Kylie Auldist

Kylie Auldist was born on September 20, 1968, and grew up in the farming town of Hay, New South Wales. She recorded her first song at the age of six. Auldist is of half Samoan heritage. Her early musical influences were shaped by her parents’ record collection, which included Jimi Hendrix, The Beatles, and various Blues artists. A significant musical turning point occurred in her early teens when she discovered Black funk music, particularly songs like The Brothers Johnson’s ‘Stomp’, which resonated deeply with her. Moving to Melbourne in her early 20s, Auldist immersed herself in the local music scene, performing with various bands across genres and becoming an in-demand backing vocalist for artists such as Renee Geyer and Jimmy Barnes.

In 2006, Auldist joined the acclaimed Australian funk outfit, The Bamboos, performing at the Meredith Music Festival. Her collaboration with the Hammond trio Cookin’ on 3 Burners resulted in the song “This Girl” in 2009. In 2008, she signed a solo recording deal with UK’s Tru Thoughts records, releasing three critically acclaimed albums: ‘Just Say’ (2008), ‘Made of Stone’ (2009), and ‘Still Life’ (2012). ‘Still Life’ earned her the Best Soul, Funk, R’n’B and Gospel Album award at the Music Victoria Awards of 2013. Her fourth solo album, ‘Family Tree’, was released on Freestyle Records (UK) in 2016, also winning a coveted AGE Music Award.

Auldist achieved global recognition in 2016 when a remix of “This Girl” by Kungs became a worldwide hit, reaching number one in France, Germany, and Portugal, and number two on the UK charts, accumulating over 1 billion streams. Her most recent solo album, ‘This Is What Happiness Looks Like’, was released in 2020 on Soul Bank Music. She continues to be an active international session vocalist, collaborating with artists such as Marc Vedo, Flevans, and Aldo Vanucci, maintaining her presence in the funk, soul, and disco scenes.