Multi-platinum, ARIA Award-winning artist Illy returns with his seventh studio album, Good Life—an introspective and raw exploration of… well… life.
Featuring 14 tracks, including the introspective “Stubborn,” the title track co-written with DMA’s Johnny Took, and the euphoric new single “Kids” featuring Latin superstar Sofia Reyes, Good Life is a bold step forward for the Melbourne-based artist.
Collaborating with renowned names like Xavier Dunn, Kuren, Tones And I, Hevenshe, and Jungleboi, Illy delivers a record that blends hip-hop, pop, and electronic sounds with unmatched versatility.
In an exclusive interview, Illy opened up about the creative journey behind Good Life, the personal milestones that inspired its lyrics, and his evolution as an artist. “There’s definitely some of the most vulnerable moments that I’ve ever recorded on this album, but I don’t think it’s It’s that as much as it is aspirational”
With themes of resilience and self-discovery, Good Life invites listeners into a space where raw vulnerability meets triumphant joy. And with a 2025 tour on the horizon, Illy is ready to connect with fans once again, bringing his new chapter to life on stage.
Read on for our full conversation with Illy as he reflects on Good Life and what’s next.
HAPPY: Firstly, congratulations on the new album. How are you feeling ahead of its release?
ILLY: Thank you, I’m feeling really excited about it. It’s taking a long time to get here and lots of blood, sweat, and tears but you know it all feels very worthwhile at this point right before the album release so I’m very happy about it.
HAPPY: Tell us a little bit about where you’re from.
ILLY: I’m from Frankston in Melbourne. It’s not particularly known for bringing out a lot of musicians, so the few that do come from there and then have successful careers are pretty tight hence one of my closest friends in music being Tones and I. I love Melbourne. It’s the greatest city in the world and. I represent it proudly
HAPPY: Are there any Melbourne local artists you really enjoy, that you would like to shout out?
ILLY: Kuren who is an electronic producer. I’ve worked with him for years. He had his first album come out on my formal label. He produced a couple tracks on Good Life. He’s fantastic.
YNG. Martyr is one of my favourite up-and-coming rappers and also a Melbourne fella.
There are too many to list because as soon as I think of someone I think of another Artist, but I’ll keep it to 2 and they’ll be my two picks.
HAPPY: What’s your favourite song right now?
ILLY: It’s probably a little cliche but I’d say Shaboozey “Tipsy Bar Song.”
I loved this song as soon as I heard it, and then about two months later I saw an Instagram story and someone tagged the producer in it and I was like that name looks familiar, and it turns out that the dude produced it, Nevin Sastry, I actually worked with on a writing trip in 2021.
We hit it off but we’ve lost contact for a little bit and he’s one of the best dudes I’ve met in LA having gone there for years doing sessions and it’s really cool because he was a struggling artist in LA trying to follow his dream and then really caught fire with this song that’s now one of the biggest in Billboard history. I just love seeing good people win.
HAPPY: Congratulations on your new single “Kids,” which was a collab with Sofia Reyes and written with Tones And I. What was that writing process like?
ILLY: Yeah, it was long. The initial writing process itself was very quick. I wrote it with Tones in the very back end of 2019, the last couple of weeks right before Covid and we played a festival together on the Saturday and agreed on the Tuesday we go in and have a session.
I was maybe 15 minutes late, and Tones is already at the piano and played me a very rough version of the chorus that you’re hearing now.
We worked on it, and by the end of the day we had a very rough demo of the complete song. It then existed in that form for a couple of years.
Obviously when Covid happened everything was so uncertain and I knew nothing about this song was uncertain.
I knew it was gonna be a great song, but I didn’t want to release it when the world was shut down, so I held it off the last album.
And then in the couple of years since then It’s transformed a lot into a more complete song.
Finding Sofia Reyes for the feature was a process in itself which which took the better part of two years and some really incredible singers did their version of the chorus but it wasn’t right.
