Gotye
Gotye
Wouter Andre "Wally" De Backer, better known as Gotye, is an Australian-Belgian multi-instrumentalist and singer-songwriter. The name "Gotye" is a pronunciation respelling of "Gauthier", the French cognate of Gotye's given Dutch name "Wouter"...
NationalityBelgian
ProfessionMusician
Date of Birth21 May 1980
CountryBelgium
unknown-worlds hands way
I guess Surrealism has a draw for me because it's an unknown world. It's a world of subconscious. Some things you can't really get your hands on very easily. Things that are kind of nebulous and they feel like they're not completely formed. You have to feel your way through that.
letting-go ego feelings
What makes me vulnerable? Well, my ego, probably. I kind of like to try to let go of it. Or feeling out of my depth. In various aspects of my life, whether it's musical or personal.
song journey giving
Through the music I hope to give it an arc that gives it a greater sense of a journey through the set rather than a bunch of songs.
trying want albums
I tend to just do whatever I want on an album and try to make it work. I'm just adventurous. It's most exciting to be at the edge of your abilities. I want to see how far I can push things.
want not-sure
Music makes me want to dance but I'm not sure that's something anybody wants to observe.
never-quit depth vulnerable
Emotionally, I feel mostly out-of-depth, like I will never quite learn how to be what I should be. And that makes me feel pretty vulnerable a lot of the time.
numbers records
Have your friends collect your records and then change your number...
song lucky done
I've been very lucky to work with many amazing animators and directors who can interpret and extend the music I make. When it's done well, it can create extra meaning and new context for the song.
dad records young
All the records I've put out have had either artwork that I did while I was young or something that my Dad painted.
mind world music-is
I could quite happily just make music because it conjures up a whole visual world for me in my mind.
eye concerts music-is
Often times at a concert, I just close my eyes. Music is very transportive and visual for me like that.
rocks voice covering
When I started covering The Beatles and The Rolling Stones in a rock 'n' roll band, it helped me realize that my natural voice is actually really high. It helped me find my voice.
condense cool disappear explore hole months rabbit record took trying
I have this desire to just while away weeks, months and years. It took me two years to make this record but that was with me trying to condense my process and not disappear down the rabbit hole with all the cool things I've collected. I could take 10 years and not explore everything I want to with these instruments.
bit constant fairly female life months november quickly realize six struggle took written wrote
'Somebody That I Used to Know,' like a lot of the record, was a bit of a struggle to finish. It was written fairly quickly - I wrote it in November 2010 - but it took six months to find Kimbra and really realize she was the right vocalist to make the female part come to life. There were constant hurdles.