KCH opens up on heartbreak, humour, and heading into a new solo era
Fresh off the release of my head is a jungle in a deforestation way, Adelaide-raised, Sydney-based artist KCH (Kyle Charles Hall) is leaning fully into his solo chapter.
The self-produced sophomore EP dives headfirst into heartbreak, burnout and mental health, but never stays in the dark for too long – finding humour, hope and clarity in the mess.
Ahead of his headline show at Sydney’s Pleasure Club, we catch up with KCH about new music, old influences, and learning to sit with the chaos without letting it take over.
HAPPY: What’d you get up to today?
KCH: Today I have just been cooking on some unreleased tracks that we’re planning on debuting at our headline show at the Pleasure club – feels good to work on new music again!
HAPPY: Tell us a little about where you’re from, and what you love about it!
KCH: I’m from Adelaide! There are a lot of beautiful people there & they are always worth coming back for so I love that I have a nice gentle landing space when I need a break from the hustle & bustle of Sydney.
HAPPY: You’ve gone from fronting Runaway Weekend to building a solo career, what sparked that transition?
KCH: I moved away from Adelaide to Perth for study & just started cooking on my own music – I grew a deep love for producing & I think once I realised the creative freedom that new skillset brought I got super inspired to make my own sound.
HAPPY: You’ve just played SXSW in Austin and have a Pleasure Club residency coming up, what’s been the most surreal moment of the new KCH chapter so far?
KCH: To be honest the thing that always blows me away is the team I have acquired along the way. I am constantly surrounded by such talented & generous artists. Sydney is pretty cool like that. It’s very easy to stay inspired.
HAPPY: You’ve drawn comparisons to Dominic Fike and The 1975, who were the artists that made you want to make music in the first place?
KCH: Honestly The 1975 are probably the ones who did it. I remember listening to their debut album in the library in year 9 & I just felt like I had never heard music that had such a distinct visual world attached to it.
The way they marry visuals to represent the feeling their music gives is truly like no other. I also saw The Jungle Giants play Groovin’ The Moo way back in 2013 & that felt formative. Was cool to see people doing it in my own backyard type beat lol.
HAPPY: The EP is titled my head is a jungle in a deforestation way, what made that phrase click as the title for this project?
KCH: It’s a bit of a joke but also kinda dark. I was hell depressed at the time & it felt like my brain was constantly eating itself so I felt the title encapsulated this in a funny way.
I never want to be too doom & gloom. I always want my music to feel uplifting so making depression funny felt apt.
HAPPY: You’ve described the EP as coming from an overwhelmingly negative space but with a positive spin, do you feel a responsibility to leave listeners with hope?
KCH: Yes but also it’s kinda selfish. I love spending hours & hours on my music & if I work on anything too depressing I get sad. Choosing to be hopeful is more fun for everyone involved.
HAPPY: You wrote ‘ingrained’ with Christian From Legal, what does collaboration look like for you as a solo artist?
KCH: It was fun! We were both kinda emo at the time so writing an absolute slammer did a lot of good for both of us.
We had just started playing around with different tunings & ingrained actually uses the same tuning as “Yellow” by Coldplay.
This one came together super easy as we were a bit further down the writing process for the EP so the sonic choices felt obvious.
HAPPY: What’s the one thing you want listeners to take away after spending time with this EP?
KCH: Love yourself even when you’re sad. Sadness is a privilege that means you have something to lose!
HAPPY: Lastly, what makes you happy? :-)
KCH: Getting out in the sunshine – I’m like a little dog sometimes boy just gotta go for a walk & shake things off.
