By ALANA MITCHELSON
After surgery forced Kasey Chambers into eight weeks off singing and postponed her tour this year, the award-winning country musician has returned with a fresh approach to songwriting.
Chambers said she’d had two small nodules on her vocal cords for the past 20-odd years but it wasn’t until early this year that she felt their full impact.
“It got so bad that I could barely get though gigs,” she said.
“It wasn’t painful at all but my voice got really husky and I wasn’t allowed to speak after shows. It was really stressful because it was always in the back of my mind.
“I’m so glad that’s all over. It feels great to be out on tour again.“
Since getting her voice back, Chambers has found herself exploring a different style of songwriting. Now two-thirds of the way through writing a new record, she was adamant new material would be released next year.
Chambers’ latest album, Bittersweet, was her first solo album in four years.
The mum of three – with children aged 13, eight and four – has made adjustments to her touring schedule since establishing her family.
“I tour differently now. I’ll go interstate for weekends at a time and then have a few days at home to catch up and help the kids with their homework,” she said.
“I try to get the balance right. I’m lucky to have a lot of support from family.
“I used to need to be in a quiet room by myself to write. I’ve had to change the way I approach songwriting since having kids. Otherwise I’d never write a song again for the rest of my life,” she laughed.
Chambers’ rare downtime is spent almost exclusively with the kids – going to the park or beach, conversing with other mums, or watching her children at skate school or Oztag footy.
Chambers recently returned from what she described as her best US tour yet, having sold out a number of shows.
But the multiple ARIA Award winning, chart-topping artist admitted that, although she would like to be, she is not always inspired.
“Sometimes I need to get away from music for a while. Often after a long tour I’ll feel tired and a bit burnt out,” Chambers said.
“After some time, I’ll go out and listen to some live music or buy a new album, listen to what others are creating and get inspired again.”
Chambers advised fans to expect old favourites as well as songs from Bittersweet when she played Corio’s Gateway Hotel on 4 December.
Click below to watch Kasey Chambers’ music video for ‘Is God Real?’
