Astro Elevator are Putting Us Into a Kaleidoscopic Trance With Their Latest Single

Astro Elevator, the daring quartet hailing from the vibrant musical scene of Melbourne, have unleashed a sonic storm upon listeners with their latest single, "Kaleidoscopic Trance," released on January 24, 2024. This electrifying track offers a tantalizing glimpse into their forthcoming second album, "Cosmo Vortexia," promising a musical odyssey that transcends boundaries.

Formed in the midst of 2019, Astro Elevator draws inspiration from a diverse array of musical influences spanning the realms of 60s garage psychedelia to the intricate landscapes of 90s and 00s progressive rock. Following the triumph of their debut LP, "Lysergic Liquid Maze of the Psychotropic Triptonauts," the band experienced a meteoric rise in popularity, evidenced by sold-out hometown shows and their inaugural interstate tour in 2022.

"Kaleidoscopic Trance," a compact two-and-a-half-minute musical journey, stands as a testament to Astro Elevator's evolution. The track builds upon the foundations laid by their debut, incorporating complex song structures and a more progressive approach to songwriting. In this latest release, the band's distinctive fusion of driving energy, spaced-out jams, and dueling guitars takes center stage.

Immersing listeners in a swirling maelstrom, "Kaleidoscopic Trance" catapults them into a sonic journey spiraling ever upward. The band deftly navigates the delicate balance between control and chaos, with a formidable rhythm section propelling burning comet-tail guitars through an ascending progression of escalating intensity. The track reaches its zenith with thumping beats and wailing guitars reminiscent of titanic battles, only to clear the air with a pulsating width, leaving audiences in a state of stupefied awe.

All the tracks are crafted and performed by Astro Elevator, showcasing their collective musical prowess. The single was meticulously recorded and mixed by Rohan Sforcina at Head Gap Studio in Preston and masterfully fine-tuned by Lachlan Carrick. Dr Cheeto Feather Pants contributed additional recordings and played organs, while Inktally lent their artistic touch to the mesmerizing artwork design, and Tony Roberts encapsulated the band's essence through captivating photography.

"Kaleidoscopic Trance" emerged organically during an intense creative session, embodying the unmistakable influence of Mars Volta with its chaotic drums and driving guitars. Clocking in at two minutes of unbridled energy and fury, the track invites listeners to embark on a personal and enthralling auditory journey with Astro Elevator.

Astro Elevator · Kaleidoscopic Trance

Backbeat caught up with Astro Elevator to find out more about their influences, team, and upcoming releases and shows.

Can you tell our readers about your new single 'Kaleidoscopic Trance'

Kaleidoscopic Trance is the first single off our forthcoming album. We wanted to make a short, hard hitting, energy packed psychedelic song. The song weaves in and out of an ascending progression with a bombardment of swirling delay drenched guitar solos in the middle, where the song finally releases the tension and breaks free. While it all seems to be chaotic and frantic, the driving rhythm section keeps everything tight and in control. Hopefully the listener will be engaged to wonder where it's all going. The song packs a lot of punch for clocking in at just over two minutes!

Who did you work with for this single, and what does the name of the track mean?

We recorded and mixed the album at Head Gap Studio in Melbourne with engineer Rohan Sforcina. The name of the track comes from the song's lyrics. The ascending progression of the song, along with the ferocious drum fills kind of made me picture something trippy. Like transportation, freefalling and spinning down a tunnel of mesmerising and reflecting colours, so out of that imagery came Kaleidoscopic Trance.

What are some of your go-to records to listen to, when you're either chilling or working on new music?

Lately I've been listening to a lot of 60's garage/psych playlists. Finding forgotten hidden gems from the birth era of psychedelic music. Some other artists that have been getting a run lately include Tom Petty, Lee Hazlewood, The Flaming Lips, The lemon Twigs, Dr John, Elea Craig, The Allman Brothers, Bob Dylan, The Grateful Dead, The Pretty Things, The 13th Floor Elevators

Can you tell us about the upcoming album, and what can we expect?

The album is titled Cosmo Vortexia. It has a few really progged out songs, some clocking in at over 6 minutes. We're experimenting with textures in sound and dynamics. We like to challenge ourselves to come up with a sound that's unique and interesting to record and play live. It's an album where the listener can really sit back and go with the flow, letting them join in on a journey into the unknown. It's only 6 songs long but there's always a lot going on

Anything exciting coming up over the next few months?

