“Cotton has the quality that Paul Kelly and Stella Donnelly have whereby it seemingly feels like she’s narrating the mundane moment in life and relationships that we’ve all been through and then – POW – you’re hit with the depth and breadth of her storytelling” – Nkechi Anele, triple j

‘You Drive a Hilux’ is an off-kilter anthem from NT queer indie-rock artist Alice Cotton and was recorded with Gormie (Angie McMahon).

Cotton may be based in Darwin, but that hasn’t prevented her from collaborating with Aussie music legends on her follow-up single and video ‘You Drive a Hilux’, spinning the everyday minutiae of rural life into an infectious and unconventional anthem.

A collaborative track with industry heavy-weights Gormie (Angie McMahon, Tracy McNeil) and Holly Thomas (Quivers), ‘You Drive a Hilux’ is the second offering from the indie-rock artist carving up the country’s regional music scene. Fresh off a finalist nomination for the Australian Folk Music Awards, Cotton’s debut single ‘Sleeping Dogs’ and accompanying Auslan-interpreted film-clip garnered a feature in Tone Deaf and radio play on triple j and 2SER.The independent and community-minded artist is known for her playful and intimate lyrics about family dogs, queer love, and a constant day-dreaming of food.

A tight soundscape of drum-loops, layered vocals and off-kilter witticisms, ‘You Drive a Hilux’, out May 6, is a song about a journalist living in Mparntwe, written as a prize for an ABC staff trivia night.

Cotton explains “I wrote this song in the early days of the pandemic, when a friend asked me to write a personalized song as a trivia prize for her work party.

The winner’s partner emailed me a list of his kooky habits and little quirks. I read the email but felt like I really had no idea who this person was and that it seemed ridiculous to write a song about them.

Because it was for a trivia night I cranked it out in 20 minutes and didn’t give too much thought to it, it was pretty flippant really. It was really fun to write in this off-hand way, instead of my usual gentle and drawn-out process. A good approach for me, I’m a bit of a perfectionist and a plodder.”

The lyric video is set to tug at heart-strings, showing NT’s lovable camp-dogs bouncing in a ute amidst swirls of red dust. The track artwork, by artist Bridget Woods, is brought to life by award-winning animator Huni Bolliger, and celebrates the sprawling and laid-back lifestyle of tropical regional Australia.

“I immediately clicked with the artwork, I spent so many memorable nights of my childhood crammed in the tray of the ute with 6 or 7 other kids, crashing around the bush looking for buffalo.”

Growing up in Darwin, Alice Cotton would write songs as a child about her everyday world; mouldy pillows and fly-screen doors. She left for Melbourne to study classical flute, and then, as an academic way to process her childhood experience of her mother dying, music therapy. Cotton returned home to the NT seven years later and embedded herself in community, running a pub choir through Big Community Sing!, airing her film-clip at Deckchair Cinema, and producing sell-out LGBTQIA+ events for Darwin Fringe Festival.

And it’s not just about her own music. The community-mind artist works was the recent recipient of an Arts Access Award, commending for her work providing professional development and creative performance workshops for neuro-diverse musicians in Darwin. Locally, you can catch Cotton at her single launch at Happy Yess, or at her music therapy and accessible arts studio.