Kate Miller-Heidke

Artist Information

Biography

Fearless. That was the word that kept coming up when Australian singer/songwriter Kate Miller-Heidke was dreaming up her sophomore record (and US debut) Curiouser. Fun was another one. The fact that she dared to dream either while her 2007 Australian debut Little Eve was still ringing loud and clear suggests a couple more F-words. Forward. And Fast.

She had a tough act to follow. After a trilogy of EPs in her home country from ’04 to ’06 – “Telegram”, “Comikaze” and “Circular Breathing” – Little Eve burst onto the scene to land in the upper reaches of the ARIA charts and earned the singer a host of accolades. The album went Gold and clocked up four ARIA nominations.

“We had no songs,” she says. “What we had was a huge burst of inspiration. We went into this album with a vision. We mapped out how we wanted it to sound; the aesthetic, the spirit of it. Experimental, hooky, unashamedly pop . . . we wanted to exploit everything that's unique about my music.”

“We” includes Kate’s partner in life and music, husband/guitarist/collaborator Keir Nuttall.

Radiating a newfound sense of mutual certainty, Curiouser immediately struck a chord with fans and critics when it was released in Australia in October 2008. In addition to a swag of glowing reviews, the album earned itself another F-word: the First album of Miller-Heidke’s to be certified Platinum, go to #1 on the ARIA charts and #1 on the iTunes chart. Curiouser dominated the Top 10 on the iTunes album chart for two months and spent two weeks at #1.
The record also received multiple nominations at the 2009 ARIA awards. The US version of Curiouser includes two bonus tracks which are crowd favorites: “Words”, which was the 2007 ARIA nominated Breakthrough Single from her Australian debut record Little Eve; and the viral smash "Are You F*#king Kidding Me (Facebook Song)", which has had the Twitterati buzzing since it first appeared on YouTube.

Ultimately, it’s the wonderfully unselfconscious yet accomplished songwriting that takes both Curiouser and Miller-Heidke to the next level. Remarkably, it’s also the first time she’s opened herself up to co-writing – here, working closely with Nuttall – and the results are inspiring.

"Songwriting was always too personal and I felt too self-conscious to collaborate," Kate says. "But after a certain point, I just lost my inhibitions. We got into a groove where we bring out the best of each other. These songs are better than anything we'd written individually before."

Recording with Los Angeles producer Mickey Petralia (Beck, Peaches, eels, Dandy Warhols), who had the right mix of humour, enthusiasm and weird old electronic stuff to offer the new tunes, Miller-Heidke, Nuttall, bassist Ben McCarthy and drummer Steve Pope spent two months crafting Curiouser. With his strict 4pm to 4am shifts (with no days off), Petralia's studio wizardry turned out to be the perfect galvanising force for Miller-Heidke’s and and Nuttall’s carefully detailed home demos.
“To me,” she says, “it sounds like a modern album, a forward-looking album.” To everyone else, however, it sounds like one of the best Australian records in recent memory – a set embraced by an enthusiastic audience and one lauded with critical acclaim.

“Caught In The Crowd”, which is the first single from the record in the US, is a double-fisted tug of heartstrings between the gently tootling texture of the music and the recognizably real story of lingering childhood regret. With this song, Kate and her collaborator Keir Nuttall made history as the first Australians to win the Grand Prize in the prestigious International Songwriting Competition (based in Nashville). The song was handpicked from more than 17,000 entries to woo judges including Tom Waits, The Shins’ James Mercer, The Cure’s Robert Smith, Neil Finn and The Kinks’ Ray Davis. The song shines with heart and soul – something indicative of Curiouser, even in its most fun and playful moments.

"Songs had to either have heart and emotion, or have a sense of fun or wit about them. If a song didn't meet either of those criteria it was out,” says Miller-Heidke.

Another track from Curiouser, the emotionally-charged “The Last Day On Earth”, went double platinum in Australia and was one of the biggest hits of 2009. It is a beautifully compelling piece, which perfectly captures the indestructible power of love in the most fragile and finite surrounds. The song has nearly a million views on YouTube and went to #1 on the Australian charts.

