Castlemaine/Dja Dja Wurrung Country-based songwriter, musician, advocate and writer Eliza Hull is back with another dollop of lovely music for our earholes. The top-notch creative’s latest single, “Better”, is a cinematic masterpiece of human vulnerability. Just as she’s started to ramp up for the release of her new album You’d Think We’d Be Used To Change By Now – out December 4th – we stole a few minutes of Eliza’s time to pick her brain about this... or that.

The countryside or the city? This is hard! I love both so much, and I am lucky because I live in Castlemaine on Dja Dja Wurrung Country but get to visit Naarm/Melbourne almost weekly. If I had to choose, I’d go countryside. There is something about the slow pace that calms me – it grounds me and reminds me of the beauty of Mother Nature. I love the space and quiet of it too.

Playing live or recording music? This is like choosing which baby! Right now, I probably would say recording, only because I had such an incredible time making my new record, You’d Think We’d Be Used To Change By Now. I travelled between London, Melbourne and Castlemaine, and got to work with incredible people, including Pip Norman (Missy Higgins, Baker Boy) and Liam Howe in London, who used to be part of the ‘90s trip-hop band Sneaker Pimps. One of my favourite songs of theirs, “6 Underground”, was my song all throughout uni – that’s when I discovered it. My friends and I would have house parties and put it on right at the end of the night. To then be in a room with Liam making songs instantaneously felt like a bit of a dream. He has worked with such great artists I love – like Marina and Lana Del Rey – and was one of the kindest humans!

In saying that, I do love to perform, especially because I have such a beautiful community of people that come to my shows. I also love the instant feeling of it, the way you can let go of it as soon as it’s over.

Nighttime or daylight? Nighttime. When everyone else is asleep, it becomes quieter in my brain. There’s something about that time of night when everything slows down.

Seaside hotels or country pubs? Seaside hotel for sure! Picture a balcony with the smell of sea air and me wearing a long headscarf blowing in the wind haha. In my single “Better”, there is a line that says, “Seaside hotel, something doesn’t feel right in me, but be quiet, keep playing pretend.” To me, the seaside hotel feels like the ultimate escape.

Soaking in the bath or soaking in a lake? The bath! I have a bath every single day without fail. I live in it, to the point where my friend Charlotte will ring and say, “You in the bath?” I have a condition known as Charcot-Marie-Tooth. It’s a neurological condition which impacts the way I walk, but it also means I can’t regulate my body temperature. So, I am often absolutely freezing, especially in my legs. My bath is what I would call my second home. I did swim in the ice-cold res though for the “Better” music video. My whole body went red and I couldn’t feel my hands for hours!

Change or consistency? Change. Even though it doesn’t get any easier. That’s really what my new album, You’d Think We’d Be Used To Change By Now, is about. There is so much change that happens in our external and internal world, and yet most of the time it can feel jarring and hard, even when they’re positive changes. I have been going through a lot of changes lately. Some of them have been harder than others. While change is inevitable, for me it always rattles up a lot inside me.

Looking forward or looking back? Back. As a songwriter, I am always looking back. A lot of my new record is about that nostalgic feeling – for instance, a summer I can’t forget, or the way someone’s words impacted me. I often look back on the past to understand the now. Songwriting is that for me – it’s a way I can unpack why I feel certain ways.

Touring the country or playing in your hometown? Hometown. I love where I live and feel completely held by my community. There’s something special about playing songs in the place where so many of them were written.

Melody or lyrics? Lyrics, but when they work together in harmony, it’s like nothing else. I love lyrics because it’s a way for me to unpack my inner-world. With this new record, I really pushed myself lyrically – I tried to be completely honest and vulnerable, to tell the truth and to keep refining, even to the last moment. I think the lyrics are probably the part I obsess over the most.

Tea or coffee? Coffee every morning to wake up, but chai tea with honey is probably one of my favourite tastes – and if I’m going to write, I am definitely choosing tea. There’s something about making a cup of tea that tells my brain it’s time to sit down and write. 

You can feast your ears on Eliza Hull’s new single "Better" this-a-way. For more rad music chats, spy our chinwag with Julia Stone or check out our chat with Clare Perrott. Plus, sign up to our newsletter to stay in the music loop.