His first release since his highly praised 2023 album Dawn Sounds, Australian songbird Kim Churchill returns to his sentimental roots with “Hobbies”. A warm and tender reminder of life’s unique journeys, “Hobbies” explores the essence of stepping into your power.
A sonic landscape of soft acoustics and sweeping strings, “Hobbies” is a grounding track, cutting through the noise of society’s expectations with liberating lines like “You don’t have to be found by your 30s” and “You don’t have to be good at your hobbies”. It offers sincere encouragement and showcases Kim’s gentle and heartfelt songwriting.
Kim talks through the deeper meaning behind the track, “I was enjoying a quiet Autumn day in Montreal and I must admit here, not proudly, I was having a little scroll on my phone. Fortunately the algorithms mainly show me artworks, animals doing cool stuff and different kinds of self help posts. In line with the latter, I was moved by a poignant quote written across a cute watercolor painting of a green tree frog wearing boots and holding an umbrella. She was stating confidently, ‘You don’t need to be good at your hobbies.’
I felt inspired and compelled to write a song based on the little frog’s epiphany and half an hour later, ‘Hobbies’ was written. It felt so liberating to expand on the idea and put into words all the things I realised I didn’t have to ‘do’ or ‘be’. You don’t have to be cool around your heroes. You don’t have to look good in the morning. I knew I loved the song and its power to help us learn what, of society’s many pressure’s, are the important ones and what we can actually just gently let go of. I hope it inspires others to check in with themselves in this way too.”
Landing on the scene in 2009, Kim’s laidback folk style continues to strike a chord across the globe. Playing renowned festivals including Glastonbury Music Festival, Montreal’s International Jazz Festival and South By South West, along with a stack of home grown festivals, Kim’s decade long industry experience spreads far and wide. Raised on the coastal town of Merimbula, the songwriter has previously been crowned Australia’s National Youth Folk Artist of the Year and nominated for the National Live Music Awards Roots Act of the Year.
In 2023, Kim returned with his seventh-studio album Dawn Sounds, highly praised by industry and fans alike. Hitting home runs with singles “Fighter”, “Please Come Home (Feat. Steph Strings) and “Go Try Fall”, Kim wrapped up his biggest regional tour to date before an impressive run of international shows across Europe, the UK and Canada. A true troubadour, Kim is ready for a wave of adventures in 2024 with more music and shows on the horizon.
“Hobbies” is available now wherever you consume good music.
