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William Crighton

INTERVIEW: Markus Hamence is in The Jungle Room with Australian music artist William Crighton.

William Crighton is a phenomenal passionate artist, a deep-truth story-teller and an Australian music force.

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RIA award-winning Australian singer-songwriter and Bush Psych pioneer William Crighton today releases his powerful fourth studio album, Colonial Drift via ABC Music. Listen here.

A deeply personal and evocative body of work, Colonial Drift is unmistakably Australian and stands as Crighton’s boldest work yet.

Reflecting on the album’s inspiration, William says: ‘I have a drive inside me to explore the tension between country, nation, our collective history and the personal relationships we have with each other as we continue to build this story of ‘Australia’ together. I love this place; it’s complicated. We haven’t fully reconciled our history and we’re living in wild times, staring down the barrel of a very uncertain future that can feel overwhelming, if we can get away from images of hypersonic rockets or AI influencers long enough to consider it. The trap of turning against each other is real, but so is building a more hopeful future. Julieanne and I wrote this record exploring the conflict and the common ground”.

William co-wrote Colonial Drift with his wife and creative partner, Julieanne Crighton, who also contributes vocals throughout the record. The late, great Rob Hirstlends his talents to standout tracks including “Warzone” and “Horizon.”

“Warzone has a line which captures real sense of the album and its portrayal of an environment and a culture being buffeted by forces of money and power, of division created by those with power and money, while the rest of us think we have no influence: “it’s a fucking war”. You know that line wasn’t tested in a focus group, and you know that it doesn’t just refer to the Australian soldier being sung about”. – Bernard Zuel

The film clip for “Warzone”, released today, carries a poignant resonance, as William and Julieanne filmed it just an hour after learning of Rob’s passing. Julieanne recalls, “Rob was a mate and a mentor to us both. We didn’t know if we’d be able to do the video. But William drew inspiration from Rob’s voice echoing through the gums and I think you can see the salt and fire in his eyes because of that.”

Sonically, Colonial Drift moves between rock, psych, blues, and roots, enriched by natural soundscapes and snippets of poems/speeches & musical interludes woven throughout the record – culminating in what is becoming known as “Bush Psych”.

The album’s first three singles – “Further Down the Road,” “Sex, Death & Choices,” and “Beautiful Country” – have already garnered strong support across Australia, receiving widespread airplay on community radio. Notably, Double J added both “Further Down the Road” and “Beautiful Country” to high rotation, further cementing anticipation for the full release.

Also appearing across the record are Jeff Lang, William Barton, Luke Davison (Preatures), Jim Moginie (Midnight Oil), Matt Sherrod (Beck), Chris Dale (Melody Pool, Ben Leece),andCorey McCormick (Neil Young).

Recorded at The Grove Studios by Damian Charles, with a significant portion also crafted in Crighton’s own home studio, Colonial Drift is uncompromising, expansive and fully immersive.

To celebrate the release of Colonial Drift, William Crighton and his band will embark on a national tour, including shows in New Zealand. On what fans can expect, William says: “I think this is my best work so far, and I can promise that the shows will be a real memorable experience.”

Tour dates and details are listed below.