There’s something quietly magnetic about Ngaiire. Maybe it’s the voice, which can shift from intimate vulnerability to full-bodied power in a matter of seconds, or perhaps it’s the way her music refuses to sit neatly inside any one genre. Soul, electronic, alt-pop, R&B and art-rock all pass through her orbit, stitched together with storytelling that feels deeply personal yet universally resonant.
Born in Papua New Guinea and now one of Australia’s most distinctive contemporary artists, Ngaiire creates music that explores identity, heritage, womanhood and transformation with striking honesty. Her work is theatrical without feeling distant, politically aware without losing emotional warmth, and constantly evolving in ways that make every release feel like a world of its own.
Ahead of her appearance at The Great Escape, we caught up with Ngaiire to talk creativity, performance, cultural identity and the energy of bringing such emotionally rich music into a live setting.
You’re playing The Great Escape this year, a festival known for tipping artists into their next phase. Does it feel like a turning point or part of a longer build?
My first dip in the UK was at Glastonbury, the year Dolly headlined, and then my long term boyfriend who was also my MD broke up with me and thus a long re-building of my life occurred which delayed me coming back to the UK. I feel like this is the follow up I’ve been working up to for way to long and I’m ready to run out the gates.
Everyone hates this question, but we’re asking it anyway. How would you describe your sound right now, without the clichés?
Well I’ve been working on 3 albums at the moment which are all very different. One is a completely new frenetic art world, one is an alternative folk pop sound and the other more R&B leaning – so what people will hear is more the last two.
Brighton has a strong musical identity. What kind of energy are you hoping to tap into when you play there?
I mean, I’m always chasing after energy that feels true and honest. I hope my dead grandmother turns up on stage from the village cuz then I’ll know that Brighton is truly lit.
What’s the one thing about your live set that people won’t get from just streaming your tracks?
The stories about the tracks but also the gut energy that comes with the vocals.
There’s a lot of noise around new artists right now. How do you stand out without trying too hard?
Don’t try. Be yourself.
Do you feel more at home in the studio or on stage, and has that changed over time?
It depends what stage of my life I’m in. The last 2 years I’ve really just wanted to be in the studio and talk about things. They’re two different mind sets. Being in the studio you get comfortable being in that incubation period but I enjoy the process of letting the songs you’ve nursed for so long out onto the stage and watching them learn to walk out into the arms of the world.
Are you looking forward to any other artists at The Great Escape? Any recommendations or acts you want to watch?
My body needs to get lost to Angine de Poitrine! And then some Peaches.
For someone discovering you for the first time at the festival, where should they start?
My rendition of Tame Impala’s ‘The Less I Know the Better’
Outside of music, what’s currently feeding into your world? Films, people, places, bad decisions, all of it.
New friends! Lately I’ve been really open to expanding my friendship circle and cultivating meeting new people. I went on a friend date last night with a gal who I met at the pub a few weeks back and exchanged numbers. She grew up a RAF RAT (Australian airforce kid) and me a child of scholarship academics whose parents moved them around a lot. I’d recently got a new apartment in the area she was in and decided we should be friends. Making friends as an adult is the best!
Looking ahead, what other exciting things are planned for you as an artist this year?
I’m launching a new music platform in Papua New Guinea where I’m from. There are not many pathways for PNG artists to make something of themselves and I’d always wanted to draw the opportunities back to my country when I started my career and now I get to finally do that!
You can catch Ngaiire at The Great Escape festival this week on Friday 7:15pm at Patterns (upstairs) and Saturday 3:50pm TGE BEACH – THE JETTY
