Australia’s favourite singer and songwriter Peach PRC finally releases her highly anticipated EP, Manic Dream Pixie.

This six-track collection not only showcases Peach PRC’s artistic versatility but also her vibrant and unapologetically pink vision, filled with punchy and poignant melodies. First starting out in 2019, Peach PRC very quickly gained followers on TikTok with her humorous moments, self-care advice, and music.

Her debut single, Blondes, went viral, amassing over 12 million Spotify streams, and her success only went uphill from there – with an impressive following of over 2 million TikTok followers and more than 120 million combined artist streams. The songstress has established a dedicated, ever growing fan base, which includes even Paris Hilton – Manic Dream Pixie features Perfect For You, a song that pays homage to Paris Hilton’s gold-certified 2006 smash hit, Stars Are Blind. Before its official release, Peach PRC teased a preview of Perfect For You on TikTok, which Paris duetted. 

1883 Magazine chats with Peach PRC about her debut EP, her first ever performance, her fairy aesthetic, and more.

Congratulations on releasing your debut EP – how does it feel now that it’s finally out in the world?

It’s crazy because I didn’t really get a second to kind of take it all in. I was traveling and touring and I was like, oh it’s out! And I was just like on a float. But now that I’m home and I’ve had a minute to settle, it’s really cool seeing everybody open up their vinyls and everybody being able to hear the full length of the songs and giving their feedback. It’s been really beautiful. It feels nice and cathartic to have it out in the world.

I bet! How long was it in the making?

It’s interesting. There were so many songs in there that I wrote years ago that I didn’t think would end up anywhere. I just parked them and thought nothing’s happened with them yet, so it probably won’t. But then we went back and we revisited all the demos I had. And a lot of the songs are songs from years ago that we ended up choosing. So I guess in the making it’s been a couple of years, but not intentionally.

I love how your lyrics are so unapologetic, fun but also heartfelt – what was your whole creative process like for this project?

They’re all songs based on my real life. Sometimes I exaggerated a little bit or I tell a story that I think is funny. I was actually worried with this EP that it would come off as not very cohesive because it was super punchy pop and then it would have these really sad ballads and I was like, well it’s kind of all over the place, maybe do I take the ballads out and just keep it within the one genre so it’s kind of you to say that because I was worried it come off the opposite. But yeah, the lyrics are all based on real life things. For example, ‘Kinda Famous’ is an obviously exaggerated stalker story of me feeling like a crazy fangirl and I just really leaned into that and just amped it up and made it more exaggerated. But some of them are very honest. But sometimes it’s just fun to tell a story.

What do you want listeners to take away from the EP?

I always feel like it’s such a cop-out answer when I say it, but I feel like it’s up to the listener what they take away from it. I don’t want to put one specific message and package it for them and be like, this is what I want you to have from this. So many people have interpreted my lyrics in so many different ways that I didn’t intentionally write them but I’m like, wow that’s really beautiful that you found that in that song. I like to leave it open for whoever’s listening.

I also really enjoyed the short film snippets for the release that you shared on YouTube, how did that idea first come about?

It was someone on my team, someone at Universal, Chris, and he pitched this idea to me and I was like, I love that, that’s genius. And then that same night I wrote the entire thing just on my laptop. I was like, okay give me a couple of hours and I’ll get back to you. And I was trying to think because in my head the EP was so not cohesive. I was like, how do I tie every song into one story when they’re all so wildly opposite from each other? And I eventually typed out this whole thing and I sent it through that same night in a couple of hours and then I was so hell-bent on it.  I didn’t let anyone make any changes to it.

Let’s talk about the single Perfect For You which is a tribute to Paris Hilton’s Stars Are Blind, and let’s be honest it’s an iconic song. But I was wondering first of all, what is it about that song in particular that made you want to do your own version?

I think for her back in the day, everyone was like, what are you trying to do a pop career for.  But pop is meant to be fun and silly, it doesn’t need to be that serious all the time and I think sometimes we lose a bit of that element in the newer stuff. I’ve always loved that about that era of music and then I was listening to it with this girl that I liked at the time who’s now my girlfriend, but I wrote it for her and it was never meant to actually be heard on the EP or as a single or anything because I had all my friends names in it. I did that interpolation thinking that there’s no way for it to ever get approved so I can just go crazy with it. So I wrote the song and put that as a little nod to Paris and then the label loved it. I’m like, oh good I’ve got to go back and change all the names now.

It’s amazing how Paris also duetted your song on TikTok, how did you find out? Did you know beforehand or was it a complete surprise?

I was surprised by the duet and then she followed me and we had a few exchanges and since then she’s been so supportive of my music. She’s posted my other songs and she’s given me words of encouragement and kind of almost mentored me in a way. She’s so sweet and kind. She got ready for, I think it was the Grammys, and she posted herself listening to the song. She was like, you can stream it here. I was like, oh my God, how sweet. She owes me nothing, but is so kind to me. 

Your songs are constantly going viral on TikTok, and your fanbase on there is growing every single day, and they are so dedicated! Does having such a large audience there feel overwhelming sometimes or has it become pretty normal to you?

They’re so dedicated. They really will just do anything and everything to help me and support me and promote my music, which is so kind of them. It is a bit overwhelming. A lot of people get things that I’ve signed tattooed or lyrics tattooed and I get a lot of pressure. I’m like, oh no, I don’t want to let you down now just in case you’ve got that on you forever and you change your mind one day. It does get overwhelming but I’m so immensely grateful for it.

I love your whole pink fairy-like aesthetic. How did that first come about?

I have always loved pink and I’ve always loved fairies. And Shirley Barber is an Australian author and illustrator and she makes these books and they’ve just got these really beautiful fairy illustrations – I loved them as a kid and they’re a classic Aussie staple for children of the 2000s and that inspires a lot of my aesthetic and my look. I love just embracing things that I think a lot of us are a little bit nervous to show that we still love.

It’s safe to say that your career so far has been quite successful. What did you find most challenging in your journey so far?

Prior to lockdown I’d been putting music out on YouTube and Facebook and just doing it with people that I knew would see it – and then having it kind of take off during a time where there weren’t any concerts, I couldn’t even just sing in a pub, I couldn’t practice, I couldn’t busk. I had no live experience at all and I’d always done everything online. Since I was 13 I’d been doing YouTube videos and stuff. So to then have this huge audience develop over a time where everybody’s inside and then when everything opened up and it was concert time, it was a very unique experience that not a lot of artists have. People flew in to see me and I was like, I’ve never done this before! I did a couple of shots and maybe one too many and then it was a bit sloppy on stage. There’s no way I could have gotten through it otherwise as I was so nervous.

Then I watched the footage back and I was so embarrassed because they gave me dances and choreography to learn, and I was trying to remember lyrics of songs that I’ve never sang live before. But I was just all over the place and just bawled my eyes out in the hotel room and I told my team that I never ever want to go on stage ever again – like, I don’t want to be a live performer, let me lip-sync next time! Now it’s one of my favourite things. It’s crazy!

Wow, that does sound terrifying but your fans probably still enjoyed it! Last but not least, what else can we expect from you? Any tours or shows going on?

I’m just finishing up the Manic Dream Pixie Tour at the moment in Australia, and then after that I’m going to the US and doing a show over there with a couple of other Aussie artists. It’s going to be fun! And after,  we’re hoping to do some shows there. 

Manic Dream Pixie is out now.

Interview Antonia Künzel