Building on the unique vocal and performance dynamics learnt through early operatic training and a love of musical theatre, Miller-Heidke’s live shows are as affecting, fun and memorable as her songs. She and her band have performed hundreds of shows in Australia in recent years, and Kate is now renowned for being one of Australia’s finest live performers. A recipient of the Helpmann Award for Best Contemporary Concert, Miller-Heidke is now right at home on stage in large rooms filled with her ever-growing hoard of devotees.

Miller-Heidke’s shows are distinctly unforgettable and she’s making significant inroads abroad, thanks in part to the wildfire enthusiasm of fans on the internet for her viral hit, “Are You F**king Kidding Me? (Facebook Song)” and she has played to large audiences in the UK, Spain, New Caledonia and Cambodia. In Fall ’09 she toured the US as special guest of Ben Folds, garnered rave reviews and received standing ovations every night. In addition, in September ‘09, she made the long journey to Nepal to lend her voice to fight against human trafficking and she performed as part of the "MTV Exit Concert", an event to raise awareness on trafficking, the second largest illegal trade in the world.

This Spring/Summer, to support the US release of Curiouser, Kate returns to North America to embark on an extensive tour which will include performances at SXSW, Coachella, with Ben Folds, select Lilith Fair dates and Canada Music Week.

“Mickey thought Curiouser was a noun, something that made you more curious,” Miller-Heidke says. “That's what made up my mind about the title. Wouldn’t it be great if people listened to this album and it made them curiouser?”

For additional information and press materials, please visit:

www.katemiller-heidke.com

##
For additional information on Kate Miller-Heidke and her US debut release Curiouser, please contact Jocelynn Loebl at Howlin' Wuelf Media at 917-523-8881 or at Jocylibs@yahoo.com.

Instrumentation

Kate Miller-Heidke - Vocals / Keyboard
Keir Nuttall - Guitar / Backing Vocals
Nicole Brophy - Acoustic Guitar/Backing Vocals
Ben McCarthy - Bass / Backing Vocals
Steve Pope - Drums

Discography

"Curiouser" (Sony Music) released March 16th 2010 in N Amercia debuted #8 in the Australian chart. The first Australian single "Can't Shake It' has received high rotation commercial radio airplay on the NOVA network and went Top #30 in the singles chart. The third single 'Last Day On Earth' is currently at #3 on the singles charts and the album sits at #15 in the album charts 10 months after its initial release. The album has sold platinum in Australia.

"Little Eve" (SonyBMG) Debut album released June 2007 (ARIA Album Chart debut #11 Australian Artists Album Chart #3 and iTunes chart #2). Nominated for 5 x ARIA Awards 2007 (Best Female, Best Pop, Best Breakthrough Single - Word, Best Breathrough Album - Little Eve, Best Producer - Magoo)

"Words" (SonyBMG) single (ARIA Singles Chart #33) received commercial & community radio airplay.

"Circular Breathing" (Waterbear/SonyBMG) EP (AIR Independent Chart #3) released April 2006 featured the single "Apartment" which received radio airplay and the track "Out and In" which featured in a Ch7 Greys Anatomy Promo (AUS).

"Telegram" (Ind/MGM) EP released early 2005 featuring the track "Space They Cannot Touch" which received high rotation on community radio, JJJ and ABC Radio.

Links

• HomePage
• Myspace
• Youtube Channel

Audio

• Can't Shake It
  Listen  
• Caught in the Crowd
  Listen  
• Words
  Listen  
• Space They Cannot Touch
  Listen  

Lyrics

• Caught in the Crowd

Video

Caught In The Crowd

Photo Gallery

Press

• LIVE REVIEW [+ Show ]
  

  KATE MILLER-HEIDKE The New Yorker’s Sasha Frere-Jones raved about “Curiouser” and wrote, “I got l...KATE MILLER-HEIDKE
  
