We talked to some of our wonderful members after the National Aborigianl & Torres Strait Islander Music Office (NATSIMO)'s signature collaborative songwriting program RESONATE in April this year. Four songwriters joined us after the event to chat about how they got into music, the nature of collaborative songwriting, and some general songwriting tips.
Hear from:
Head to our tips section for more useful songwriting tips and information.
Candice Lorrae
Advice: just keep creating, you never know what people are going to think so just put your music out into the world.
Collaborations: when writing collaboratively, you can incorporate a stronger meaning into songs, and gain assurances that what you're doing works well.
Musical story: music has been a dream since hearing Whitney Houston as a child.
Marcus Corowa
Advice: be open and brave, have belief in yourself and your thoughts, and just let the music flow out.
Collaborations: enjoy meeting and working with different people who have different experiences, gifts and skills.
Musical Story: it's interesting what songs resonate with you and your audience: Take a Walk In My Country by Troy Cassar-Daley.
Jem Cassar-Daley
Advice: don't set any limits or boundaries on who you collaborate with. It's a great experience to get your music out there even though you might feel vulnerable.
Collaborations: it's great working with different people because you never know what to expect and the writing style is always different depending on who you work with.
Musical Story: 480 voice memos on her phone of little songwriting notes!
Cloe Terare
Advice: just keep creating - get it down, share it around, get feedback and don't worry - if it sticks, it sticks.
Collaborations: getting different perspectives from many different areas - dream collab is Doja Cat.
Musical Story: grandfather was an early musical influence - went to singing contents and karaoke bars as a child.