Starting out with some atmospheric electric guitar, ‘The Other Side’ gradually builds up until Callums Vincent’s smooth vocals come in, taking the listener on a journey of finding simplicity in a fast paced world.
Around the 30 second mark you are hit with some beautiful harmonies. Thats the moment you realize you are completely locked in, there is a story to be told. Each element of ‘The Other Side’ comes together to create a cohesive arrangement of sound which perfectly captures your imagination right up until the end of the track, where the production builds with a heartfelt vocal arrangement backing Vincent's main vocals as he pours his heart into the final chorus leaving us all longing for the feeling of home. Callum Vincent is an acoustic roots musician from the small town Rockingham, Western Australia, with soothing vocals and stories to tell. Sourcing inspiration from years on the road, living parts of the year on a remote Indonesian Island, teaching sustainable surf and tourism programs and love for the ocean.
Outside of its original inspiration, it also relates to my life, and hopefully many others, remembering the feeling of coming home to where you know you belong.
Callum Vincent talks about the meaning behind ‘The Other Side’:
‘The Other Side’ is about how living and working in a remote community in West Australia’s Pilbara has given me the most amazing opportunity to experience and understand the ways of the people here and their culture. ‘The Other Side’ is a small window into my perception of this way of life. This song speaks of a man’s contentment to be coming home over the hills, leading back to his country and the simplicity and peace that is experienced here. It touches on the connection that these people have to the past, present and future. This is a really special song to me. Outside of its original inspiration, it also relates to my life, and hopefully many others, remembering the feeling of coming home to where you know you belong.
How did you first get into writing and performing music?
Music is a huge part of my family and I feel very blessed to have had so many positive experiences with it from such a young age. My earliest memories of music is going to toddlers music group with my Grandma, sitting in circles clapping along and singing songs. My parents brought me along to my Grandad’s gigs with his country band as well which I have no doubt sparked my love of performing. Growing up, my Mum will tell you that I had a toy microphone that I always played with and loved to perform magic shows, puppet shows and music performances for the family. Through school I was involved in all of the nativities, musicals, choirs and most things performance related. I think I really enjoyed the creative expression. I played around at home with song writing over the years but didn’t start creating my own music until I was around 15 years old, where I became inspired by all my older peers around me that were starting to create music and play local shows. A lot of people really took me under their wings and guided me with my music over those years and I can't thank them enough! In whole, I think my passion for writing and performing has been there from a very young age, but I wouldn’t have found the courage and knowledge to be where I am now without the on-going support from my family and friends.
If you could collaborate with any artist or producer who would it be?
There are so many artists I would love to work with but if I had to choose one I think it would be The Cat Empire! They are one of my all time favourite bands and I think I would personally just love to meet them. Their sound is so unique and the stage presence is amazing! Their style is very different from mine, so I reckon it would be really interesting to see what we could create together. They would challenge me in a different way and hopefully push my music to a different level! Who knows, it could happen, but I won't hold my breath haha.
What has been the best gig you have done to date?
I’ve been lucky enough to play some really beautiful, rewarding shows, but one that stands out is a gig I did with Sofar Sounds in Perth a couple of years back. It was set up on a large balcony near to top of an apartment block overlooking Perth City at night. The people who bought tickets weren’t told who will be performing, just to bring food and drink and some blankets. I think that this concept brought a particularly open-minded audience. There were about 40/50 people there and the atmosphere was amazing! Every person was intensely listening to every word I sang and spoke. It was nerve racking but there was an obvious connection between the artists and the audience and it made me feel so comfortable. I had time to speak about each song I was performing and why I had written it, then people stayed back afterwards to chat further. It was a really humbling, amazing experience that I won't forget!
The Other Side is a small window into my perception of this way of life.
What would your ideal festival line up be?
I would really love a festival that showcased all of the music out of my hometown, Rockingham. There is so much talent from there, I can’t name it all but to have a show dedicated to that would be awesome and definitely worth getting a ticket for! Everything from Blues, Jazz, Rap, Folk, Metal.. we could bring them all together from one epic show of local talent! Someone’s gonna do it one day for sure.
What do you get up to when you are away from music?
I love surfing, so when I am on the coast and not doing music related things, the majority of the time you’ll find me at the beach haha. It’s a bit of an addiction I think, a good one though! I think it is the only place where I don’t have to think about anything, it's a good feeling. When there's no waves the skatepark is always fun, and I enjoy fishing and diving.
I love to travel, so I usually find myself overseas for parts of the year. I love the idea of exploring new places and I have been lucky enough to volunteer with my partner, Janiece, for ‘A Liquid Future’, a non-for-profit in Indonesia teaching english and sustainable surf and marine tourism programs. This has definitely sparked a love for teaching that I have now carried out into the community we are based in now, teaching music classes at the school. Outside of these things I enjoy creating things, painting, drawing, using water colours and other arty things. My latest creation is converting an ex-taxi into a camper-van. I’m pretty proud of that one!
If you could say one thing to your fans what would it be?
Thank you for supporting me and my music. It’s a really special feeling to know that people want to hear what you are creating and the encouragement I have received over the years is what has pushed me to finally release this single. Please continue to support the creative industries, whether it be music, film, dance, art. Keeping these things alive is so important in bringing people together to find common ground and continue to grow!
