Steven Clifford tells Noise11 about working with Kimbra and Bertie Blackman on The Hello Morning’s debut.
The Hello Morning - Image By Ros O'Gorman
While The Hello Morning has been a developing concern for years, when it came to creating their debut, self-titled album, the band went all out. Not only is it evident in the deep, lush sound of their alt-country epics, but the critics have noticed too and praised them lavishly.
Part of the fullness of the sound can be attributed to the many guests, which include Australian chateueses Kimbra and Bertie Blackman.
Clifford chuckles about the idea that sharing he same management as Blackman and Kimbra means they have an obligation to appear on each other’s albums.
“We met and we all got along,” he says, “I always catch up with Bertie and check out her gigs and have done a little bit of recording with her in the past. She’s really great. She’s so genuine in what she does. It’s very individual.”
Blackman appeared on ‘Drive You Home’, and Clifford had an idea “of Emmy-Lou Harris kind of singing, a high, sweet accompanying vocal part, and she just took it somewhere completely different.”
He smiles, “Don’t argue with Bertie. That’s what the song sounds like.”
On the other hand, Kimbra took much more of a supporting role on ‘Bright Lights’.
“She’s so flexible that she can do either,” Clifford explains, “She could put twenty of her vocals on it and do something huge and epic, but it probably wouldn’t really suit our band. But at the same time she can do a really beautiful, solid take of something that’s quite unique.”
Check out the whole interview below about the making of the acclaimed album.
