Thelma Plum sorry no more

AWARD-winning Gamilaraay artist Thelma Plum is bringing her I’m Sorry, Where Is That? regional tour to the Northern Rivers next month.

On the eve of the first leg to WA, Plum is bubbling with excitement; while managing the mental health of Baby and Buddy, two cats who know their mum is due to leave and are taking their places atop her packed luggage.

“They totally know I’m going, and I’m fortunate I have a great neighbour, and we help each other out,” she said.

“I’m excited to be starting this tour. I’m a country kid at heart, so I feel very comfortable, and they’re really special shows.

“Bush kids deserve gigs too, right? When I was younger, I would have loved more artists to come around my way.”

Plum’s sophomore record, I’m Sorry, Now Say It Back, galvanises her earlier success with the 2019 Better in Blak, an aural telling of life as a young Aboriginal woman in modern Australia.

The singer’s maturing blend of styles and intimate storytelling richly evokes the new album’s broader themes of nostalgia, beauty, desolation, and coming of age.

The album was recorded over several years in studios in Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, London and Byron Bay.

“The album took a long time. When COVID hit, I was in this weird place,” she said.

“We pushed it back a bit, which gave me more time to figure out exactly what I wanted.

“But I went to Bernard Fanning’s studio in Byron, which was awesome.

“I was seeking beautiful places, and it’s a gorgeous property – so inspiring to work in.

“We’d been working in tiny city rooms and dingy little rooms in East London, so it was wonderful to be there.”

Plum’s distinctive voice is resonant and soulful, with an intuitive vibrato that brings emotion to the top of a lyric.

The singer said she had always known her voice was her instrument, and fate gave her a leg up one lucky day with Triple J.

“I know it sounds a bit typical, but I cannot remember a time in my life that I wasn’t singing,”she said.

“Triple J literally unearthed me – that’s how my career began. I was 17, and I won the inaugural National Indigenous Competition.

“I definitely didn’t think that would happen. It kick started everything, and I owe them a lot.”

The album’s title refers to evolving out of an old mindset, which the singer said was personal but universal.

“I do have a habit of saying sorry too much. A lot of people can resonate with that.

“In one song, there’s an outro where I speak, ‘I say sorry way too much’.

“I was in the studio doing some harmonies and BVs, and was riffing and repeating it into the microphone, which made me a little sad afterwards.

“Then choosing that as the record’s title made me reflect on spending so many years feeling sorry… for existing, and, you know, just taking up space.”

Fans of the rising star will want her to take up all the space she wants and needs. It is well deserved.

Plum plays the Green Room on June 14.

For tickets, visit moshtix.com.au/v2/event/thelma-plum-im-sorry-where-is-that-regional-tour/179217