Paspaley necklaces (from top), $30800, $24800, and $32800; Stylists own top.
TWO-TIME ARIA AWARD-WINNING ARTIST, BUDJERAH, UNVEILS HIS LONG-AWAITED DEBUT ALBUM, 'GENTLEMAN' THIS WEEK. WE SAT DOWN WITH THE PLATINUM-SELLING ARTIST.
EDITOR & INTERVIEW: JESSICA BAILEY
PHOTOGRAPHER: OLIVER BEGG AT SAUNDERS & CO
STYLIST: EWAN BELL
gentleman
his whole album is me trying to be the man I wanted to be as a young kid,” Budjerah tells ELLE, his voice animated, albeit soft. “When I think of a gentleman, it's a guy that puts effort into his appearance. He's suave. Punctual. Cool. Calm. Collected.
He’s also kind and respectful.” Gentleman, his highly anticipated 11-track debut album is out this Friday, a soulful—and at times, soaring—capture of his life from age 20-24. And it’s serious business. Produced by Grammy Award-winning producer Om’Mas Keith (who has worked with Frank Ocean and Jay Z), and with tracks written by the legendary Diane Warren (who has written for Beyoncé, Celine Dion and Cher) and Poo Bear (who counts Justin Bieber as a client), the album is an A-List work of art, mashing Budjerah’s experiences as a young man finding his way in life and love with a pop and R&B sound.
“Diane [Warren] wrote the last track of Beyoncé’s album, 4, which was “I Was Here”, and that's my favorite album of all time. I felt so special to have Diane do the last track of my album,” says Budjerah, a proud Coodjinburra man from the Bundjalung nation. “I feel very honoured and privileged to be able to sing one of her songs, and getting to get notes from her in real time in her studio was just kind of unbelievable. I still think that's one of the coolest things I've ever done.” Amassing a staggering 60 million combined career streams to-date, and with Platinum single “Therapy” achieving over 18.8 million on Spotify, Budjerah—a young man who is wise beyond his years—is on the cusp of becoming a household name. Ahead, we chat to him about his new music, major career moments, his wedding, and how his upbringing has shaped the man he is today.
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LEFT Sandro cardigan, $3450; Bassike pants, $2250; Christian Louboutin shoes, $1645; Paspaley necklace, $6980, and rings (from left), $5980, and $6580. RIGHT Saint Laurent by Anthony Vaccarello top, $2255, pants, $2525, and belt, $595; Paspaley necklace, $4500, lavalier, $4500, pearl (on necklace), $8480, and rings (from left), $6580, and $5980.
ELLE: There's some tracks on this album that speak to relationships. You've been in a relationship for many years now and just got married, where do you draw your inspiration from for some of these lyrics? BUDJERAH: The song “Remember Your Name” comes from a story of how I met my high school girlfriend. I was new to the school and I walked past this group of girls and made a point of remembering this one girl that I liked, her name was Sophie. I said, “I don't remember none of your names, but I remember her name, Sophie, because she's pretty.” That's the whole inspiration of the song. “Let Me Know” is a proposal song and proposing the ultimate ultimatum: let me know or let me go. I really love to sing songs from experience, and love has definitely been a big theme in my life in the last couple years.
ELLE: Congratulations on getting married! I love the song “Even At My Worst,” which was written by the legendary Diane Warren (who also wrote songs for Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, Celine Dion and Cher). What was it like working with her? BUDJERAH: I worked with [Grammy Award-winning music producer] Om’Mas Keith on this album and he used to work with Diane, so I'm very lucky. All these people that I work with became like family to me. One day, Om’Mas was like, “We're going to see an old friend of mine.” We went to Diane’s building and she's got 10 producers. She'll write a song and they’ll produce it 10 different ways and they just send it out to all the artists to see who likes what. We met this producer and he was playing us these songs and then Diane did come in to say hi. It was kind of surreal because she's one of my favorite songwriters. I feel very honoured and privileged to be able to sing one of her songs, and getting to get notes from her in real time in her studio was just kind of unbelievable. I still think that's one of the coolest things I've ever done.
ELLE: Is there another female songwriter that you'd like to work with? BUDJERAH: I really love Priscilla Renea Hamilton. Her stage name is Muni Long. If I got to work with her, I'd be over the moon. ELLE: We’ll put it out there into the universe. How do you hope people will feel when they listen to Gentleman? BUDJERAH: I hope people have fun! It's an album that you play out loud, not just on your headphones. When you put it through a loud speaker in your car, the energy is just so much fun, and I hope people dance and have a good time.
