‘Lucky’: Aussie star’s Covid admission

Matt Corby will release his first new album in five years on Friday, and a sneak preview track on Wednesday.

Speaking to NCA NewsWire, the Byron-based singer said the Covid-19 lockdown came just after finishing a whirlwind tour, and while he couldn’t work as usual, he was busy with personal projects. He said he wasted his time.

“For me, I was at the end of the cycle. I finished a lot of tours, so I was very lucky,” he said.

“I was probably one of the lucky ones. I needed a break, so it was good for me.

“Gave me the chance to build[a studio]. It used to be my house’s garage, and it was a great project that I embarked on at that time.”

Kobe, who founded RVR (Rainbow Valley Records), said he spent much of his long hiatus making lots of new music for other artists.

“I probably made five records, a cover, an EP and a few singles in the last year while I was working hard as a producer,” he said.

But not everyone enjoyed the downtime, and Corby explained that his friends in the industry were hit hard by the turbulence.

“The only hard part was seeing a lot of my friends in the industry not making money and feeling pretty depressed,” he said.

“Most of my friends have roles in the music industry. They are audio engineers, they are stage technicians, they run festivals. Definitely not having a good time.I was on the phone with everyone a lot.”

The former Australian Idol runner-up’s comments come as new research reveals just how hard the pandemic has rocked the entertainment industry across Australia.

A survey conducted by Wild Turkey found that 85% of aspiring musicians across the country are struggling to recover from the turmoil of the past few years, and 9 out of 10 are now ready to break out in the industry. I agree that it is getting harder.

The survey also found that 17% of artists struggle to find support to build their careers. Kobe now works with Wild Turkey to help one artist achieve his dream.

Up-and-coming artists are encouraged to apply to Music 101. This program is a bespoke mentoring program that provides one artist with a mobile recording studio and private her mentorship from Brother’s Hitmaker.

“It actually means a lot to me,” Kobe said.

“It’s kind of a role that I already take on to some extent through the little label I run and the production work I do.”

The program allows selected artists to tour the country with Kobe and other well-known artists.

“I love the idea of ​​a mentorship program,” Kobe said. “I love the idea of ​​kicking Australia out of the way and giving aspiring musicians another platform to try.”

Alongside Wild Turkey, Corby has created a “first of its kind” mobile music home complete with recording studio, bar and live stage.

Fans attending the national tour can drink Wild Turkey Bourbon from the bar while the artists perform from the stage or record demos in the background.

Anyone who wants to apply for a mentoring spot can apply here.

A runner-up on Australian Idol in 2007, Kobe won the hearts of millions with the top hits “Brother” and “Resolution” in 2011 and 2013 respectively.

His new album, Everything’s Fine, is out on Friday, but Kobe said his latest release doesn’t have a real theme.

“It’s just an interesting collection of songs,” he said.

“I don’t think there’s a really strong theme throughout. Every time we come across some good vibes in the studio, we forget about it and it’s kind of nice to just make a record like that.

“I think each song stands alone as its own little piece, and it was very tricky to put them in order.

“It seems that there are more than 1 million combinations.”

One song in particular, due to be released the day before the full-length album is released, is “very emotional” for Kobe, even bringing him to tears.

“It’s a bit of a slow jam and very emotional,” he said.

“We shot a very good live clip. I even cried, which is rare for me. I was