Following on from a successful opening event last Friday, the crew behind the Courtyard Sessions at Sydney’s Seymour Centre are heading in dreamy direction this week, in welcoming the wonderful Iluka to their program! Seeing out 2015 with a memorable spot on the Woodford line up, the Sydney vocalist and songwriter looks ahead to the rest of 2016 refreshed, excited and raring to go. With a new EP reaching final stages of preparation, we can be hearing new material from this lady soon enough but in the meantime, Iluka gives us a brief insight into how the opening months of the year have treated her, and what we can expect from her Courtyard Sessions set.
Iluka performs at the Seymour Centre on February 12th; the event kicks off at 6pm, with the live music continuing until 9pm!
How would you describe your sound?
Cosmic voodoo soul pop.
Who do you cite as inspiration?
The list is endless. Joni, Nina, Ella, Miles, Zappa, Billie, Elvis, Louis, Janis, Stevie, Bowie, Aretha, Marvin, Otis, Sam, Muddy, Curtis, Bo, Booka T, Petty, Dylan, Young, Baez. Lately I have been listening to a lot of gospel and afro-beat. Fela Kuti is my go to right now.
If we were to listen to one song from you / your band, what should it be?
The new EP which will be coming out in the next few months!
What can we expect from your set at the Courtyard Sessions?
Magic, I hope.
If you could program one Australian artist to be a part of an event like this, who would it be and why?
I saw Courtney Barnett at Woodford and she was pretty badass. She didn’t really give a damn. Just did her thing. Rocked out pretty hard and was kind of like, ‘take it or leave it’. I find that attitude really refreshing in this industry.
Fill us in on what you’re up to at the moment…
I’m in the final stages of finishing up this new EP, which I am pretty excited to be getting out there. It’s been a long time coming and I feel really proud of it.
What were the highlights for you and the band in 2015?
Playing Woodford Folk Festival was super rad!
What do you have in store for 2016?
Releasing the new EP at long last! Also the beginnings of a record later in the year. Lots and lots of new material which has been exploding out of my head for a long while now.
How important are events like this to the local scene?
Events like this are critical to the local scene. Quite simply, without them there is no scene. And who wants a world without music?
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For more information on the Courtyard Sessions, visit the official website.
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