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‘Miracle’ feels deeply personal while still having a sense of lightness to it. What was the moment that sparked the song, and did you know straight away that you had something special?

I was in the studio with Tij who co-wrote, produced, mixed and mastered the song and I remember he sang the first line and I was like yep I love that. That’s when the idea was born, and we finished the song that day. We both loved the song from the get go, so it was super fun and exciting turning it into what it is now.

There’s a beautiful contrast between vulnerability and hope in ‘Miracle’. What were you trying to capture emotionally when you were writing it?

We really wanted to paint the picture of when you meet someone and the sparks are flying. We wanted to capture all the thoughts and feelings that exist within that experience. All the hope, the excitement, the youthfulness and the unknowns of it all.

When you look back at the person you were when you wrote ‘Miracle’, what do you think the song reveals about that period of your life?

I think the song reflects my inner dreamer. I am one to daydream and romanticise life and the people in it, and this song is a great depiction of that. I was kind of living vicariously through the song as we wrote it and was loving living in that world.

‘Miracle’ is also the title of your upcoming third EP. Did the title come first, or did the collection of songs naturally lead you towards calling the EP ‘Miracle’?

We had written the whole thing and I was pondering on the title for a little while and I landed on Miracle. It felt like a super special title for the EP because at the time I was really playing with the idea that miracles are everywhere and all it takes is being open to receiving them to experience them. I feel like the whole EP speaks to the journey of getting to that point. There’s yearning, there’s longing, there’s play, there’s romanticism, and of course there are miracles!

Across your previous releases and this new EP, how do you feel your approach to songwriting has changed? Are you writing about different things now, or seeing familiar experiences differently?

I think my approach to songwriting through my more recent releases has been a little more intentional but I’ve always liked to give myself space to experiment with sounds and be true to what I’m feeling at the time. I think now more than ever, though I like to write quite introspectively, I’ve allowed myself to tap into my inner child and have a little more fun with it. I write what feels relevant for me, there were some overlapping themes, and there were also many new experiences and understandings of life to draw from.

Your music has a strong storytelling quality. When you’re writing, how much of the story is drawn directly from your own life, and how much comes from observation, imagination or moments you’ve picked up along the way?

A lot of it is usually drawn from my own life but on this EP I really opened up to exploring stories of mine and Tij’s imagination and observation, treating it more like a stream of consciousness. I find it super interesting to see once the song is written, how my subconscious was speaking through the storytelling.

Was there a song on the EP that challenged you more than the others to write or record? What made it difficult?

Turning on the dial was probably the most challenging to record. The writing came quite easily but there was some trial and error figuring out the sound for it because it felt a little separate from the rest of the songs, but I really wanted it on there because of it’s storyline and how relevant the song felt for me at the time. After some chopping and changing we landed on what we have now and I’m super glad it’s on there.

What did you discover about yourself as an artist while making this EP that you didn’t expect to?

There were points throughout making the EP where I doubted my abilities as a writer, but I really worked through that and came back to the reason I love it so much, which is because it feels like a release of some sort when I write, and it creates a space for me to express how I feel. I learnt that for me it’s more about feeling into it, rather than being super logical and technical with everything.

You’ll soon be taking ‘Miracle’ and the new songs into a run of live shows. Do your songs change for you once you start performing them in front of people?

I think with some of the songs you can feel the audience really connecting with them and those always make the songs feel a little more special to me. It is so touching to see how people connect with the music.

After three EPs, what still excites you about making music, and what would you love to explore next that you haven’t had the chance to yet?

I find it super fun diving into new ways of expressing the goings on in my mind and in my life. Listening to other music honestly makes me excited, because I hear things I love and I feel so inspired. I love working with people, especially Tij and leaning in all sorts of directions creatively with him. I think next up I’d like to explore some of the music of my heritage and culture, and weave that in.

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How did ‘Badina’ first come together, and what was the starting point for the track?

The starting point for the track was really the vocal sample. We hadn’t made beats together in a while, and I was going through a new sample pack that had a lot of Shatta-inspired sounds. I started chopping up one of the vocal samples and combining it with a Dembow rhythm, and the first thing that came to mind was the hook for “Badina.”

From there, I just freestyled the verse, then Pinky freestyled his verse. That’s kind of become part of our style when we work together we’ll freestyle and get the ideas and melodies out first, then go back and add the actual words and shape everything around it. It keeps the process really natural and spontaneous.

‘Badina’ brings together Dembow, Caribbean and Latin urban influences with Shatta inspired rhythms. What drew you to these sounds for this track?

