What We’ve Been Listening To: King Ibis

King Ibis are fans of Dope Lemon, Tyler Childers, Devo, Noname, and would love to appear in pretty much anything from Holy Holy’s album ‘Paint’!

Have a listen to King Ibis’ newest single before learning more bout the Perth-based indie-rock band.

Who is King Ibis and how did the namesake come about?

When we first started, we were making demos of some of our first songs. We titled them ‘Nadene and The Bin Chickens’ as a joke. We were lamenting on how the Ibis has coped a bad rap for being a bit of a pest, so we decided to go with something a bit more majestic.

What artists or bands are on your must-listen to list lately and why?

John: Dope Lemon because he’s the coolest guy ever

Matt: Tyler Childers, I just love the guitar and his voice. My favourite song is ‘Feathered Indians’.

Sam: Devo because even though they were writing music in the 80’s they are conceptually super relevant.

Nadene: Noname is cool, I love the cadence of her writing, she’s pretty clever. ‘Rainforest’ is one of the songs I play almost daily.

When you go into the recording studio to work on new material, what are your must-haves?

Definitely snacks! Matt usually brings a deck of cards and Nadene likes to have peppermint tea handy to make sure she feels tip top for vocal takes.

Which song, or songs, of yours would you recommend to a first-time listener and why?

Our latest song ‘Watch My Mind Bend’ is our favourite release yet. This song feels like a turning point for us, where we have finally realised our sound. This one just really feels right to us. Also, anything from 2020 onwards we really began to sculpt our sound and we’re so proud of those songs as well. ‘I’m Not Your Mum’ is the beginning of our new mojo and really incapsulates our new direction.

Which song of someone’s else’s (artist or band) would you have liked to feature on and why?

Matt said ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ especially for the royalties but I think we all agree pretty much anything from Holy Holy’s album ‘Paint’ would have been a dream.

What led you into becoming a musician(s) and why do you keep making music?

(Lead singer/songwriter – Nadene.)

For me music has always been a huge part of my life. I remember my parents always had music on when doing stuff around the house and I always felt so excited. Me and my sisters would dance in the living room together and it just was a good time. From then my oldest sister bought a guitar and she started to teach me, I was singing all the time I would make up little songs and I just really found so much joy and fulfilment from music. I’ve been lucky enough to have met some of the kindest and beautiful people through music and pushed some boundaries with confidence and self-growth that I could never have imagine. I feel incredibly grateful for music, it has completely enriched my life and honestly, I couldn’t picture my life without it.