Onitsuka Tiger jacket, $570, and pants, $520; Paspaley necklaces (from top), $1200, and $5780; Stylists own top.
ELLE: Tell me about your upbringing in Fingal Head in New South Wales. Budjerah: It's a little bit of a tropical island vibe. It's a one-way-in-one-way-out kind of town. There's a little bit of bush, but then it's a beach. We spent most days either in the water, playing music or in church. All my cousins lived on the same street as my family.
ELLE: That’s sounds so fun! BUDJERAH: My great-grandfather built our house. This is my family's traditional country, too. We are very lucky that our people weren't removed from our land, which is very, very rare. Not many Aboriginal people can say they're still connected to their land. We grew up with our traditional names, doing our dances and got to have a proper authentic experience as Bundjalung people. There was a lot of community, a lot of kids, we’d play Cops and Robbers. School was just up the road, so we'd all walk to school together, we were very happy. It was a pretty awesome childhood and everyone's still here. I now live across the river in Tweed.
ELLE: When you were young, you wrote some songs with your dad… BUDJERAH: My dad taught me so much about music. He's a drummer and he taught me how to sing, too. I remember the first song we wrote together. It was for a Year Nine school music assignment. I wasn't very good with my assignments, I would always leave them to the day before. I came out [into the living room at home] at 11PM and told Dad we had to write a song and perform it the next day. We wrote it in 10 minutes. It was a blues song. And I got a B! That was the start of me writing songs. I don't think I could do what I do without Mum and Dad.
ELLE: You were 17 years old when you were first signed to Warner Music. Do you remember the day you got the news? BUDJERAH: It was February 2019 and I got a text message saying, “Would you be interested in speaking with A&R at Warner? We'd love to put you into some sessions with some producers and see how you work.” Normally for young artists, it's a development deal. But I remember writing a demo with this producer and Warner wanting to sign me then and there. For a 17-year-old in school, it was a dream come true. I'm so grateful to Warner and I’m very lucky they let me be so involved creatively.
LEFT Bottega Veneta jacket, $12000, and pants, $9710; Paspaley necklaces (from top), $1200, $6980, coin charm, $6280, and rings (from left), $5980, and $6580. RIGHT Balenciaga coat, $3920; Paspaley necklaces (from top), $6980 and $6980.
ELLE: We partnered with Paspaley Pearls for this shoot, you have previously told me you have a nice connection with the brand…
BUDJERAH: Back in the day, one of the few jobs that Aboriginal people could work was shucking oysters. My grandfather, my dad and my uncles would go shuck oysters. My grandfather used to have a jar in his pantry with glass pearling buoys, hollow glass balls that sits in a rope and are used by pearl farmers. It’s like the necklace in this shoot. [Paspaley founder Nicholas Paspaley started his own pearling fleet in the 1930s and employed local Aboriginal communities to help him run his ships.]
ELLE: What did you like about Paspaley’s new men's collection, Diver? BUDJERAH: I loved the necklace that looks like the pearling buoys. Fingal Head is a fishing village and so, seeing the little shark pendant and even the links in the chains, they look like some of the chains you would find on the anchors of the boats.
ELLE: What's the most romantic thing that you've ever done? BUDJERAH: Apart from getting married, my wife used to dance, and when we first got together as teenagers, I went to one of her dance concerts. My Mum said, “You need to take a rose.” And so, I bought a rose and my Mum dropped me off to the concert and I was dressed real nice. All the girls in her dance class were like, “Ooh.” She thought it was very romantic.
ELLE: You'll have to give her rose every single anniversary now. BUDJERAH: Yeah. She loves flowers.
“THIS IS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR ME TO JUST BE AS FLY AS I WANT TO BE ON STAGE.”
