by Karuah
I always knew music was the path I wanted to devote my life to. Over the last few years of high school the constant batter of society with its expectations pushed me into believing that I needed to have a backup plan, a plan B. I was always pretty academic and loved learning whatever I could get my hands on. So with this plan B in mind, I followed the rest of the sheep and went to uni to do a Bachelor of Science at Sydney University. Even though I knew music was my passion.
Listen to the album while reading the text.
Bon Iver and a van
Until one day, I was going to uni listening to my favorite artist, Bon Iver, and passed a van for sale on the side of the road. For me, Bon Iver had always been ‘thinking music.’ Music that made me question everything I was doing in life and whether I was happy. So when I saw this van, my mind instantly started racing with all the possibilities. “I could buy that van right now and travel Australia!! Wait… I could buy a van overseas and travel the world!!!” I always wanted to travel but never had the push to just drop everything and go…until now.
By the time I arrived at uni, my mind was made up. I jumped on the next bus home and started making plans. I realized that if I pursued my music full time I’d be able to have a decent income on which to live and save. And the place where I wanted to do this was Byron Bay. So two weeks later I moved to Byron, and things began to unfold like never before. These are the times you know you’re finally walking the path you were made for. Nine months of endless gigging and enjoying what the hinterland had to offer, and I was flying to Africa.
Traveling the world
Two months later I was in Europe spending Christmas with my father’s family when I was contacted by an old lover that lived in Switzerland. I went and visited her and her family, and three days later we were madly in love all over again, though this time it was different. We then spent the next three years traveling together all over the world to finally return to Australia.
It’s funny how a single event can change the whole course of your life. Ever since I was young, I wanted to travel, mainly to gain life experience in the ‘real’ world.
Growing to be the person I am now
Growing up on the Northern Beaches of Sydney I had an extremely privileged childhood, and I always knew that my lyrics reflected that fact. To many, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. But to me, I’ve always been attracted to music that moves me deeply. Lyrics and melody that touch a part of my soul that no other can. Bon Iver does this to me every time I listen to his music. This is what I’ve always wanted to achieve, and so traveling was a tool for me to develop, to grow, to discover parts of myself I never knew were there.
To feel heartbreak, to see families living in the most horrendous poverty you could imagine, to connect with communities that you can barely speak a word to. These ‘tools’ are what I write about today.
I am forever grateful for Bon Iver’s music, as without it I wouldn’t have my wife by my side, and two EP’s out in the world for people to listen to.