I’ve always been drawn to music that makes you want to move, and Dembow is a huge part of that for me. I wanted to bring in some of those Caribbean and Latin urban influences but also experiment with the bounce and rhythm you hear in Shatta. It felt like a good way to create something that still sounds like me while bringing in influences from different parts of the world.

The title ‘Badina’ is a playful twist on “bad Latina”. Where did the idea for the title come from?

The title came from playing around with the phrase “bad Latina” and turning it into something that felt more unique and playful. “Badina” just had a good ring to it. But with that being said it also can just be baddieI don’t want to concentrate on one type of female

You describe ‘Badina’ as a track about energy, movement and having a good time. What were you trying to capture when making it?

I wanted to capture that feeling when you’re out with your friends, the music is playing and everyone turning up. There’s no overthinking it, it’s about movement, confidence and having a good time. I wanted “Badina” to feel like a track you can put on and immediately change the energy in the room.

Jalmar and Pinky Promise come from different Australian, Chilean and Venezuelan backgrounds. How do those different influences come through in the music you make together?

I think you can hear those different influences naturally in the music. We both have different cultural backgrounds and different things that we grew up listening to, so when we come together, those influences just come out without us really forcing it. There’s the Latin side, the Dembow influence, Caribbean sounds and also the Australian side of how we’ve grown up making and experiencing music. I think that mix is what helps give our music its own identity.

This is part of your ongoing collaboration and the development of a shared Latin urban sound. How has your creative relationship evolved through working together?

I think we’ve become a lot more comfortable with each other creatively. When we first started working together, there was probably more of a process of figuring out what worked, but now we can pretty much jump into a session and start creating without overthinking it. We understand each other’s ideas a lot more, and there’s a trust there where we can freestyle, experiment and throw ideas around without worrying if something is perfect straight away.

What does the writing and production process usually look like when you work together?

A lot of it starts with the beat or just finding something that gives us a feeling straight away. From there, we usually freestyle a lot. That’s become a big part of how we work together. We’ll freestyle melodies, hooks and verses and just see what sticks. Once we have those ideas, we go back and start putting the actual words together and refining everything. I think that keeps the music feeling natural rather than trying to force a song from the beginning.

What was the most challenging part of bringing ‘Badina’ together from the initial idea through to the finished track?

I think the biggest challenge was actually knowing when to stop changing things. Because the song came together quite naturally through freestyling, there were a lot of ideas that we could have kept adding or changing. At some point you have to step back and realise that the original energy is what made the song work in the first place. So it was more about keeping that energy while making sure everything sounded finished and polished.

Jalmar created the artwork while Jonathan handled the mixing and mastering. How did you approach the visual and production sides of the release?

For the visuals, I worked with a new director, TMWR Media, because I wanted to try a different approach. I felt like I’d done a lot of dancing and had a pretty established style when it came to directing my own visuals, so I wanted to take myself out of that position for a bit and let someone else take the wheel and see what they came up with.

It ended up creating a more elegant type of energy, which I really enjoyed. It was nice to step back creatively and see the song through someone else’s perspective.

On the production side, Jonathan handled the mixing and mastering, which helped bring the track together and keep the original energy of the song while giving it that finished, polished sound.

Now that ‘Badina’ is out, what would you like people to discover about your music and the sound you’re building together?

I’d like people to discover that we’re not trying to stay in one box. We’re taking influences from Dembow, Latin urban, Caribbean music and other sounds we’re interested in and just seeing where we can take them. “Badina” is a good example of that because it has that Dembow foundation but there are other influences happening within it too.

More than anything, I want people to have fun with the music. Hopefully they hear “Badina”, feel the energy and then want to go back and discover more of what we’ve been creating together.

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Waiting For Today is described as a return to simplicity, with acoustic guitar melody and warm, unforced chords at its centre. What was happening in your life or creative process that led you back to this stripped back approach?

There is a meditation joke that goes kind of like this: You should sit in meditation for 30 minutes a day unless you’re too busy, then you should sit for an hour!

For me when life gets crazy, I balance things out by slowing things down and making things simple. This time it happened to be my music. I recently lost a duo partner, a singer that was a part of my acoustic rock band. We collaborated together for about 27 years. So, I haven’t booked any gigs, instead I re-focused my time and energy into creating pretty instrumental music. Re-creating myself without others so I can be a solid authentic musician with a solid foundation. I needed it.

You wrote much of the album while sitting with what you describe as the “challenging landscape of today”. How did that experience shape the mood, pacing and direction of the record?