Yes, we have the single launch of Kaleidoscopic Trance on Feb 9 at The Beast. A second single will be out in a couple of months. We also have a small run of shows planned for NSW in May. Then we'll release the album and continue playing and touring as much as possible

What other bands are from your community, and who should our readers get across?

A few bands that we've played with that stand out, Sons of Zoku, Maisie, Scatter Light, Skerzo, The Black Heart Death Cult, Zelkova

What do you like to do, outside of writing, recording and playing music?

We're all pretty chilled out when we're not working on music. Other interests include camping, hiking, watching weird documentaries, movies, reading, NBA, jujitsu, guitar making. Although music consumes a lot of our time, it's all of the band members main passion and hobby

Any last words! 

Stay High!

Unveiling Telladream: A Musical Odyssey by Sash Mish

In the realm of Indie/Alternative/Electronic/Pop, a captivating new artist is set to make waves with an unparalleled sonic journey. Telladream, the brainchild of singer and producer Sash Mish, formerly known as Slumberhaze, is making a resounding entrance into the music scene with the release of two compelling singles, 'The Death of Fear' and 'Family Matters.'

After a six-year hiatus and the transformative experience of becoming a father to two children, Sash Mish redirected his creative energy into the Telladream project. Collaborating with industry legends like Lachlan Mitchell at Parliament Studios in Sydney and London-based producer Dane Burge, Telladream's debut album, featuring ten tracks that showcase Sash's unique musical style, is eagerly anticipated and set for release later this year.

Choosing a path focused solely on recording, Telladream forgoes live performances to concentrate on delivering a rich tapestry of music and visuals. Collaborations with other artists on exciting projects are also part of Telladream's journey, highlighting a commitment to exploring the depths of creativity.

Influenced by a diverse array of artists, ranging from Bowie and Outkast to Dino Merlin and electronic producers, Telladream draws inspiration from the expansive wall of sound reminiscent of bands like War on Drugs and Elbow.

'The Death of Fear' and 'Family Matters,' the debut singles from Telladream, delve into poignant themes that resonate deeply with listeners. 'The Death of Fear' explores the transformative period surrounding the birth of Sash's daughter, offering an intimate glimpse into the emotional journey. On the other hand, 'Family Matters' tackles the pressures of life, love, and the delicate balance required to hold it all together.

To add a visually striking dimension to Telladream's sonic creations, both music videos were crafted by a talented crew of film students from NIDA and directed by Forest Lim. The marriage of visual and auditory elements enhances the immersive experience of Telladream's music.

The singles were not just written by Telladream but meticulously recorded and mixed by Lachlan Mitchell, showcasing a commitment to sonic perfection. Mastered by Steve Smart at Studio 301, these tracks promise to deliver an audio experience that transcends the ordinary.

Reflecting on 'The Death of Fear,' Telladream shares, "I wrote the instrumental for this song in 2013 in Florence and could not get any concept or melody for the vocals. Then, after my daughter was born, I spent a few days on this song, and everything came together in the span of 2-3 hours. Lyrically, it talks about the experiences before she was born and after."

Regarding 'Family Matters,' Telladream remarks, "Written as an instrumental to make my daughter dance, it ended up being a song about family life – its pressures, love, and holding it all together."

As Telladream emerges onto the music scene, it brings not just a collection of songs but a profound narrative of personal experiences, creative evolution, and a commitment to pushing the boundaries of musical expression. With an album on the horizon and a unique vision, Sash Mish, under the moniker Telladream, invites audiences to join him on this musical odyssey.

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Backbeat spoke with Sash aka Telladream about the recent single and video releases, and dived a little deeper into how everything came together, and his artistry

Hey Sash, How are you today? Great, man! 

Can you tell us about the name behind Telladream? I was hoping a name would come to me, as I've just been recording the songs and planning a release but couldn't decide on a name, and then it just came during a nap one afternoon in a dream. The dream word was Telethon, then I liked that, but it was in the dream so I used the first half and added dream to it = Telladream 

Can you tell our readers about your new singles 'Family Matters' and 'Death of Fear'?

The instrumental of this was written 10 years ago and I loved it but could never come up with a structure or melody so I just left it, then around the time of the birth of my daughter, it all just landed in my lap. The song speaks about fear and finding courage in the end. The title was initially The Fear of Death, but at the time of recording I flipped it as I didn't have that anymore. Family Matters was written a year after and was initially a guitar jingle I'd play for my daughter, then evolved into a song about family, the challenges and the spirit which keeps us going during all the ups and downs. It's optimistic again. 

