MUSiC ARTIST INTERVIEWNEIL KRUG20 BEATROUTE FEBRUARY 2020
THE UNASSAILABLE EMPATHYOF KEVIN PARKERBy MELISSA VINCENTAyear and a half ago,I made the trip fromToronto to MorenoBeach, Lake Perrisin Ontario, Californiafor Desert Daze, thealways impressive psychedelic rockfestival. It marked the festival’s firstyear in a new home after previouslybeing held at the mythical JoshuaTree Park. Tame Impala were thefestival’s opening night headliner,followed by King Gizzard and theLizard Wizard, and My BloodyValentine. It was supposed to be aslam dunk.But the festival grounds,stationed deep in the mountains ofa region experiencing a multi-yeardrought, was overcome by anextreme electric storm with neartorrential downpour to match. Lessthan half an hour into Tame Impala’sset, the show was cut off citingsafety concerns. Piling onto thegargantuan task of attempting toevacuate thousands of people wasthe added challenge of relievingan equally gargantuan traffic jam,estimated at six hours, that causeda particular logistical nightmare forthe festival.Groups of teenagers resortedto huddling under trees, blasting“Let It Happen” out of muddyphone speakers and singing alongdesperately. It was extremely corny,and just as beautiful, because forlegions of kids, this was their band,and the show will always go on.It’s a cheesy example, but a vividone—a single case, and one ofmany, that illustrates exactly howpopular the Australian psycheverythingband from Perth hadactually become. Because sincereleasing a string of singles toMySpace in 2007, Kevin Parker’ssolo project has become big.Not popular, but properly big: Asin, Rihanna-sampling; top tier-Coachella headlining; GrammyAward-nominating; platinumrecord-selling; Lady Gaga andKanye West-collaborating; GQMagazine cover star-featuring big.And at the core of Tame Impala’ssuccess is an ongoing question:why now, does this music resonateso broadly? Somehow—everyonefrom purists of genre and taste,and expats from the hyperpreciousera of audio exclusivityand microblogging; to a newergeneration of fans who are frequentparticipants of Big ExperientialMusic Moments®, raised on a dietof precisely-formed algorithmscapable of generating endlessTik Tok memes—have all beenindoctrinated into the ecosystemthat Parker has built around himself.For the better part of the lastdecade, Parker has been on thefrontlines of psychdelia’s mostrecent elevation to the top of thecultural forefront, which, historically,has been a reoccurring and resilientsalve during eras of aggregatesocial and political uncertainty.And often superficially pegged asmusic made for private people andintroverts searching for like-mindedflock, Parker’s music has alwaysgotten at something slightly morecomplicated and arresting.Instead, he’s remained investedin exploring the limits of emotionalintelligence, directed at the selfand then utilized as a tool tounderstand an ever-confusingoutside world. Starved foranswers, Parker generously offersa reminder that answering bigquestions starts with addressingsmaller, human-sized ones. Bydesign, his music casts a wide net.“I wouldn't write a song that I feelis only applicable to me,” he musesover a Skype call from Australia.Resisting the urge to speaksuperfluously, but undertakinga comprehensive analysis oflegitimate facts, Tame Impala arean unusual success story in a genrethat’s long battled an identity crisis.Though bona fide “rock star” mightnot have been in the initial blueprint,it’s Parker’s reality now. After yearsspent gracing festival stages withhis eyes fixed on the ground, nowhe looks up and out.“I used to have a massiveimposter complex and it's funny,I didn't really cure my impostercomplex until I realized it was a‘thing.’ I heard this word ‘impostercomplex’ and I was like ‘holy shit. Ihave that.’”“It was a real turning point forme. I still see a tour poster, or see afestival poster, and it's like: “TameImpala headlining” with a pictureof my face, and I'm like, ‘What areyou doing? Why are you gettingthis fucking idiot to headline yourfestival, that doesn’t make sense.’I still think that, but I’m trying tooutsmart it—I’m trying to push backequally as hard and counsel myselfinto believing that I do deserve it,you know?”Over the phone Parker is warmlyconversational and comfortablyadept at catching a questionthat’s morphed into a sprawlingFEBRUARY 2020 BEATROUTE 21