We found Sofia quite recently, but she suited it so perfectly that I’m happy we waited even though it was a super extra stressful situation.
It worked out in the end, so the risk of the initial writing process was one afternoon, and the final writing process was 4 1/2 years.
HAPPY: Your new album Good Life is out now. We’ve seen so many shifts in musical styles through your albums. What can listeners expect from this one?
ILLY: This is definitely my most diverse album in terms of sounds. I’m the most confident my songwriting ability and my versatility that I’ve ever been.
If I was making the same thing over and over again I would’ve lost interest a long time ago. I’m far enough into my career that just rapping about how good I can rap is absolutely zero interest to me.
I want to try doing new things. I want to find new things and interesting things to talk about, and interesting ways to tell those stories so yeah I think if people go into this expecting one thing I’m sure on at least one or two tracks they will be surprised, and I’m really gonna get a kick out of seeing those reactions.
HAPPY: You mention that this album comes from the most fully formed ILLY, what does “fully formed” look like to you?
ILLY: Just having more experience as a songwriter, more experience in life, and you hope that if you’ve learnt anything along the way that whatever you lose in life and whatever you trade for youthful exuberance for experience.
Coming from the underground hip-hop scene which was very sort of rigid in what was acceptable and what was not, to sort of crossing into the mainstream with rap songs, to now doing whatever I want.
I’m really pushing the songwriting as much as the rap. I still love hip-hop.
It’s not that I’ve turned my back on it or anything, but I listen to all sorts of music and I’m inspired and moved by all sorts of music, so I think when I say the most fully formed that’s what I mean, it’s taking influences and having the confidence to be able to execute it properly.
HAPPY: Title track ‘Good Life’ is very much about pure moments of vulnerability, is this an overarching theme for the album?
ILLY: Vulnerability is an overarching theme for it, but there’s definitely an element of taking risks and backing yourself which I feel like this interview has kind of covered that ground.
I think it’s definitely a positive album, and is definitely an album about if you believe in something then pursuing it.
Not every track is gonna strictly stick to that but I think there’s a positivity that sort of underlies the whole album.
There’s definitely some of the most vulnerable moments that I’ve ever recorded on this album, but I don’t think it’s It’s that as much as it is aspirational.
HAPPY: In the press statement for the title track, you mention Aussie hip-hop and Rock and Roll as meaning a lot to you. Who are some of the Australian artists that you really look up to?
ILLY: The immediate name that comes to mind with Aussie hip-hop is Hilltop Hoods.
They’ve been people I’ve looked up for nearly 20 years. They’re some of my best mates inside the music industry and just in general.
I can’t say enough good things about them and I’m very happy to have always followed their lead.
They’ve always been the book that I take pages out of in terms of how to conduct myself and carry my career.
As far as the rock side of things, I mean I haven’t been as influenced throughout my career by that genre but Good Life features Johnny Took from DMA’s on guitar, and the DMA’s are an incredible band.
I mean Silver is probably my favourite Australian song of the last 10 years so I was really blessed to be able to work with Johnny closely on the title track for the album.
HAPPY: The Album tour kicks off in March 2025. Do you have any pre-show rituals to help get you in the mode?
ILLY: I don’t have any strict rituals other than a shot of Jamieson about 30 seconds before we go on stage. I don’t drink before shows other than that.
It’s not really to get a buzz going as much as it is tradition at this point, but yeah we keep it pretty simple with some stretching, vocal warmups, and some Jamieson and off you go.
HAPPY: Finally, What makes you happy?
ILLY: Having this fucking out will make me extremely happy!
Check out Illy’s 2025 tour dates below
Friday 28 March – 170 Russell, Melbourne VIC
Friday 11 April – Princess Theatre, Brisbane QLD
Saturday 12 April – Factory Theatre, Sydney NSW
Saturday 19 April – The Gov, Adelaide SA
Head for Tickets and more info.
