Flying High    

Midway through 2010, barely anybody outside of her hometown would have heard of Brooke Addamo.

Cut to 12 months later and the Melbourne singer-songwriter is stepping off the stage at Splendour In The Grass, returning south to news of sold-out shows and massive support slots. “Yeah, Splendour was great,” Addamo explains over the phone. “I performed 'It Can Wait' with Illy. He had an amazing crowd.”

Addamo is more commonly known as Owl Eyes, a moniker that since November last year has had a growing presence on the Australian independent music scene. Addamo's brief feature at Splendour had the feeling of capping off a crazy first stanza to her career, the stage being set for the release of her brand new record, 'Raiders'.

“I was really inspired by soundscapes and synthy, atmospheric stuff, so I wanted to have that sort of feel. This time around I actually had time to think about the fact that I was writing an EP. I wanted it to sound like a mini album and have everything the same, whereas with my previous EP, 'Faces', it was just experimenting and it turned out to be, 'Oh, this is now my EP’. I guess I took a lot more time.”

To support the EP, Addamo is staring down a series of shows that will be the biggest in her career thus far. “I was definitely excited when I heard that the Northcote Social Club had sold out,” she says. “I was like, 'Oh, are you sure?' But now there's a second show that's selling really well too. It's really great. I'm taking my band with me, so that should be really fun and a much fuller sound.”

The good news was compounded by the fact that Owl Eyes has been announced as support for the latest visit of Liverpudlian indie rockers, The Wombats, whose upcoming show has been shifted to The Riverstage on account of strong ticket sales. “Yeah, that's going to be amazing! I'm signed by Wunderkind, but it's under Warner and they're signed by Warner, so I guess it's just a pairing and I got that opportunity. It's going to be all in one week - bang, bang, bang. It'll be heaps of fun and I can't wait for that tour.”

OWL EYES SUPPORTS THE WOMBATS AT BRISBANE RIVERSTAGE OCT 13, HEADLINES ALHAMBRA LOUNGE AUG 27 AND PLAYS THE ZOO FOR BIGSOUND LIVE  SEP 8