Q&A: Estère - Dynamic, emotive and playful

We recently spoke to Wellington based singer-songwriter and musician Estère! Sadly her show at the Jam Factory in Tauranga has been postponed due to level 2 restrictions but keep an eye out on our website and Estère's social media for a new date! In the mean time we suggest getting familiar with her beautiful new album Archetypes.

Congratulations on the release of your new album, Archetypes. How was the album process different this time around compared to the making of your previous releases? How did the current covid-19 situation affect recording, releasing the album?

Estère: Thank you! The album process for Archetypes was vastly different from my previous albums mainly because the majority of it wasn’t recorded in my bedroom. I also worked with various collaborators for this album - which was new for me too. I was used to hermitting away by myself and I would call this album process… quite social! It was all done before Covid 19 hit the Main Stage - but it delayed the release by about 8 months.  

We are looking forward to having you perform in Tauranga! If readers haven’t seen you before, how would you describe your live set? What can we expect on this tour?

E: I would describe it as dynamic, emotive and playful. Performance is very important to me and I want to give audiences a powerful show. That’s my goal. 

We are very lucky to be able to go to gigs in Aotearoa right now, how do you feel about your upcoming tour and being able to play live?

E: I feel so lucky! So so lucky. I have a lot of friends and family overseas and they can’t believe how much freedom we have in Aotearoa at the moment. 

You’re an incredible talent, tell us about your influences and how your music journey started.

E: Thank you!  I’m influenced by many artists - 'Archetypes' was inspired by a lot of non-english contemporary pop from the likes of Rosalia as well as Malian and Algerian folk music. I’m a huge fan of an artist called Mereba as well as the pioneers like Grace Jones, Miriam Makeba, David Bowie.  I’ve always sung and gravitated towards music. But as a kid I always got lazy with learning instruments until I picked up the drums at 11. That sparked a passion within me that has transferred onto other things like song-writing and production in later years. 

We hope you get to spend a bit of time in the Bay of Plenty. What are your favourite spots? What do you plan to do while you're here?

E: The Bay of Plenty is always so delightful to visit. I absolutely love the climate and the beaches. Walking up the Mount to the look-out  is something really special and I also love visiting the hot pools for a relaxing soak. 

Any parting words?

E: I’m really psyched to come and play at The Jam Factory and I encourage people to come down, it’s going to be an amazing night of music - and a wonderful artist called Yasamin will be opening the show. 

See Estère live:

28 March - new date
The Jam Factory, Tauranga
eventspronto.co.nz/estere

A $1 carbon offset has been added into each ticket price, which will contribute to offsetting Estère's New Zealand tour carbon footprint through tree planting, sustainable energy and community education initiatives.