Missy Higgins grateful for The Sound as she reveals more about her new single When The Machine Starts
Missy Higgins has revealed more about her new single which is a love letter to her hometown and “a post-it note” to her future self.
Music
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Missy Higgins was one of tens of thousands of Australians who welcomed live music back to Sunday evenings in July.
It had been more than three decades since Countdown was appointment TV viewing for music fans, keen to check out the new videos from local and international artists in the era before MTV and then the internet made them available 24/7.
So the surprise arrival of The Sound, featuring artists performing their latest releases, was a panacea for the Australian music industry smashed by the pandemic shutdown of concerts, festivals and live music venues.
“I just love the show,” Higgins tells The BINGE Guide. “It has been a real lifeline for Australian musicians who have been releasing new stuff and have felt like all the channels for promoting it have gone. Having something like The Sound has been a gift … it’s such a quality show.
The first season of six episodes showcased a dizzying line-up of fresh and familiar faces. Viewers were introduced to Benee, Sycco, Eves Karydas and Gordi, while household names including James Reyne, Paul Kelly, Kylie Minogue, Amy Shark, Guy Sebastian and Nick Cave shared their latest tunes.
One of the standout weekly segments was the “tribute” which featured a clutch of artists performing classics by The Divinyls, Billy Thorpe and the Aztecs and the Easybeats.
The Sound returned for a second season last weekend, shining a spotlight on teen soul pop sensation Ruel and Midnight Oil’s comeback to the airwaves with First Nation, featuring Jessica Mauboy and rapper Tasman Keith.
As it aired last Sunday evening, Higgins was walking through the streets of Melbourne to the iconic Flinders Street Station, filming her performance of new single, When The Machine Starts – a love letter to her home town and “a post-it note to my future self: ‘Don’t forget the good things you learnt.’”
Higgins says those lessons include being present with her husband Dan and their son Sammy and daughter Luna; maintaining connections with neighbours and the community; and not to overcrowd her schedule with work, but instead always embrace mum dancing.
She busts out some excellent mum moves in the video for When The Machine Starts, albeit they are choreographed by award-winning dancer Stephanie Lake.
“I love dancing. My friends and I just getting into the margaritas and doing ridiculous dances because it’s the perfect way to express joy,” she says. “I have really enjoyed embracing my sillier side as I’ve gotten older.”
The chart-topping singer and songwriter isn’t sure she will be able to replicate them for The Sound shoot.
“I don’t know if I could sing and do them at the same time,” she says, laughing.
While restrictions have been lifted in Victoria, border closers and quarantine measures prevented Higgins from assembling her usual players for the performance.
“We had a special permit to film in the CBD and end up in front of Flinders Street Station, which is the Melbourne equivalent of playing in front of the Opera House.”
While other music shows – such as the chaotic 90s Saturday morning show Recovery, the long-running clip institution Rage, Rock Arena, Video Hits, The Loop, the short-lived series The Set and pay-TV music channels such as V and Max – had their moment over the past four decades, the opportunity for Australian artists to perform live on television has been reduced to breakfast and morning shows in recent years.
When Music From The Home Front, his musical gift to a locked-down nation drew more than 1.4 million viewers on a Saturday night in April, promoter and producer, Michael Gudinski decided it was time to stop yelling at networks to put live music back on television and make his own show.
Within weeks, he had corralled the artists, managers and labels and convinced ABC to take a chance on the program.
His Mushroom Vision crew – and other staffers from the Frontier Touring arm of his business, who were out of work because of the concert shutdown – were marshalled quickly; working around the clock to shoot performances in recording studios, empty theatres, concert halls and on rooftops.
The first series aired in the awkward timeslot of 5.30pm, up against football matches and the news bulletins. Its second season has moved to 6pm, with a repeat on Saturdays at 1.30pm.
Gudinski said The Sound found a strong audience with young parents, whose days of festivals and weekly gigs may be over but who wanted to share a music discovery experience with their children.
“Contemporary music is now the leading modern art form. From people using it at gyms, in supermarkets, listening to playlists for their mental health, new works for little kids, it’s everywhere,” he explains.
“The most important thing about this show for me was its diversity, that it wasn’t specifically about or for any one age group.”
There is evidence it has already had an effect on the wider music industry and fans.
Rising pop star Eves Karydas gained commercial radio airplay for her new single ‘Complicated’ after her performance on The Sound last season.
Gudinski hopes it serves to push new music onto the commercial airwaves of radio and television as the ARIA chart continues to show how poorly new songs from Australian artists are supported compared to international artists.
Only five songs have held sway in the ARIA top 50 singles in recent weeks, from Tones and I’s Dance Monkey, which has been in the chart for 18 months, to Keith Urban and P!nk’s new duet One Too Many.
“We had this fight with TV and radio 30 years ago and now, we are going to have to do it again,” he said.
“Coming out of COVID, the one thing we know is we will have Australian artists back in the spotlight because international acts won’t be able to come here before the second half of next year when borders are opened again.”
This week’s episode, with a nod to NAIDOC week celebrations, will also feature powerhouse rapper Briggs and festival favourites Ocean Alley.
But Higgins’ performance of When The Machine Starts will serve as a reminder, that even as more gigs are allowed and fans come together to celebrate, to not take any of it for granted.
“This has been a chance to reassess. What am I doing right now that’s not really making my heart sing? What do I want to take with me out of this moment and what do I want to leave behind?” she ponders.
* The Sound, 6pm, ABC and streaming on iView.
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Originally published as Missy Higgins grateful for The Sound as she reveals more about her new single When The Machine Starts