Neish Interview
Neish has a reputation for writing some of the most gut-wrenchingly honest and vulnerable songs in the Australian music scene, and her latest single, want, is no exception. want revisits a deeply personal moment from her teenage years, capturing the complexities of first love, mental health, and growing into yourself. I caught up with Neish to chat all about the track, finding confidence as an independent artist, the challenges of the modern music industry, and where she's headed next.
Mitch: Your latest single, want, came out June 26! Do you mind sharing a bit about the track and what inspired it?
Neish: I wrote want at 16 when I developed feelings for my best friend for the first time and felt a huge sense of guilt and sadness. At the time I was struggling heavily with mental illness and truly believed I wasn’t worthy of loving or being loved- yet I couldn’t help but have feelings for them.
Mitch: How did the track come together?
Neish: I distinctly remember coming home from school and setting up my loop pedal. I had the main riff stuck in my head and decided to write off of it and record it as a loop to play around with. The melody came to me pretty naturally and the line ‘I can’t help but want you’ just fell out. My mind was so consumed by my newly developed feelings that the song came to me easily and was complete in just a few hours!
Mitch: What do you hope people feel while listening?
Neish: I try to make the lyrics in my songs open for interpretation and I love it when my listeners attach their own personal experiences and emotions to the song. I hope people can feel my sense of yearning for someone all while feeling so unlovable. It’s quite a sad yet angry song that goes through the motions and builds from a sad mopey longing to a big frustrated ending!
Mitch: If want was playing in a movie scene, what would the scene look and feel like?
Neish: It would definitely be in some angsty teen movie at the big climax where the love interests have a massive falling out over something ridiculously dramatic and want would play from the beginning of the sequence and build to where one of them is probably running away crying and screaming.
Mitch: There is a lot of pressure to chase viral moments while building a music career. How do you balance creating music you genuinely love with the pressure to stay visible online?
Neish: Honestly I find it so difficult. I find this day and age of being a musician/influencer super ridiculous and it fully kills the creative spark when having to constantly think about analytics and virality and so on. I try my best to make videos that are honest and true to myself and my music, and I aim not to get caught up in trends and stay in my own creative world.
Mitch: Has your definition of success changed over the years you’ve been releasing music?
Neish: Definitely. When I was younger and given so many massive opportunities I got to experience a side of the music industry that I wasn’t too fond of. Everything was about numbers and publicity and I found myself to be extremely overwhelmed and mentally unwell. After being in the industry for a few years now I’ve definitely taken a big step back to remember the roots of why I became an artist in the first place, and I’ve put music and creativity at the forefront.
Mitch: What’s something you’ve learned about yourself through writing music?
Neish: Might sound strange but I’ve learned that my mental illness isn’t who I am as a person? I’ve struggled with depression and anxiety for as long as I can remember and I would always let it consume every part of my being. But since connecting my healing to music and using it as a therapeutic tool to channel my emotions I’ve discovered there’s so much more to experience and that there is a world outside of that hole you find yourself in. I don’t only have to make sad songs anymore!
Mitch: Has there ever been a moment where you questioned whether to keep pursuing music? What kept you going?
Neish: To this day I constantly question it. As a person who does struggle mentally and is also extremely socially anxious and introverted, the music industry is a rough place. It’s an industry where you’re constantly supposed to be promoting yourself and networking and connecting with people, which sounds like a nightmare to the average person with my personality. But what keeps me going is purely the music itself and people telling me I shouldn’t give up. I was made to make music and without it I’ve lost myself.
Mitch: When you look back on your career so far, what’s a moment that still doesn’t quite feel real?
Neish: Honestly, the fact that I am an artist that gigs pretty consistently and releases music doesn’t feel real. In my mind I’m still that awkward 15 year old kid that couldn’t talk to anyone- let alone get on a stage in front of hundreds of people and sing deeply personal songs. If I tried to talk to myself 7 years ago she probably wouldn’t even be able to look at me let alone respond because she was so anxious. She should be proud of what she’s been able to accomplish.
Mitch: If you could manifest one thing for your career over the next year, what would it be?
Neish: It is my absolute dream to book a big support slot that allows the band and I to tour across Australia! We’ve only ever played shows in Queensland so it’d feel great to be able to travel and play shows in other cities and build our audience! Then after that, hopefully we can go international!
Mitch: What can fans expect from you next?
Neish: More music! I’m done with releasing only a couple songs a year, I’m now fully independent and keen to release the plethora of songs I have written and perform them for you! I’m so grateful for everyone who stuck around through the years of waiting and uncertainty, and now I can’t wait to repay you with more consistent releases and shows!
Mitch: What could the industry be doing to better support emerging local artists?
Neish: Oh God, literally so much. Seriously, the Aussie industry needs to get rid of its tall poppy syndrome and give a leg up to the countless incredibly talented local acts there are on their front doorstep. Big media outlets need to stop only caring about the same few aussie bands that went viral 10 years ago, labels need to stop only caring about artists with a few viral tiktoks, and streaming platforms need to stop only giving opportunities to artists that already have millions of streams and hundreds of thousands of monthly listeners. Judge the music by the quality and talent, not by the numbers!!!
Mitch: Who are some emerging AUS/NZ musicians that people should get behind?
Neish: You know I hate this question because there’s literally hundreds and I swear I always forget someone, but here’s some Aussie icons that needed to be more famous yesterday: Aleksiah, Bella Amor, Lottie McLeod, Worm Girlz, Serendipiti, Mou, Ullah, Moreton, Platonic Sex, Asha Jefferies, Jess Day, Elianie, Maira, Nathan MT, Allora, It’s Acrylic, Sarah Hamze, Tom Nethersole, Alio, Ghost Mutt, Vincent and literally so many more.
RAPID FIRE QUESTIONS!!
Mitch: Favourite lyric from want?
Neish: As sad as it is ‘all my life I've been withdrawn from the thought that there’s someone who loves me’.
Mitch: If you could feature any artist on the track, who?
Neish: Daughter!
Mitch: You’re forming a girl group! Who are the local emerging artists you’re inviting in?
Neish: You already know Lottie Mcleod, Serendipiti and I are gonna be the next BoyGenius.
Mitch: Finish the sentence! Neish is for fans of…
Neish: dwelling on situations that’ve haunted you and overthinking to the point of insanity <3