Australia "isn't top notch at supporting" auteurs - Teague

Music journalists Mikey Cahill and Marcus Teague chat with Aussie artist Gabriella Cohen about auteur Jack Ladder and the worth of such art in contemporary Australian society.

Hit Different co-host Marcus Teague has questioned how good the Australian music industry is at supporting auteurs.

“Australia isn’t top notch at supporting someone who flips around between genres, who takes it upon themselves to break down what they’ve built and renew themselves or find some truth,” Teague said on this week’s episode of Hit Different.

“It can be really hard in an industry where you’re known for something, to then knock it on its head and say I’m this person now.”

“It takes a lot of bravery in the Australian music industry to reinvent yourself and have the confidence to reinvent yourself.”

Teague came to this realisation when recently reviewing the latest record by Jack Ladder, an Australian artist renowned for being an auteur, which Teague described as someone “who sort of creates their own universes and is in control of that and doesn’t compromise on their version”.

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We covered it on Hit Different, a weekly podcast that puts music culture in context.

Co-host Mikey Cahill agreed on Ladder’s latest record, admitting that although it “didn’t necessarily take you perhaps where you wanted to go”, it “did what it needed to do for Jack Ladder”. Ladder has gone through alcohol rehabilitation and has had struggles with suicide, and the record addresses his issues.

Both Teague and his co-host Mikey Cahill turned the conversation on auteurs to guest Gabriella Cohen. The Australian artist is known for changing her sound, and has once again evolved her craft in the lead up to her third record ‘Blue No More’.

“Your (Cohen) new album comes out soon, you were saying you’ve found some new aspect of what you do for the new record in terms of the sound, has that felt like a brave thing for you or mysterious?” Teague asked Cohen.

“I feel like it's just natural. Every artist just has to continue to grow, and this was my growing, it took like two and a half years to get there,” Cohen said.

Hear the full story on Hit Different, a free weekly podcast that puts music culture in context.