Suki Waterhouse's reign continues. The musician, actress and model released her sophomore LP Memoir of a Sparklemuffin in 2024 and is giving us the gift of bonus brilliance from the Sparklemuffin era with the new introspective single, On This Love. Ahead of her appearance at Rising Melbourne festival in June, we spoke to the singer-songwriter about the new track, style, motherhood and the music she's listening to:

I’ve loved your music since the beginning, especially The Devil I Know, I had that song on repeat for a very long time. It’s been so cool to follow your journey. I love the new single, On This Love.

Oh my gosh, thank you. Really, do you like it?

It's one of your best.

Honestly, that makes me so happy.‍

It's so good. How do you think that you personally have grown and evolved over the last few years of releasing music to this single now?‍

Well, On This Love I almost released a while ago. I performed it a couple of times and I was going to release it. I don’t know what happened, I think I had like a manic freak out and didn’t release it. I didn’t put it on the record and I think sometimes I get in my own way because I’ the one actually making the decisions about my music. So sometimes I’ll have a bout of insecurity or think the energy isn’t right and not put it out. But I’ve loved this song for a long time and I finally finished the recording and felt really good about it. I won’t put anything out until it’s totally right.

So are you quite intuitive in terms of when to release things?

Yeah. Or I think I'll like fall in love with something I’ve made and then go back on myself or one thing won’t be right like the guitar or a certain lyric. I get really frustrated and gave to leave things for months at a time and then one day I’ll listen again and really love the song as it is.

I always say as a listener, I think that things come to you at the right time. Like there are so many albums that I should have listened to 10 years ago that now are coming into my life, but I think they come into my life at this time for a reason. And maybe as an artist is kind of how it is for you with your own songs? It's the right time now to release that song.

Yeah, exactly. Both On This Love and Dream Woman [the previous single] definitely could have been on the record [last year]. For some reason they didn’t and now is the right time so yes. I was also heavily pregnant and put 18 songs on a record and it was just way too much. I'd made so much music for that record. I feel like these two singles are still in the Sparkle Muffin world. It’s nice to get an eight month breather for the record and now be able to put these out before I close the door on that chapter.

So are these part of that Sparklemuffin era?

Let’s call them cousins.

You mentioned becoming a mother, has that creatively affected you or liberated you?

It has, because now I think about in 10 or 20 years time, who will I be to her? I’m always going to be mom to her but also at some point she’s going to look at me and be like who were you? What did you make? What were your creative acts? So in some way that has been an energiser because I want her to think I’m cool. It’s a new perspective. I want her to look at me and be like oh, my mum lived a creative life and did what she wanted to do.

My mum is also creative and has always done what she wanted and I think she is cool.

Do you look at her and appreciate that in her?

Yes, totally because having a creative mum is super inspiring and liberates you as a daughter to explore your interests and also do whatever you want to do.

That’s really nice to hear. Thank you.

How do you think that having all your experiences in these different creative worlds of modelling, music, film, fashion have all come together and manifested for you? How do you think they’ve informed the way you create?

I think like fashion was what got me out of my parents' house at like 15 and kind of opened me up to culture. When I first started working, it was pre-Instagram, or just about when Instagram like started, you know? We were in the weird filters era. It was great because there was no number above your head. So fashion was what got me on the bus into town and there were real scenes and proper parties. Fun was well and alive. I sound so old saying this but that was the only way to experience each other. It was like being in a fantasy every day and it was very liberating. It also had its suffocating elements but it’s still always such a big part of me. I absolutely love clothes and now that I get to be on stage - which is something I new er imagined even though I was making music for a long time - the kind of dressing for stage is where I let my true freak flag fly.

Do you think that music informs your style or do you think that maybe your style helps to inform the music?

I think that certain style phases that I’ve gone through are good memory markers for me and I can look at what I wore and be taken back to places I write songs about. You know, when I was like 18, I was always in, like, I was always in white tights and a bright pink Topshop suit with white boots and fruity socks… It almost looked like I was in fancy dress a lot of the time. But those looks help me to remember who I was around and what was happening at the time.

Which city is your favourite city to shop in?

I'm pretty into being in LA at the moment. I go to a vintage shop called Wild West in LA.

Such a good store.

It's so good, and I have the membership. So basically I go there every month and I get a bunch of pieces and now I just have like a revolving wardrobe of vintage pieces, which is great because it means that I'm not just stacking up my wardrobe because my whole daughter's room is taken out with my clothes and all of the closets in my bedroom. And you know, there’s a couple of storage units kicking around, too. So I feel like renting vintage at the moment is where it's at.

Who are you listening to at the moment? Which artists are you excited about?

I'm listening to Smerz. Have you heard of Smerz? Obsessed. I'm obsessed with a Astrid Sonne. I've been like going back in time and listening to The Veronicas.

Oh my God. They were everything to me when I was 10 years old. The other day I found photos of my walls when I was that age, and literally, you can't see the wall. It's just the twins all over it.

Just the twins!

Just the twins. They're the best.

Those songs really goes really hard. I've got a whole playlist going on of that and like, Happiness by Alexis Jordan. Then another playlist of like Nilufer Yanya, Courtney Barnett, Porridge Radio, Sasami. That’s who I’m into at the moment.

Great taste.

Thank you.

Okay, last question, because I know you have to go. You're coming to Australia soon for some shows, which is super exciting. What can we expect from your live show?

I'm excited. I mean, I can't believe that I'm finally getting to go to Australia and I'm so full of anticipation of what the audience is gonna be like because I've just never performed there and I have no idea. I know it's going to be a great time and I'm just hoping someone will have a pet sparkle muffin spider because that's where the Sparkle Muffin is from. You can expect a lot of dancing. See you in Australia!

Listen to Suki Waterhouse HERE.

@sukiwaterhouse