If we didn’t know any better, we’d say Courtney Barnett and Kevin Parker had some sort of secret meeting on New Year’s Eve and decided to split 2015 evenly between them, because the two absolutely dominated the year.
Barnett in particularly arose as Australia’s biggest breakout success story following the release of her universally acclaimed debut full-length album, Sometimes I Sit And Think, Sometimes I Just Sit.
The string of accolades the album has received continued yesterday when Barnett was awarded the 2015 Australian Music Prize. The highly coveted award includes $30,000 in prize money and was presented during a ceremony at The Basement in Sydney.
“I remember the first time I heard about this award was when The Drones won it for Wait Long By The River,” Barnett told Rolling Stone. “I’ve always thought it seemed like it had more of a focus on the art and the creative side as opposed to the commercial sales side, so as an artist it feels nice having that focus.”
Barnett’s debut album was nominated alongside releases by Tame Impala, Sarah Blasko, Dick Diver, Royal Headache, Gold Class, Dan Kelly, Jess Ribeiro, and Methyl Ethel, several of whom influenced Barnett’s own creative path.
“I’ve been a huge Dan Kelly fan, he was a big inspiration for me when I started writing,” she said. “Sarah Blasko, same, when I was 18 she was one of the first gigs I went to. So it kind of blew my mind to be in that exact bunch of people.”
Barnett even touched on what she might do with the prize money, saying, “I’m not sure, that’s a lot of money for someone who’s never had more than $1000 in their bank for most of my life.”
Thanks The Amp (Australian Music Prize) & PPCA & Henry Rollins for the Australian Album Of The Year Prize ❤️ (photo Rolling Stone Australia)
Posted by courtney barnett onWednesday, March 9, 2016
“I’ve been planning on trying to find a space where I can write and record and paint, but it’s always been a little bit out of my realistic range. So maybe something like that would be cool.”
With the album having catapulted Barnett into international recognition, Barnett revealed she hasn’t wasted any time in capitalising on the momentum and is already penning tunes for another album that could be recorded this year.
“I’ve been writing, but I reckon I might record something later in the year,” she told RS. “I feel like making something, not just playing something.”
“I love touring to a degree, I love playing, and it’s a real honour to play your songs for people, but I’m at a stage right now where I feel like making something. Probably an album.”
