we got the most out of the drum sounds. All of that gave me more space in my head to focus on the song itself.

Can you read music? I ask because you’re among the more technically skilled musicians I’ve met.

I grew up playing classical guitar and there was some reading and writing involved but it didn’t really interest me. In Australia classical guitar advances through grades, passed with an exam. At a higher grade you need a certain amount of theory backing you up, so I did a bit of it growing up but haven’t tried in a long time. I didn’t have to notate for the string players, they just asked for a demo of the song a week before and got it in two takes.

How, then, do you “write” a song?

Some songs start with a chord pattern on the guitar and I’ll write the lyrics on top of that. Or I can start with the lyrics and write a melody over them, either way. The best moments come when neither lyrics nor melody need to be sacrificed for the sake of one another.

It would seem to me that the second way, starting with lyrics, would be much more difficult.

Yeah, it’s probably more of a tax on the melody to fit the lyrics than [vice versa]. But I’m happiest when both can be what they are.

What did you find yourself writing about a lot, lyrically?

Distance came up a lot, of course the album is called Detail of Distance. I finished high school in 2008 and there was a lot of transitional growth after that, leaving an intimate world. I bought a camper van, hit the road, toured around. Got thrown way into the deep end of that quickly. Now there’s enough distance from that to see things more clearly, to have a better understanding of my [new] life. A lot of songs were written about that: places and things that are now much farther away.

My first record was written when I was 19, just out of high school. Making it was like cleaning the blackboard. With that came a lot of empty [mental] space so naturally my touring life filled that up a bit, inspired a lot of ideas.

Interesting that you’ve found success in Canada aside from Australia; both countries are filled with distance.

Yeah, we’ve got a lotta nothing. There’s lots of town and localities off the map, but I’d say Canada has more nooks and crannies, stuff going on [in isolated places].



The video for “Seasons Grind” was filmed in B.C., correct?

Vancouver Island, yeah. It was all done in two days. The label actually decided to use it as a single, I’m not sure I would have. I don’t think it’s an accurate representation of the album, but every track’s so different maybe there shouldn’t have been a single at all!

The song is about drawing similarities between the weather and people’s shifting personalities. Everyday, both can be different, and you have to deal with it. Especially coming from Australia where a lot of activity is done outside. I’m sure Canada is similar even though it gets so bloody cold sometimes. But you’ve got hockey!

What outdoor activities / sports are unique to Australia?

AFA, Australian rules football. A specific kind of game. Surfing is massive. Few places in the world have surfing so intertwined with their culture. Cricket is massive too, though I didn’t really like it.

Are you still an avid surfer?

Yeah, and we wanted to capture that in the video. It’s one of the only sports that is completely weather-dependent. If the weather’s not right there’s just no way to surf. You have to learn to receive whatever you’re given that day.

It teaches you to accept the inevitable?

Yeah. It’s all about letting go – you have no control over the waves. I imagine it’s a bit like hockey. Surfing kids are just so passionate they want to do it every second. If the weather was horrible we’d watch surfing videos but then you’d just get more keen to go out.

Does it give you the same mental space that traveling does? It would appear to require great concentration but probably not after you’ve developed your skill.

That’s very true. There’s nothing more relaxing than being on the ocean waiting for a wave. If it’s not coming it can put you in a very introspective place, like driving along the prairies. It’s a brilliant state of mind for songwriting.

Related: Kim Churchill Live @ TORO