  The New Yorker’s Sasha Frere-Jones raved about “Curiouser” and wrote, “I got lucky last week and found a gem in the pile: ‘Curiouser’… if your favorite American pop star is coming across slightly washed out, you will want to hear Miller-Heidke. ‘Curiouser’ is a big clutch of Pantone swatches. “
  
  Cody Miller from Popmatters.com proclaimed, “In a world that so desperately needs a legitimate heir to the crown once worn by the still functioning Cyndi Lauper, Kate Miller-Heidke might prove to be the princess ready to wear the multi-colored garbs. Like Lauper, Miller-Heidke seems to be able to rest comfortably in a pop song while at the same time taking those clichés and making them her own. Producers Mickey Petrali and Keir Nuttall provide slick production with enough eccentricities to match the texture of Kate’s detailed and idiosyncratic narratives, resulting in some top of the line pop music. If radio stations and listeners are smart, they’ll embrace Miller-Heidke in the way they should have embraced Robin and Annie. Needless to say, Kate has done her part.”
  
  
  The LA Weekly wrote, “…Miller-Heidke splits the (considerable) distance between Katy Perry and Kate Bush.”
  
  Michael Eck of the Albany Times Union reviewed Kate’s 10/7 show and said, “Miller-Heidke…dazzled with her set. It’s time for her to be a star over here, as well.”
  
  Wildy’s World Blog raved, “Miller-Heidke strives to make music that makes the listener feel something. Kate Miller-Heidke is part post-modern Punk/Folk poet and part Flapper showgirl on EP….she has a magical touch that can't be ignored. She writes close enough to the popular realm to be accepted by it, but is too much her own to ever be a Pop artist. Miller-Heidke's songs show intelligence, wit and a fiercely imaginative and creative nature that isn't going to go away. EP should inspire a lot of interest in the forthcoming North American release of Curiouser. In the mean time, it is an inspired introduction to an artist who might just turn out to be one of those once-in-a-generation talents. Don't miss it.”
  
  Brag Magazine
  
  I’m going to be unorthodox, in the true vicarious spirit of music journalism, and start this review of Kate Miller-Heidke’s show at The Metro on Friday night in reverse order. In fact, I don’t think I’m even going to waste valuable page space on her support act.
  
  There a few reasons for such a move, the most pertinent being that Kate completely blew me out of the water, and thus deserves the premier spot.
  
  For the uninitiated, KMH is a classically trained opera singer who recently decided to ditch her theatre roots and graduate to the school of rock. I, amongst the packed out house on Friday, am very glad that she made that decision.
  
  To say that Miller-Heidke has an astounding voice is a gross understatement and does not even chip at the iceberg of her talent. With a pure tone and multi-octave range, it’s safe to say that there’s probably very few people on this earth quite like her. The fact that such a strong vibrato can emanate from such a diminutive character (she was literally dwarfed by her band on stage) is a miracle in itself.
  
  Showcasing tracks from her newly released album and critically acclaimed debut Little Eve, Kate owned every square inch of the stage leaving the audience utterly enthralled.
  
  Songs like Mama are instant classics, while other cuts made for some truly spectacular moments, like when Kate held a single note for what seemed like ten minutes. And when she broke out a completely fresh interpretation of Britney Spears’ Toxic, the crowd couldn’t believe what they were hearing. Substituting operatic grandeur for the synthesized strings of the original, Kate completely owned the song and far surpassed the power-pop aspirations of the original.
  
  Miller-Heidke was warm and bubbly, telling jokes to the crowd that were actually funny and engaging in light banter between songs.
  
  Kate Miller-Heidke really should be a super mega-star in the coming years. Her uncanny talent and warm nature will hopefully propel her into the stratosphere where she belongs! See her now, before she starts selling out stadiums!!
  
  
  

Setlist

60 - 90 mins of original music featuring tracks across all her recordings PLUS a twist with some comic delivery, delightful story telling and a surprising cover arrangement. (Eg Brittney Spears "Toxic" or Talking Heads "Psycho Killer".

Basic Requirements

Calendar