– BUDJERAH
TALENT: BUDJERAH
EDITOR & INTERVIEW: JESSICA BAILEY
PHOTOGRAPHER: OLIVER BEGG AT SAUNDERS & CO
VIDEOGRAPHER: DANIEL KNOTT
STYLIST: EWAN BELL
HAIR: DARREN SUMMORS AT AP REPS
MAKEUP: ISABELLA SCHIMID
FASHION ASSISTANT: BENJI LUIS
PRODUCTION: NICOLA HANRATTY
LOCATION: NORTH BONDI SURF LIFE SAVING CLUB
JEWELLERY: PASPALEY
LEFT Bottega Veneta jacket, $12000; Paspaley necklaces (from top), $1200, 6980, and coin charm, $6280. RIGHT Kip Preston Taylor top, price on application; Coach pants, price on application; Paspaley bracelets, $11800 each, and ring, $5980.
Prada top, $1840, pants, $2900, and belt, $1540; Paspaley necklace, $1200, lavalier, $4500, pearl (on necklace), $16800, rings, $5980 each, bracelet, $5500, and pendants, $3680 each.
“WHEN I THINK OF A GENTLEMAN, IT'S A GUY THAT PUTS EFFORT INTO HIS APPEARANCE. HE'S SUAVE. PUNCTUAL. COOL. CALM. COLLECTED.”
– BUDJERAH
ELLE: Which female singer are you most likely to be caught singing aloud to? BUDJERAH: I am a massive Beyoncé fan. That's one of my connections to Diane Warren. Diane wrote the last track of Beyoncé’s album, 4, which was “I Was Here”, and that's my favorite album of all time. I felt so special to have Diane do the last track of my album. But I think the loudest I've ever sung was for Mariah Carey at one of her concerts.
ELLE: Who is the woman in your life who taught you the most about women? BUDJERAH: My mum and my grandmothers. They always said, “You need to treat a girl right. You need to pay for dinner. You need to open a door.” And so, if any of us ever took a girl out to the movies or something, they made sure we did all the traditional things. You shake the father's hand—a firm handshake—make sure you talk to their parents, and do all the respectful things. And they were very strict about it, too. But I think it's definitely good to learn, especially as a young man, how to treat women—how to treat people in general. How to be a gentleman.
LEFT Sandro jacket, $3450, and cardigan, $3450; Paspaley necklace, $6980, and rings (from left), $5980, and $6580. RIGHT Acne Studios pants, price on application; Paspaley necklaces, $30800, $24800, and ring, $6580; Stylists own top.
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ELLE: Congratulations on Gentleman! It’s brilliant, soulful, powerful. What inspired your debut album?
BUDJERAH: Gentleman was four years in-the-making. I wanted to make a very up-tempo album. I’m very performance-minded, too, so when I was in the studio, I’d be thinking, “What is this going to sound like on stage with my band?” And I love to dance, so I wanted all these up-tempo tracks so I could have dancers and have heaps of fun on stage. “Gentleman” is the last track on the album—and when I think of a gentleman, it's a guy that puts effort into his appearance. He's suave. Punctual. Cool. Calm. Collected. He’s also kind and respectful. The whole album is me trying to be the man that I wanted to be as a young kid.
ELLE: That’s an amazing answer. How would you describe your sound on this album? BUDJERAH: I would definitely say there's gospel elements. That's my foundation. All my family played [music] in church, and I would even describe myself as a gospel singer. But my music taste is very broad, I have very eclectic taste, and there's a whole range of different styles you hear on this album. Growing up, all my cousins and I had a big flag of Bob Marley in my grandfather’s back shed where we would practice playing music—we loved reggae music. My mum is from a little country town and loved Randy Travis. I personally love dance music and R&B—you hear all of these influences in my music.
Budjerah’s debut album, Gentleman, is out July 24.
Budjerah will tour the album this October and November, see dates below. Pre-sale is available now, general public tickets will go on sale 23 July at 10am AEST.
Saturday 31 October - The Espy, Melbourne VIC (18+) Sunday 1 November - The Sound Doctor, Anglesea VIC (AA) Saturday 7 November - Metro Social, Sydney NSW (AA) Friday 20 November - Miami Marketta, Gold Coast QLD (AA) Saturday 21 November - Triffid Beer Garden, Brisbane QLD (AA)
You can also catch Budjerah performing acoustic renditions of his new tracks and signing albums on the below dates:
Sunday 26 July - Hum On King, Newtown NSW - 2:00pm Tuesday 28 July - Badlands Vinyl, Tweed Heads NSW - 3:00pm Wednesday 29 July - Sound Merch, Collingwood VIC - 5:00pm
Coach shirt, price on application; Paspaley necklaces (from top), $26800, $6280, and coin charm, $6280.