Mikayla Pasterfields Love Letter to Tame Impalas Currents: A Journey of Inspiration and Self-Discovery

In this edition of Music Feeds’ Love Letter to a Record series, we delve into the impact of the 2015 album Currents by Tame Impala on the life and music of Australian singer-songwriter and producer, Mikayla Pasterfield. Pasterfield recently released her debut EP, Heritage Listed, via Camden Press. The four-track effort saw the prodigious artist work with producers such as New-Haven (Allday) and LEN20 (Lil Nas X, Jessica Mauboy) to forge a collection of deeply honest and resolute balladry reflecting on small-town life, queer romance, and discovering one’s true identity in the backdrop of regional Australia. Currents came out when Pasterfield was in her early twenties and was a driving force and deep inspiration for her love of writing music. Hearing the honesty of Tame Impala’s lyricism really influenced her own writing style, which was still in its nascent stages at the time. The album was accompanied by a stripped-down version, Currents (Stripped), which highlighted the poetry in every single song. Pasterfield’s personal favourites are “The Less I Know the Better” or “New Person, Same Old Mistakes.” Both songs feel so deeply personal, and she’s found that every time she enters a new phase in her life, she relates to these songs in a completely different way. Pasterfield has always loved Tame Impala’s music. Ever since discovering their song “Mind Mischief” on YouTube back in 2015, she knew that she would be listening to their music forever. Her first – and, to date, only – tattoo is of the cover art of Currents, because she truly resonates with their music so deeply. Currents will always be an album she listens back on and holds so close to her heart, and that lyrical honesty was such an inspiration for her own EP, Heritage Listed. Tame Impala’s music has a unique blend of psychedelic rock and electronic elements that really drives home the right feelings for Pasterfield. The repeated melodies throughout the album blend everything together so masterfully; from the opening track “Elephant,” which is a massive punchy track, to the closing title track where it really slows everything down and leaves you feeling this deep catharsis. It’s the perfect rollercoaster of emotion that brings you along for the journey. Everything Tame Impala releases is incredible, but this album will always be special. There are so many moments and memories attached to these tracks for Pasterfield and it’s such a nice way to look back on them. She hopes that someday, she’ll be able to express such honesty and vulnerability in her own music and have it touch people the way this album has touched her. Until then, she’ll just keep re-listening to Currents over and over again.