From appearing on Australian Idol to childhood days watching his dad singing in a Singapore temple, music has always played a huge role in Kartik Kuna’s professional and personal life.
Now, the Sydney-based musician is ready to take his career to new heights by making a big move to Singapore to explore new opportunities. But before Kuna embarks on what he says is an exciting “different chapter” in his life, he’s set to perform a farewell show of sorts, titled ‘The Last Encore’ at Mary’s Underground in Sydney on Wednesday December 4.
We caught up with Kuna to hear all about this show, his big plans and of course, where his love for music all began.
Hi Kartik, thanks so much for chatting to us. This is your last show before you head to Singapore, and we’d love to know how it feels and what can we expect from the show.
Thanks so much for interviewing me. Yes, this really is the last hurrah on Wednesday 4th December @ Mary’s Underground before I move to Singapore next year to start a different chapter. It feels bittersweet because I’ve been in Sydney for the last 10 years and achieved nearly everything I wanted to. This feels like a goodbye.
What influenced your decision to relocate to Singapore at this point in your career? I know a lot of people of colour move overseas for greater opportunities in the arts – does this play a role in your decision?
There are a few reasons for this, and it’s a combination of a couple of things. I just turned 30 last week and feel like it’s time for a different chapter. I’ve been hustling as an independent artist in Sydney for so long and still feel like I haven’t really gotten as far as I would have liked. Pop & R&B music also doesn’t get the same love here as the US or UK for example.
Singapore and Spotify Asia have shown me SO much love and there are bigger opportunities for me there as a TV presenter and my original music. Most of my fans are based in Asia, UK and the USA so I really want to explore this and connect with them whilst I’m still young. I’ll regret it if I don’t do this now and if it’s one thing I live by, it’s that life is too short to not do something you love.
When you sit down to plan a tour or show, do you usually have a wish list of key features, special performances or surprises that you like to throw into the mix?
Yes, so I musical direct all of my own shows and I plan every detail like key relations, segues, the trajectory of the mood, how to tell the stories of my songs and when to get the crowd to sing along. A lot of work goes on behind the scenes but I absolutely love bringing this dream to life. A lot of people don’t know that my forte is actually performing live and that I sing with live bands all the time for wedding gigs, so I’m excited to give Sydney an amazing show with some surprises.
Music transcends borders, with social media and streaming services making accessibility greater on a global scale. When you then travel to different parts of the world to perform, do audiences react differently to your work?
I love performing overseas. The vibes are just next level, especially in places like Singapore, India & Croatia. People are dancing like there’s no tomorrow and really engaging with me. It’s OK in Australia, but the culture is just different here and for some reason in Sydney there’s a lot of wealthy but miserable people that complain to turn the music down, and it’s killed the vibe of the city it used to be. That’s another reason I’m looking to go overseas.
Congratulations on the upcoming album release on November 1. Are there any favourite tracks to look out for? How would you describe the sound behind the album?
Thank you! This album has taken 10 years to make so I’m glad that it’s finally out. The album is titled C.E.O because being the boss of your own life comes with its ups and downs, and the title track ‘C.E.O’ really encompasses that message in the music video too. I love all of my songs for different reasons, but ‘Touch Yourself’ is definitely a favourite because I spent three months getting shredded and learning choreography because I’ve always wanted to get a six pack and dance topless in my music video.
This song is also about sex and pushing the boundaries about it being taboo in the South Asian community.
If Bruno Mars, Ed Sheeran & Jason Derulo had a song baby, that would sum up the sound of my album.
Where do you usually look for inspiration when writing songs? How much of it is influenced by personal experience?
Every song is written from a personal experience about how I felt at the time. Most of the songs come to me in the shower, whilst on the toilet or late at night, haha.
The order of songs on the album takes you through my journey of empowerment, love, heartbreak, falling in love again, and reminding myself that nothing is ever personal and everything will be ok. The album begins and ends with ‘Good Times’ because that’s how I see life, and I hope it inspires the listeners to live their best lives too.
More broadly speaking in terms of culture and music, how has your heritage and your upbringing in Australia as a South Asian played a role in influencing the music you create?
When I was younger growing up in Tasmania, I felt like I was always trying to be more “Aussie” and fit in, sometimes brushing off my culture and my roots. However, being in Sydney and having two years to sit with my demons during Covid really taught me that I’m always going to be Indian and I should be proud of it. This empowered me to collaborate with South Asian and more broadly Asian artists all over the globe to feature on the album with me, so that my South Asian flavour is really represented in my music.
As a talented musician who is also a person of colour, how do you feel the music industry is faring in terms of cultural representation and South Asian representation? Is it improving, and what needs to be done to keep progress alive?
It is improving, but very slowly in Australia compared to other countries. I’ve said it in other interviews and am quite vocal about it on my socials, but what needs to change is that there needs to be people of colour in power, and in the same room as decision makers so that they can advise and educate. That really is the first step to real cultural representation, otherwise it just comes off as tokenism and people see right through it.
Looking back, when did your love for music begin? At what point did you choose to turn this passion into a career as a singer/songwriter?
When I was still a child in Singapore, my parents always used to take us to the Botanical Gardens every weekend for the free LIVE music concerts. My dad used to sing in the temple band and also played all the woodwind instruments during his time in the army too, so we were always surrounded by music.
When I came to Launceston, Tasmania in 2004, my two sisters and I were all meant to be tap dancers, but then all learnt the piano instead. At about 14, I knew I wanted to be a concert pianist and/or at least do music for the rest of my life as a career. However, during my two-year stint in Singapore serving my National Service in the Singapore Armed Forces Music & Drama Company, I was an Artiste (singer, dancer and host) performing all over Singapore, plus I had so much time to write songs and work on my craft.
I knew I was coming back to Sydney in 2015 to study at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music majoring in Classical Piano performance, but these two years were crucial in realising that I truly wanted to be an artist and inspire people with my original music.
Are there any dream artists you would love to collaborate with in the future?
Definitely my idols Bruno Mars canf Ed Sheeran, can you make that happen? Haha!
What has been the biggest professional highlight for you?
Ok let’s do top 3 because I can’t pick one:
- Getting flown to Singapore as a celebrity to perform my original song ‘Wanderlust’ for a global livestream to celebrate the country’s National Day.
- Opening for Post Modern Jukebox at Enmore Theatre to 1,600 adoring fans – the energy in the room was electric and there was SO much love for my original music!
- Being a TV presenter for Channel News Asia and getting flown all over Asia and Australia to host 3x 45 min documentary episodes that are still playing on TV screens all over Asia.
You’ve appeared on Australian Idol. From reality shows to TikTok, there are many new avenues these days to forge a music career. What advice would you have for young people trying to get into the biz? What’s the best way to do it?
Australian Idol definitely helped to open new doors for me especially in Singapore, and being a professional musician in Sydney has really shown me that I really can be a full-time performer if I work hard, be great at my craft, reliable and a good person. But I’m going to be totally honest, it’s really hard to make it as an independent artist. I’ve been posting nearly every day this year on social media and have been hustling for 10 years.
My only advice to anyone trying to make it is to stay consistent and really believe in yourself. It’s not a matter of if, but when. Stay patient and work hard because that’s all you can do. Everything else is up to the universe so live your best life, and good things will follow.
Kartik Kuna – The Last Encore is on Wednesday, December 4 at 7:30pm at Mary’s Underground in Sydney. Ticket details are available here.
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