11 September 2020

Making the Right Country Notes

Ringatoi Ahuwhenua. Rural Creative.

Writer: Rebekah Wilson

Photographer: Katie Wilson

For the past decade, independent singer-songwriter, Kaylee Bell, has been making a name for herself in the Australian and American country music scenes. It’s not an easy road, but she credits her rural roots as the driving force behind her motivation to hit the big time. Kaylee’s latest single, Home, is dedicated to her family and hometown of Waimate.

Despite living out of a suitcase for much of the year, international country pop artist, Kaylee Bell, does not forget her small town rural roots leading back to Waimate, South Canterbury. Her passion was ignited at the age of four, when the country music-loving Bell family lived for the country beat. The family of five competed in New Zealand’s country music talent quest circuit for years. “It was something we enjoyed together as a family,” Kaylee says. “I just really felt I was affected by music from a really young age, more than a normal child. I just remember loving it from the very first time I heard it.”

The 30-year-old couldn’t be more appreciative of her strong, hardworking rural upbringing, and believes it is this foundation that is the reason behind her success. “We were from a small town so we had to travel a lot when we were young if we wanted to play sport or music, and having to travel meant there was always a sense of responsibility I felt from a young age,” Kaylee says. “I never ever took anything for granted and anything we did we always gave it our best shot because we knew our parents had gone out of their way for us. I’ve been lucky; I have parents who have always encouraged me to dream and get off my butt and do what I want to do.”

Breaking into the American country music scene has always been Kaylee's dream. Over the past decade, Kaylee has spent time in Nashville each year. That made the plan to move to the international hub of music earlier this year an obvious next step. However, Covid-19 has made Kaylee's future opportunities uncertain. Instead of dwelling on the disappointment, Kaylee has refocused. "Everyone calls Nashville the 'ten year town'," says Kaylee. "It takes ten years to get anywhere, and I felt like I was starting to get to that point with a lot of interest with labels, and Spotify has been a big part of that. Getting on the US country music playlists as pretty much the only artist from Australasia has opened massive doors for me. It felt like a really good time to capitalise on that to go and give it a go."

Instead, Kaylee spent lockdown in her Auckland home with her partner, Nick Campbell, a member of the Kiwi band 'Midnight Youth', and her producer, Simon Oscroft. Despite this being an uninspired time for her as a songwriter, Kaylee wrote her latest single, 'Home', which was released in July. "Home is a song that feels like an anthem in this given moment of time and has a synergy and sense of nostalgia that hopefully makes people feel empowered to connect with their roots and where they are from," she says.

The story behind the song was the trigger to create a music video on a more personal level. "I just wanted to make a video with my family in it as a keepsake," she says. "It was important for me that the video was authentic and showcased my real life friends and family and the town I grew up in because the whole synergy of the song is to feel authentic."

The video's rural backdrop features her hometown Waimate while sharing special moments with her family and friends. It also showcases the South Island High Country during a frosty May, with snowcapped ranges and the iconic peak of Aoraki/Mt Cook. "I have shot in the high country and central South Island before for my singles, 'Getting Closer' and 'Next Somebody'," she says. "I believe it to be some of the most beautiful parts of our country, and also has an American look about it in parts, especially around Omarama and into the Lindis."

Songwriting runs deep into Kaylee's musical talents; for her it's more than just words. "I feel like it's the closest thing to magic we have as humans. You are literally creating something that didn't exist in the morning, like where did those melodies come from, where did the idea come from?" she says. "Ever since I wrote 'Getting Closer', a song I wrote with Morgan Evans, that was from a real life experience and I just felt a connection with people through that song like I have never felt before, and that made me really understand the responsibility of being a songwriter and having something to say."

At the age of 18, Kaylee won the New Zealand Gold Guitars awards and the moment her future was realised. After getting a real taste for the industry playing at the iconic Tamworth Country Music Festival (TCMF) in Australia in 2011, Kaylee decided to finish her studies back home before moving to Bathurst, where she lived and breathed the Australian country music scene. In 2013, she won the TCMF's Tamworth Toyota Star Maker; a massive launching pad for new country artists, placing Kaylee alongside previous winners Keith Urban and Samantha McClymont. Kaylee was the first Kiwi to win it since Keith Urban in 1990, and the first female in eight years. "Winning Star Maker opened me up to the Australian CM Industry. I had ten country number ones on radio and my music videos on the Country Music Channel broadcast across Australia," she says. "It allowed me to open for acts like Lee Kernaghan, Morgan Evans and The McClymonts and play every major festival, including Australia's CMC Rocks."

Kaylee admits one of her biggest challenges is being an independent artist and juggling it with full time work as an early childhood teacher. "It's definitely a hustle," she laughs. "It's also one of the things I'm most proud of, that I do it myself. I've learnt there is no way you would do it if you didn't love it." After working a nine hour day in the classroom teaching the younger generation, Kaylee can be up until 2am, catching up on emails. Meanwhile, weekends are a mix of working in retail and playing gigs. "It's constant, it never stops, but I feel I love that, nobody cares about your career as much as you do yourself," she says. "There is a really fine balance between believing in yourself and being proud of what you do, but also being able to step back and make sure you are happy with the quality of work you are putting out and the direction it is heading because I don't have the luxury of a label or management checking up on me, so it's a responsibility I take very seriously and take my time with."

Hailing from a small New Zealand country town never stops Kaylee dreaming of an American-based career. She confessed that America has always been, and always will be, the end goal. "My dream is to play at The Grand Ole Opry, and actually release songs to radio in America. That's still the end goal," she says. "I just love that I have a lot of goals that I haven't ticked off because there is still so much to achieve - I'll never just sit on my laurels. Music will always be something that I will do, whether it's performing or writing songs. I can't really live without music, so I know it'll always be in my life."

The move to Nashville has taken a backseat on her priority list for now though. "I think my whole view on it has changed and now I'm not in any great rush because we have learnt how to adapt and be really productive here in New Zealand, and still produce songs that are at Nashville level," she says. "We could be anywhere in the world doing this, so why not be here."