Auguste's Dreamy Pop Balancing Act

Scott Wallace
27th Apr 2016

Skye Lockwood is one half of Adelaide-based duo Auguste. Skye and her step-sister Beth Keough make gorgeous electronic pop tunes that strike a perfect balance between hard beats and delicate textures with some seriously beautiful vocal harmonies floating on top. We asked Skye a few questions about their tough, no-nonsense new single "Kingdom," the diverse artists that inspire them, the Adelaide indie scene, and their secretive next step. 

Your new single “Kingdom” is a very empowering song about taking control of your personal space. Was it inspired by a specific incident?

Not really - Beth and I wrote "Kingdom" together and we have both experienced this in different ways and circumstances so it's really a collection of these experiences.  It's always a lot of fun writing together - you learn a lot about someone when you write a song together! 

How did you come to work with Andy Bull on “Kingdom”? How was it working with him?

One of our mentors actually recommended we work with Andy. He thought the original production lent itself to his genre and sound. He was definitely correct! Andy has really created something unique for this track which we are so happy with. He is great to work with and almost became a mentor himself!

The minimalist video for “Kingdom” is very striking. How closely did you work with the dancers to get the right feel for the song?

We had a chat with them to discuss the lyrics and what they meant to us. Then we just left it up to Jess and Aiden to come up with a choreographed dance that represented what the song was about. Jess and Aiden (two main dancers) did an absolutely awesome job and we are so grateful they agreed to come work with us.

What’s your creative dynamic like as a duo? Do you ever butt heads?

Beth and I work really well together. We are step-sisters and have spent a lot of time together so we are very familiar with how each other works not only on a friendship and sibling level but professionally as well. We have definitely butted heads over a few things in the past but we are pretty good at communicating so this normally isn't much of an issue.

What are some artists that influence your sound? Does music taste differ between the two of you?

My inspiration for music is always changing. At the moment I'm inspired by Vera Blue, Highasakite, Japanese Wallpaper, and always by my favourite oldies such as Tracy Chapman, Paul Simon and just recently my dad's favourite, America.

What’s the Adelaide indie music scene like?

It's great! Always so much local live music on, it's hard to choose who to go see sometimes. Adelaide Fringe is my favourite time of the year to be in Adelaide, so much on! There is a Winter festival coming up called Umbrella Winter City Sounds which I'm pretty excited to check out too.

What’s next? Are you making plans or just taking things as they come?

We have lots of exciting plans! Just about to launch the live show and getting ready to release our third single - working with a new producer who we are very excited to collaborate with! (its all a bit hush hush at this stage).

We are constantly writing and jamming so get ready for hopefully what will be another killer track and an awesome live set!