Premiere & Track x Track: Boox Kid - 'Reflections' EP

Following some awesome singles over the last few years, Wyalup-based First Nation artist takes us through his diverse debut EP, track by track

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We’ve been big fans of proud Wardandi Bibbulmun man, singer-songwriter and producer Boox Kid for a little while now. After first getting to know him back in 2020, we were stoked to premiere the awesome stop motion, Godzilla-inspired video for his single The Battle at the start of last year, and he was also featured in our 2023 Guide To Bigsound. More recently, his latest single Talking To Myself featuring Cloe Terare made our 10 Best Tunes of the Week upon release, and now the time is right for Boox Kid to unleash his debut EP Reflections, out April 5 but premiering on Pilerats today.

Across six tracks, Reflections sees Boox Kid drawing on a diverse array of sounds and styles, with songs ranging from stripped-back indie folk to EDM-inspired crossover sounds, fusing beat-driven productions with organic instruments and more traditional songwriting styles to great effect.

As the EP’s title implies, the release is a reflective affair with Boox Kid looking back at his life experiences and past relationships, taking us on a journey through different tempos and energies, resulting in a well rounded EP that perfectly balances diverse genres with cohesion and continuity.

Reflections comes off the back of a huge 2023 that saw Boox Kid as part of a Toursism WA campaign with Daniel Ricciardo, playing some big stages like WAMFest, Nannup Music Fest and BIGSOUND, while opening for the likes of George Ezra, Jen Cloher, the Hoodoo Gurus and more.

To celebrate the release of Reflections, Boox Kid was kind enough to take us through it track by track - take a sneaky advance listen a day ahead of release and get to know:

Talking to Myself

‘Talking to Myself’ is the lead single from the EP. It features First Nation Artist Cloe Terare of Meanjin. The track was originally written back in 2022 at the APRA Resonate Program by Cloe Candice Lorrae and I, and discusses themes of disconnection. At the time I was questioning my relationship and connection to things. I wanted the track to utilise space and lush harmonies but with an epic ending.

I Don’t Mind

‘I Don’t Mind’ is one of my favourites from the EP and a fav to play live. When I wrote the song, I always had this weird idea for a film clip where I envisioned myself in jail, waiting for my one phone call and all through the clip, it cycles through different people that arrive but not the person I called. You don’t find that out until the end of the song. So I suppose it’s a depiction of waiting for that right person in your life.

Not In My Phone Anymore

This was the most recent track written out of the bunch. I wrote it in mid 2023 and only hopped in the studio earlier this year with Andrew Wright of Alter Boy to finish the production. We worked on the production and came up with what I think is a short, sweet and beautiful song. It’s about when you break up with someone and you want to call them and see them, but you know what you had isn’t there anymore and that it’s probably a bad idea.

Don’t Waste Time

This is another one I really enjoy playing live. The track just has this natural drive to it. I think when I wrote it I was listening to a lot of Miike Snow, so it definitely has that feel. The narrative was made up and when I think of the film clip I always envision the song being a sequel to ‘The Battle’. Another superhero themed clip, where the hero would be describing his roots and finding strength in the people he cares for.

Me & The Birds

The name has no connection to the theme in this one, I named it purely because I used a bird sample in the production haha. I really liked the weird instrumentation used in this track though and the harmonies that Andy Lawson and I worked on in the production. It’s quite a literal song, describing when you might be in love or something that feels like love but deep down you know it isn’t going to work.

The Battle - live version

This version of ‘The Battle’ was a fun surprise out of the EP. Andy Lawson and I had time to record one more track, so we thought, let’s do a live version of ‘The Battle’. I’d been playing it live much like the recording and thought it’d be nice to lay it down. It’s given the song a new sentiment and meaning. From originally being about relationships, I now think of the song in respect to my Aboriginality and how Aboriginal people have faced many battles, with 2023 being no exception with the referendum. For me, the song describes those trials but also shows the strength of our culture and that whilst the referendum didn’t pan out as I personally would have liked, I know we deserve to be ‘holding the crown’ and sharing everything that is beautiful about our culture.