Our guest today is Australian alt-pop star Montaigne. The ARIA Award-winning and Grammy-nominated songwriter and composer has carved out a unique place in the Australian music scene, achieving remarkable milestones—from collaborating with David Byrne, to representing Australia at Eurovision, and earning a Grammy nomination for work on a video game soundtrack. Now, Montaigne embarks on a new chapter, releasing music independently for the first time after leaving a major label. Their fourth studio album, it’s hard to be a fish, blends alt-pop, indie, ambient textures, and natural soundscapes into a record that’s both playful and introspective. In today’s episode, we welcome Montaigne back to the podcast to talk about making it’s hard to be a fish and stepping into independence. We chat about how the album’s concept and ambient sounds gradually shifted back toward a pop-centric direction, and explore the symbolism of fish and the ocean in their creative vision.

Montaigne: Instagram / Spotify 

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