Thelma Plum reflects on saying sorry and vulnerability and looks ahead to new music and an exciting WA gig

Sometimes Thelma Plum can be “too much”. She might be too loud, too opinionated, too deviated from what is expected of a “well-behaved woman”. What she isn’t, though, is too sorry about it. When Plum released I’m Sorry, Now Say It Back in October, she was a ball of nerves. The album was a long time coming, both in time and content. Stories from her childhood through to adult relationships were woven through the deeply personal album that was recorded across five cities. It hit the low notes of heartbreak and trauma and the highs of love, forgiveness and acceptance. To be so vulnerable and personal felt so scary, yet so necessary, because a key theme of the album was something that Plum was ready to platform. The singer-songwriter was tired of apologising for being herself. “Something I try to tell myself, which works for me for whatever reason, is to not say sorry if you don’t mean it . . . I don’t want to say sorry to someone if I don’t mean it,” Plum tells STM from her home in Brisbane. “I got really sick and tired of saying sorry to men, that is where that came from. “I was sick of apologising for myself . . . apologising for being too much or all of these things that I don’t necessarily think need an apology. “That goes with feelings of shame and I don’t think I needed to feel like that . . . As women it’s something we’re taught from a very young age, being polite often out of safety . . . I just was so tired of it, I really was.” It’s a fine line that women across the world have tiptoed for generations, feeling the need to say sorry for having feelings and at times simply existing — who hasn’t apologised when someone bumped into them? — yet Plum has nothing to apologise for. What the Gamilaraay woman does have is a lot to be proud of. Plum almost sounds surprised when she realises that she’s been in the music industry for the past 12 years; her first song Father Said was recorded in a friend’s cupboard and won the inaugural Unearthed National Indigenous Music Award in 2012. Since then focus has been her craft, releasing Better In Blak in 2019, which resulted in three platinum and a gold single and seven ARIA nominations. She’s fronted massive sold-out gigs across Australia, played an AFL Grand Final and won Album Of The Year at the 2023 National Indigenous Music Awards for her third EP, Meanjin. One of her most meaningful musical moments even prompted perhaps the most memorable. After ticking off a bucket list, pinch-me achievement of working with her idol Paul Kelly on Made For You, the final track on Better In Blak, Plum’s experience was elevated by another Paul. When she received a text from producer David Kahne to say that Paul McCartney happened to walk past the studio in New York when their song was playing, and requested to put down a guitar melody, she couldn’t believe her eyes. “When it happened I remember just feeling so overwhelmed because of how unbelievable it was and how incredible it was,” Plum says. “But looking back on that (now) I feel so proud and essentially if my career could end I would be like ‘OK well, that’s really awesome’. “Even though I hope my career doesn’t end!” West Australian audiences will have the chance to experience Plum (not that her successful career will be wrapped in a bow anytime soon; Plum admits she has no idea what else she could do) at the Ord Valley Muster as part of the Kimberley Moon Experience in May. “I’m so excited, (Kununurra) just looks so beautiful. How lucky am I that I get to perform somewhere like that?” she says. She’s in good company alongside Mark Seymour & The Undertow as well as Lime Cordiale, the ARIA award-winning brothers Plum has known since watching them perform in Surry Hills 10 years ago: “I’ve been a long-time fan.” While Plum’s own music has floated through genres and sound over the past decade — she breezes across pop, folk and country with her instantly recognisable sweet rasp — what stays unwavering is the commitment to sharing her life experiences through song. “Writing about what I know is being an Aboriginal woman in this country, an Aboriginal woman in my life and I am quite political just from existing but I do really write what I know,” she says. Better In Blak highlighted the resilience of Aboriginal women, its title track in particular turning inexcusable abuse into a powerful, and catchy, anthem. It came in at No.9 in the 2019 Triple J Hottest 100, making her the highest ranking Indigenous artist in the annual countdown. Sharing such personal stories also means that Plum has shed plenty of tears, not only as she writes at her piano but also at gigs when the lyrics hit home. “I’m a very emotional person and quite open about that too,” she says. “I have no issues crying in public. Being vulnerable is very scary but at the same time I think it’s very healing, it can be very radical . . . I think it’s really cool and it’s just who I am.” The power of music also means that while the songs are born from Plum’s experiences navigating the world, once they’re out in airwaves and inside ears they’re open to interpretation. “It was mine when I wrote it but I think that’s what so beautiful and wonderful about releasing music and sharing the songs that I’ve written. They meant something to me but you can listen to it and whatever it means to you — go for it,” she says. When it comes to writing songs that explore past relationships, Plum has tread a similar path to that of Taylor Swift and Sabrina Carpenter and shared them musically rather than publicly. “I’m forever learning what not to share,” she laughs. “When I write music I get a little worried afterwards, listening back, being like ‘oh, is that a little too personal to share if I’m writing a song about an experience I have with this person . . . how does that person feel about me sharing that?’ But I often let that go.” That’s not to say that Plum keeps everything close to her chest. Her Instagram account is a treasure trove of moments that offer a behind-the-scenes look at her life off the stage and out of the studio. It reveals cities she’s travelled to, cool outfits and glossy hair and sometimes the person she is dating. “I just got out of a relationship that was very on social media so I have to say, where I am in this part of my life is that I never want to share anything like that on social media ever again . . . maybe that will change,” she says. When she’s not in performance mode, she spends time with family and her pets. Her mornings are fuelled by coffee before she spends time writing. Despite releasing an album less than six months ago, she’s ready to dive into the nerves all over again. “It’s so crazy and silly in a way but I want to write a new record. I’m in this space where I just want to write again,” she says. “I came out of a long-term relationship and I have a lot to say about that. It’s weird because you just released an album girl, but now I must write a new album because I’ve had so many new experiences to share with everybody.” Thelma Plum will perform at the Ord Valley Muster as part of the Kimberley Moon Experience on May 24. Tickets and details at ordvalleymuster.com.au.

Thelma Plum reflects on saying sorry and vulnerability and looks ahead to new music and an exciting WA gig

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