SURAHN’S GLOBAL STAGE
Ahead of his set at Vintage Vibes, SA’s Surahn takes us through his global journey that’s seen him work with Empire of the Sun, write hit songs for Usher and become an Almond Farmer
Words by Zara Richards
There’s an almond farm in Willunga that also happens to be the home of one of South Australia’s most globally-connected yet elusive artists, Surahn Sidhu. He’s charted the world as the touring bass player for Empire Of The Sun; he’s worked with Usher, nurtured a celebrated solo career and even become a permaculture teacher – the 42-year-old’s career has been nothing short of exciting. “I’ve lived a pretty diverse, rich, challenging and oscillated life, full of really big highs and lows,” he muses. “I’ve experienced a lot.” The singer-songwriter/producer is talking to The Note from his farm and during the conversation, one word comes up regularly: serendipity. Surahn grew up on a diet of disco and soul, listening to seminal artists like Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson and George Benson in his youth. “When you’re 10, liking Steely Dan rather than Nirvana was controversial at school,” he recalls. “I remember listening to Herbie Hancock’s Head Hunters on the bus and a kid snatching my headphones off, thinking I was listening to some sort of grunge music. He was sorely disappointed when he heard the synth sounds.” It was school where Surahn’s music career began. In Year Five, he started singing on weekends at weddings and became mates with Tony Mitolo and Luke Godson (aka Luke Million). Together, the trio formed seminal disco outfit, The Swiss. “We would rehearse at lunchtime and then play clubs on the weekend,” he says. “It was the only live disco, techno funk thing of its kind in Adelaide. Instrumental music is way more popular now, but [The Swiss] was pretty renegade back then.” They signed to Modular Recordings (Cut Copy, The Presets) in the mid-2000s and released their debut EP, Bubble Bath, through the label. Its title-track became a dancefloor anthem in European clubs in Belgium. Serendipitously, The Swiss saw Surahn’s world colliding with Empire Of The Sun’s Nick Littlemore and Luke Steele. Donnie Sloan, who produced Bubble Bath, worked with Littlemore on tracks for his electro outfit PNAU and introduced him to Surahn and Tony Mitolo. “I think I scored some pop for them and tried to get myself on a record,” he recalls. “Tony and I, as drum and bass players, were probably the tightest combo around. We’d been playing together for so long [and] could hold down a groove for hours.” When Littlemore and Steele formed Empire Of The Sun, Tony and Surahn became the group’s touring multi-instrumentalists. The retro-pop outfit became a runaway success when their now-double-platinum debut single ‘Walking On A Dream’ (co-written by Donnie Sloan) dropped in 2008. Empire’s global explosion saw them headline stages at Glastonbury and Coachella between 2010 and 2011, in tow with the Adelaide drum and bass duo. “Those massive festivals where you perform to 80,000 people and you’re televised to millions are pretty ridiculous,” says Surahn. “I used to trip out looking over at Tony whilst playing and think, ‘Shit, I’ve been looking at this guy since we were kids.’ “It’s very hard to articulate because it’s such a unique circumstance. You hear of people marrying their high school sweetheart, but I think this goes further.” Coachella was another serendipitous moment for the Adelaide singer-songwriter. Usher was side of stage for Empire Of The Sun’s 2011 set, looking for inspiration for his next album. After the gig, the eight-time Grammy winner struck up conversation with Surahn and the group. “We got on really well,” he recalls. “I sent him some music, one thing led to another, and I ended up getting a song [‘Say The Words] on his album [Looking 4 Myself] that went to #1. It changed my life.” The co-writing credit opened the doors for Surahn as a songwriter and he signed to James Murphy’s (LCD Soundsystem) label DFA, where he released his debut self- titled solo EP in 2012. In 2017, the global star entered an entirely new era. This was the year Surahn and his wife, Jess, purchased a dilapidated 10-acre almond orchard in Willunga and dedicated themselves to regenerating the land sustainably. Called Papershell Farm, it’s where the songwriter/producer runs his own label, Utopian State, and cultivates a music community through the farm’s tasting room, the Almond Door. Those in the know regularly visit for the intimate and sporadic jazz, funk and improvisation sessions, but the land has also hosted a 2000-person Utopian State festival that raised $70,000 for the arts in 2021. In his spare hours, Surahn works with artists like Ollie English on their next project or spends time creating sculptures. Of course, there are still moments for Surahn to write and release soul and disco-infused records, like Soft Rock Summer, which dropped in June. He’ll perform this album, plus favourites from his back catalogue, with a 10-piece ensemble at Vintage Vibes on January 28, 2024. “I only really do this once in a blue moon,” he says. “It’s nice to do my own thing at a festival for a change. Whilst I’m a local artist, I’m also an international one, and it’s nice to show off in front of my mates.” As for what the New Year brings for Surahn, he says there’ll be ‘plenty of music’. “Between work as a writer, producer, label boss, artist and festival owner, there’s plenty to do. I guess that’s what happens when you don’t watch television!” See Surahn at Vintage Vibes this January 28, alongside acts like Cub Sport, The Tesky Brothers and more. Tickets available now.
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