Since first emerging in 2012, Montaigne has established themselves as one of Australia’s most dynamic performers, a natural storyteller and entertainer that has captured attention across the world.
Early releases like ‘I Am Not An End’ and ‘I’m A Fantastic Wreck’ announced their arrival into the music scene in 2014, introducing Montaigne as an intelligent, nuanced, and sensitive songwriter who could push the boundaries of pop music.
Montaigne quickly became an in-demand performer and a triple j favourite following the release of energetic EP THE LIFE OF MONTAIGNE (2014) and their expansive debut album GLORIOUS HEIGHTS in 2016. GLORIOUS HEIGHTS featured the ARIA Platinum certified single ‘Because I Love You’, which earned accolades including a #4 ARIA Chart position as well as #25 on triple j’s Hottest 100 countdown and the ‘Best Breakthrough Artist’ award at the 2016 ARIA Awards, not to mention a nomination for ‘Australian Album Of The Year’ at the J Awards ceremony of the same year. With their solo success taking them to new heights, Montaigne also lent their voice to one of the Hilltop Hoods’ most popular releases,‘1955’, a record now certified 8x Platinum.
Through all of these triumphs, Montaigne refused to rest on their laurels, pushing ahead with their craft and continuing to explore their own musicality. 2019 saw the arrival of their second album, a collection of observations and stories beautifully delivered against a backdrop of sprawling and theatrical sounds, fittingly titled COMPLEX. A touchstone record for Montaigne, the album was representative of the artist who had been boldly powering ahead in carving out their own lane in Australian music – distilling feelings of loneliness, isolation, confusion and distorted love into one of the finest records of the year.
The following year brought another monumental achievement, as Montaigne was selected to represent Australia at Eurovision in Rotterdam 2020, having won the Eurovision: Australia Decides competition with their stunning original song, ‘Don’t Break Me’. While the global music event was delayed due to the pandemic, Montaigne returned in 2021 to represent Australia on the world stage in a live broadcast to Rotterdam in May of 2021 with their incendiary single ‘Technicolour’, co-written with Dave Hammer (Lime Cordiale, Genesis Owusu, K. Flay).
Montaigne’s Eurovision writing sessions with Hammer coalesced into something else – their kaleidoscopic third album making it!. Released in 2022, making it! is Montaigne’s most eclectic and forward-thinking record yet, showcasing their wide-ranging influences and ability to encapsulate the full spectrum of emotions in clever, sophisticated songwriting. Initially, making it! began life as a conceptual sci-fi narrative, influenced by games like The Outer Wildsorlds and shows like Adventure Time. But as with every Montaigne release, making it! became much more – a contemplation on everything from music industry, capitalism, to death and destruction. But it’s also something else: a record about love.
“I realised, after a while, that this is actually more or less an album about love and who I have become while in my past relationship,” Montaigne says with a smile. “Being in a relationship is often a choice and you have to make sacrifices. I wanted to make songs, or love songs, that were just realistic to my experience.”
The title making it! embodies that and more: from what it means to be successful, to sustaining relationships, to the literal making of an album.
Having always been an enthusiastic collaborator, making it! features some of Montaigne’s best joint work– including two brilliant songs sculpted alongside Talking Heads’ visionary leader David Byrne. ‘Always Be You’ and ‘Gravity’ – the latter being one of the album’s key singles – were born from email correspondence between Montaigne and Byrne, resulting in two urgent and gloriously prismatic songs. Fellow Eurovision contestant Daði Freyr appears on the clear and honest ‘make me feel so…’, while French-Japanese artist Maika Loubté appears on the gorgeous, drifting closer ‘comet death’. making it! is a true pop journey – a body of work from an artist constantly pushing forward, exploring and embracing the furthest reaches of where music can go.
It marks the start of a bold new era for Montaigne – recently, they’ve teamed up with TikTok sensation Tom Cardy the thumping single ‘Red Flags’ (which has already notched up 39 million plays on Spotify) and renowned dance producer Ninajirachi for ‘One Long Firework in the Sky’.
With plenty of new music coming down the pipeline, the musical force that is Montaigne is getting ready to demand our attention once again – forever marching to the beat of their own drum.