Kimbra and Janelle Monae prep their Golden Electric Australian tour

TAKE a Kiwi indie-pop princess and add one of the brightest sparks in futuristic R&B. Kimbra and Janelle Monae’s Golden Electric tour will be very special indeed.

Gotye and Kimbra collect ALL THE GRAMMYS at the 2013 Grammy Awards. Picture: AFP PHOTO

IT’S being billed as the Australian tour of the year, and it’s hard to disagree.

Take Kiwi alt-pop queen Kimbra and American R&B maverick Janelle Monae. Combine the two for a handful of co-headlining dates around Australia, with their full bands in tow, and you’ve got The Golden Electric Tour, a show that will see the pair perform their own hits and much-loved covers, solo and as a duo.

We caught up with Kimbra to find out about this international friendship, the legacy of her massive Gotye hit, and how she’s beating difficult second album syndrome.

Q. The Golden Electric tour with Janelle Monae kicks off this week. How did the whole collaboration come about?

A. We met at the Montreux Jazz Festival, and I was so excited to meet her — I’d followed her career for a long time. We met up in a dressing room backstage and just really bonded. We share a lot of values about the way we want to present our music and connect with our fans.

I think we both want to not take the typical route in terms of what makes a woman beautiful or special — we both want to portray some new ideas about that female ideal, and we both want to push pop music to new areas.

We were good friends, texting back and forth, and occasionally talking about working together. Then this tour came about, and it felt like the perfect way to share our friendship with our fans and put on an exciting show.

Q. The teaser video for the tour was a real treat, with the two of you rocking an MJ/Aretha mashup. Can we expect more moments like that during the tour?

A. I don’t even know what to expect! We’ll be doing a set each of our own stuff, but for the third set, I’m really excited that it’s a bit up in the air. We’ll keep it spontaneous and get a chance to show off some songs we love. It’ll be a big party on stage.

Q. So your new single 90s Music is addictive — it’s also pretty bizarre!

A. I’ve got a bizarre brain to be honest — that’s what it sounds like in there. I really like the idea of unlikely sound worlds coming together, and 90s Music started off as this really fun little song that I kept in my back pocket for a while. I was interested in clashing a real bubblegum sound with something quite heavy and angular-sounding. Sweet and sour!

Q. You namecheck a few 90s greats in the song — TLC, Mary J Blige, Aaliyah. How important were those acts to you growing up?

A. Things like 90s R&B were a huge influence on me growing up. Even artists like Michael Jackson or Prince — the first work I really heard of them was their 90s stuff, before I worked my way back. It’s music I connect with childhood, so I wanted the song to have a real youthful, celebratory energy to it.

Q. Your biggest song to date has been the Gotye duet, Somebody That I Used To Know. What’s your relationship to the song now?

A. If I hear it nowadays, I have a really nice affection for it. I get transported back to that crazy time in my life, and remember what a whirlwind it took me on. It was a fun ride, but it feels like a lifetime ago to be honest, because I’ve been so head-down with this new record. For Wally [DeBacker, aka Gotye] I’m sure it’s the same — we talk on email regularly, and I know we both hold a very sentimental place for what that song did around the world.

Gotye and Kimbra collect ALL THE GRAMMYS at the 2013 Grammy Awards. Picture: AFP PHOTO

Q. Gotye, Janelle, other duets with John Legend and Miami Horror — it seems you’ve been really open to collaboration through your career.

A. Well, it pushes you and it challenges you. Even if you hate it and it doesn’t work, it makes you think differently and fight harder for the things you believe in as a musician. None of these collaborations have come about because someone said I should do it — it’s come about because I’ve approached people and said, ‘Dude, I love your music!’

What excites me is getting people from one musical world and putting them in the room with me to see what we come up with.

Q. Your second album’s due later in the year — is 90s Music indicative of the sound?

A. It was the very last song added to the album — the record was done and I still had it in my back pocket. At the last minute, I pulled it out again and thought, ‘This is still really fun.’

I’ve worked between two strong energies on this record: one is of chaos and bizarre sounds, and the other is very contemplative, still and stripped. I do often dabble with layered, complex music, but there’s a side to the new album that’s very stripped-back too.

Janelle Monáe with Kimbra: The Golden Electric Tour

The Forum, Melbourne — Saturday May 17

Sydney Opera House — Monday May 19

Brisbane Convention Centre — Wednesday May 21

The Plenary, Melbourne — Monday May 26

Tickets and info through LiveNation.

Originally published as Kimbra and Janelle Monae prep their Golden Electric Australian tour