In May, Dua Lipa introduced a special guest at her Sydney gig: Kevin Parker, who duetted with her on a version of The Less I Know the Better, the biggest hit Parker has ever released under the name Tame Impala. The pair have a longstanding creative relationship – Parker co-produced and co-wrote most of Dua Lipa’s last album, Radical Optimism – but nevertheless made for quite the study in contrasts. She was resplendent in a glittering lace catsuit, stiletto-heeled boots, a fake fur stole draped over her shoulder. Lank-haired, clad in a baggy multicoloured cardigan and a string of wooden beads, Parker looked not unlike a man who had arrived onstage direct from a very long night up at Glastonbury’s stone circle.
You could see it as a visual metaphor for Parker’s unlikely journey to pop’s upper echelons which began, improbably enough, while he was listening to the Bee Gees while tripping on magic mushrooms. The experience prompted him to pivot away from the guitar-led psychedelia of Tame Impala’s first two albums and embrace his love of “sugary pop music” on 2015’s Currents. As evidenced by the success of its single The Less I Know the Better – 2bn streams on Spotify and counting – the record vastly outsold Tame Impala’s previous work. Moreover, a succession of mainstream pop stars decided they wanted some of what it had to offer. Parker subsequently worked with Rihanna, Lady Gaga, Kanye West, Travis Scott and the Weeknd among others. Last year, he cropped up on the Australian Financial Review’s list of his homeland’s richest under-40s.