Life is short. What are you waiting for? Hopefully you are waiting for today! Be here and now. So, every song is titled and sets mood, emotion, and energy for times that I felt strongly pulled me towards a clear, authentic and relaxed presence. For some reason when life feels short and fragile I tend to reminisce a bit. Most of the songs as you noticed have a component of this.

There is a strong sense of space throughout the album, particularly on tracks such as “Lingering In The Long Shadows” and “Wondering Home”. What do you want listeners to experience in those quieter moments?

That is all up to the listener. I am just creating a little breathing space, not having to rush to get somewhere else. I hope to let the music encourage your own relaxed thought space, lingering, wondering, walking, talking, waiting, thinking or just enjoying a cup of coffee.

You composed and produced all nine tracks yourself, working across acoustic guitar, electric guitar and guitar synthesizers. How did you decide which instrument or sound belonged to each composition?

Great question. I will often play the song on different guitars and with different background tapestries at home and when I go to the studio will take multiple instruments to play as I show up that day. I love some of the subtle sounds that represent more subtle emotions. All of this takes time and trial and error to hone in, yet for the most part, I find my voice in the traditional acoustic guitar with very sparse effects and generally live there. The electric and guitar synth sound usually add an extra emphasis to the emotion of the melody. Soft Furnishings is played on a baritone acoustic guitar. It gives a deeper sound that feels soft, luxurious and comforting.

Your music has a close connection with mindfulness, meditation, yoga and rehabilitative practice. How has your experience in those areas influenced the way you compose and approach the guitar?

Jon Kabat-Zinn defines mindfulness as “intentionally being present to the here and now without judgement”. Meditation is the formal practice of sitting still with this. Yoga is the practice of whole body movement with integrating breath in the same way, mindfully. Playing guitar for me is the next logical progression of my mindfulness practice. By playing for yoga and meditation classes it influences how the guitar parts move with thoughts, breath, body movements, flow, and silence or stillness. There are certain melodic phrases and tempos that work well at allowing the thoughts to settle into a type of simplicity and clarity.

You received your first guitar from your grandmother at the age of ten and later discovered players including Jeff Beck, Jimi Hendrix and Wes Montgomery. Looking back, what did those early influences teach you about what the guitar could become in your hands?

These players were all huge innovators and experimenters with the guitar and techniques. After trying to play with distortion, different finger styles, harmonics, or chord melodies just to name a few, it gave me freedom to find my own voice and techniques that have allowed me to find and feel confident and comfortable with my own style as they were with theirs. One of a kind unique and themselves.

“Waiting For Today” feels particularly interested in allowing time to pass naturally rather than forcing a traditional musical climax. What does patience mean to you as a musician and composer?

I kinda like to think of the songs indiviually and the progression of the album as away to find life in the slow lane, allowing for a space to find a balance from life in the fast lane. I think you hit the nail on the head, allowing time to pass naturally, rest, relax, be present. It is harder to be patient than it is to speed up. While composing I may meditate or sit with stillness before to clear my expectations, then while creating, allow the song to find its sweet spot to let it unfold in its own time. I find in that space, it has it has a star, power, and truth of it’s own.

Colorado Zen reached number eight on the Zone Music Reporter chart and received a New Age Music Award nomination, while The Space In Between reached number 11. How have those milestones affected the way you approach your music today?

I am energized to have such a reception and it supports me to continue to follow my hearts song in this journey. I am very happy that people are resonating with the music! Thank you listeners!

The album was engineered and mixed by Brian Hunter at The Mousetrap Recording Studio in Denver and mastered by David Glasser at Airshow Mastering in Boulder. What did you learn from the recording and production process of Waiting For Today?

The process is not about perfection it is about being present and doing the best you can. Ultimately, it is what we all do. When this happens, just enjoying the process..

Brian Hunter and I have been working together for about 25 years now, and he allows me time and space to do what I do while taking care of the recording process so that I can concentrate on my best performance. We have a great working relationship, he can anticipate my typical, and get there before I do some times, for the sound engineering pieces.

David Glasser has great ears and the coolest sounding mastering system. He has great intuition from so many years of mastering. It is a pleasure having a 2x grammy winner working on my music!

If someone puts on Waiting For Today without knowing anything about you or the album, what would you hope they take away from the 37 minutes and 50 seconds when the final track, “Soft Furnishings”, comes to an end?

I made up a meditation mantra years ago, it goes like this; a clear mind is peace, it illuminates truth, and lets love shine through! Here is to hoping that Waiting For Today provides a path for that journey, towards a relaxed attentive presence in the moment!

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