Vika & Linda have spent more than four decades singing other people’s stories. On their new album Where Do You Come From, due on 5 June 2026, they have turned the spotlight inward and delivered what may be the most revealing work of their career.
by Paul Cashmere
After more than 40 years as one of Australia’s most respected vocal partnerships, Vika and Linda Bull are preparing to release what they describe as their most personal collection of songs to date. Where Do You Come From, arriving on 5 June 2026, explores themes of identity, family, motherhood, ancestry, grief and menopause, with the sisters drawing directly from experiences that shaped their lives.
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The album marks a significant point in the duo’s long recording history because original material has only occasionally sat at the centre of their catalogue. Vika and Linda built much of their reputation through collaborations and live work, contributing vocals to projects with some of Australia’s most significant artists while also developing their own acclaimed body of work.
The shift toward more personal songwriting emerged following the release of their memoir No Bull. During a recent conversation with Noise11, the sisters said the process of writing the book created a pathway that eventually led to the album.
“That was the springboard for the album,” Linda said. “We knew that any book that’s interesting is where people are completely honest and truthful about where they are in that point in their lives.”
The writing process itself became unexpectedly revealing. The sisters worked independently, without sharing their chapters with one another. It was only after the editor reviewed the material that they realised both had been revisiting the same memories and experiences.
“That’s the strange twin thing,” Vika said. “It triggered a lot of childhood memories and the honesty gene was burning strong, so let’s just keep it going.”
The title track ultimately became the emotional and thematic centre of the record. Linda had already begun working with Mark Seymour after co-writing Waiting On The Kid for Seymour’s album The Boxer. That collaboration opened another creative door. Vika then wrote lyrics that addressed identity, childhood experiences and questions surrounding belonging.
The song also revisits difficult memories from her childhood, including being teased and repeatedly asked where she “really” came from.
“It was a memory that came flooding back,” Vika said. “I had to have that conversation with Mum and Dad. Why was I being called that name? Why was I being teased? They had to explain racism and I didn’t understand.”
Those themes sit within a broader conversation that has existed in Australia for decades around identity and multiculturalism. Vika and Linda’s own experience came through growing up in a mixed culture household with a Tongan mother and Australian father.
Linda said their experience was ultimately one of enrichment.
“What multiculturalism does is breathe new life into a community,” she said. “They bring so many wonderful things with them that we all have benefited from.”
The record moves well beyond identity alone. Songs tackle motherhood, ageing and personal change, subjects that have traditionally been less visible within mainstream songwriting.
Waiting On The Kid emerged from Linda’s experience as a single parent and her relationship with her children, while I Hit Pause confronted Vika’s experience with menopause and the emotional impact surrounding that period of her life.
“It was a cry for help really,” Vika said of the song. “It was a tough time in my life.”
The willingness to explore those subjects reflects a broader shift in songwriting among established artists, many of whom increasingly draw from lived experience rather than returning to familiar themes. For Vika and Linda, the decision appears to be less about reinvention and more about recognising where they are in life and in their careers.
“We’ve been singing for over 40 years now,” Vika said. “We’ve got great stories to tell and we want to sing about them. We’ve got a voice and we’ve got to use it.”
The album’s release on 5 June will also lead into an extensive Australian touring schedule where the sisters expect to perform a significant portion of the new material alongside long-established favourites from their catalogue. It also arrives after a period of renewed visibility for the pair following appearances alongside Crowded House and upcoming dates with Split Enz.
After decades of singing in harmony with others, Where Do You Come From may represent the moment Vika and Linda placed their own voices at the centre of the conversation.
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