“I want my music to tell a story that connects to something that’s real because, for me, that’s what I love about music. While being catchy and enjoyable, I also hope my songs make people feel something” – Will Blume.

When he was 16 years old, the gift of an old Fender guitar completely shifted Will Blume’s focus. “It was pretty transformative,” the gifted singer-songwriter/multi-instrumentalist from Far North Queensland reflects. “As soon as I started playing it, I couldn’t put it down; I didn’t want to do anything else. It was like I’d found the language that I could speak fluently and I could finally get my story, or feelings, out in a way that I’d never known before.”

Born in Mackay, Will Blume grew up on a property in the hills of Maleny, on the Sunshine Coast, where he was homeschooled by his mum until he entered the school system around Grade 4. “That shaped me a lot,” he considers. “I’m still a big kid. As the years turn over, I don’t ever want to lose my ability to have fun with life and not be too serious.”

While trying to learn covers on guitar, Will quickly discovered he also had a natural affinity for songwriting that proved somewhat distracting from his studies: “It would always end with me jamming and creating something myself. I would sometimes skip out of maths class in high school to hide in the music room with one of my best buddies, and we would write songs.”

Will moved to the Gold Coast in Currumbin after finishing school before heading to Byron Bay, where he resided in a cabin behind a music shop for a spell. “That was a really special time in my life, but I spent all my money in the first week!” he recalls. “I was busking and just getting by, eating cheese sandwiches and being broke. Then I had a crack at the Bluesfest busking competition and ended up getting a slot at Bluesfest festival, which was fun.”

Will soon plucked up the courage to chalk his name down and share a few songs on the Wintermoon Festival blackboard stage and clearly remembers his performance anxiety melting away, with each guitar strum and syllable sung, into a feeling of comfort. “I felt good. There were probably about 30 people in the audience and 90% of them were my family or friends,” he admits, laughing. “About five years after that, I headlined the festival, which was really special. That place has always been a great place for me to check in and take stock of where I’m at, and make sure I’m still keepin’ it real, because those people know me and saw me when I was just starting out.”

While watching his favourite acts – including Bon Iver, Xavier Rudd, Angus & Julia Stone and Frank Ocean – owning festival main stages the world over, Will often tried to imagine what it would feel like to perform in front of a massive crowd. Then when he was invited to play with Busby Marou, who supported Elton John in Will’s hometown of Mackay, this dream became reality.

When it came time to record his own songs, Will collaborated with Holy Holy’s Oscar Dawson and immediately found a simpatico creative spirit. Minimal instrumental embellishment serves to elevate Will’s pristine, arresting vocal performance on songs like ‘Green Eyes’ and ‘Porcelain’.

“It felt natural working with Oscar and we really clicked,” Will recounts. “The first time we met, we grabbed a coffee in his studio in Melbourne, this cool little space out the back of a vinyl shop, and just caught up, talked about music. You’d walk out the door straight onto a Melbourne street and, being from Far North Queensland, that was exciting and inspiring for me.

“We quickly got to the point where we could speak plainly with each other, which I find is a great environment for creating art. I feel comfortable around Oscar, he understands me as an artist and has really helped me explore my identity as both a songwriter and a musician.”

Over the last few years, Will has been toiling away at his craft and gradually unearthing his own distinct sound. Even among the excitement of the big smoke, Will still found inspiration in nature – tapping into his childhood growing up in rural Queensland and his formative years in comparative isolation.

“I find I write the best stuff when I seclude myself away somewhere; no internet, no phones, just a guitar and pen and paper,” he shares. “When I was in Melbourne, I use to go out to this beach house at Sandy Point down towards Croajingolong National Park, right at the bottom of Victoria. Now I’m back up north, I find those kinds of spaces more around the creeks and the forests.

“I’ve spent a lot of time being a loner and that’s probably resulted in the biggest growth, for me. Looking back at what I did a few years ago and nourishing those ideas to keep that wheel turning, it’s all been funnelled into this record.”

With his debut EP ‘SKYLIGHTS’ scheduled to drop in early 2024, Will’s proudest musical accomplishments are imminent – warm, transportive waves of sound carry Will’s honest, true and compassionate observations about life and humanity.

‘Porcelain’ is the first taste of the EP and showcases Will’s trademark pure vocal tone and honest, authentic delivery. Built from a sparse, hopeful guitar line, the song’s arrangement gradually builds, as minimal, uplifting percussion elements ebb and flow like a trusted loved one’s actions deflecting waves of self-doubt.

“People that I’m close to have been through some hardships and I wanted to write a song, something that they can listen to and find comfort in when I’m not around. Porcelain is about renewal and was deeply inspired by the important women in my life. It’s for anyone who has ever been made to feel less than and is dedicated to all the survivors, fighters and children at heart. Horrible things may happen, but you can always come back to that pureness of yourself; the beautiful soul you were born to be.”