What was your inspiration behind writing these songs, and what influences your sound?

Starting with an idea and then waking up hours later with a song is a thrill and I love the process of it, singing, writing lyrics and melodies, it's all fun and I'm addicted to fun.   

The music videos for 'Family Matters' and 'The Fear of Death' are stunning, how was it working with NIDA students and Forest Lim on these videos?

Forest is a bright mind and he heard the demos in 2018 and just wrote a script for The Death of Fear, then made a storyboard, then scoped locations. He had everything ready for me and proposed the shoot, making it so easy! It was shot over several days with a cast and team of young, enthusiastic legends that will have a future in the sport, I'm sure. 

Do you bring an idea to the table for the videos, or did Forest Lim bring you the idea for the videos?

Yeah we definitely worked together on the concepts and negotiated on details and themes etc. It was good having someone from that world guiding me, otherwise I would need a $1 million budget to film what's in my head. 

I hear you're working towards releasing an album, what can you tell us about the album?

It's taken me 7 years. Since the break up of my band (Slumberhaze), I took years off from music, just writing in the background, never playing live and just stockpiling music for a rainy day. Then I realized it's been raining the entire time and I've just been procrastinating, so I will release it this year. Some 10 odd tracks, 5 music videos. There are songs in there written in 2016 and some written last month. As they say, it's the debut album that takes your entire life to release.

Your music has a playful indie sound, how would you best describe it to someone that has never listened to your music before?

Man, I can never explain it! It's just music that tries to be catchy and emotive and nostalgic, not sure what genre it is. Maybe you're right, Indie. I call it Nostalgic Pop, but not sure if that means anything. 

Where can we find out more about you?

Just online, all the streaming platforms and YouTube, plus have an IG @telladreamworld and Facebook with the same handle. Probably have to start a TikTok and cringe dance to a loop of my music to get it out there soon. 

INTERVIEW: BOB EVANS TALKS TOMORROWLAND

Our writer Suze caught up with Bob Evans re. ‘Concrete Heart’ from his upcoming record ‘Tomorrowland’ and more!

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You have a new song out?
Yes. I have a whole new record called Tomorrowland that comes out on April 16th.  The most recent single is called ‘Concrete Heart.’ 

It’s a great tune.  The sound is almost like The Beatles meets Jebediah. 
I guess there used to be a real gulf between Bob Evans and Jebediah but that has narrowed somewhat over the years. The Beatles thing is undeniable. In previous times I have been directly influenced by Beatles stuff and you can hear it over previous records.  This time around I wasn’t really listening to or being inspired by The Beatles, but they still managed to sneak in there because the artists that I was listening to a lot were inspired by them! For me when I was trying to figure out how I wanted to present this song, I was listening to heaps of Tom Petty, particularly Full Moon Fever. It is probably his best-known record and I really fell in love with it. Obviously a few of the songs I knew very well because they are such massive hits, but I had never really listened to the whole record properly and its now one of my favourites. There are a few songs on that record that are just power pop songs, guitar power pop. I thought that was the angle I could take with this one. 

I read that you had used a bit more electric guitar this time around on the album.
Loads. I mean this really feels like the first traditional rock album that I have made as Bob Evans. Not just because of the instruments we used but also it’s the first time where I have recorded live with my band in a room. Very minimal overdubs, minimal edits. There was just five of us in the room and we smashed out all the songs in like six days. I’ve never done that before. It was important to do because  I wanted this record to have its own unique feel and to be a real point of difference to previous records. I had to look at things that I could do differently. A few years ago I wouldn’t have had the confidence to make a record like that. I would have been worried that it wouldn’t be good enough to pull it off. So it’s pretty awesome to be in a band where you look around and you go these guys are great musicians and we can totally do this. And we did. 

I also heard a whisper that you are touring.
Yeah. Well, the tour is definitely happening. I’ll be going all around the country. We just have to hope that everything remains open. Obviously, as everyone knows, this year is going to be pretty volatile but at the moment, the way things are going in Australia it looks pretty good. 

I reckon things should stay pretty safe in Adelaide.
I’ve just been in Adelaide.

I was just about to say I came and saw you do Club 27 at The Fringe a few weeks back.
Cool, what did you think?

I absolutely loved it. 
It was a lot of fun. So I’ve been to Adelaide twice because I did a Jebediah gig there earlier in the year as well. Look everywhere in Australia seems to be doing pretty well, I think there is reason for us to be optimistic. Certainly more so than last year. 

Absolutely. So back to ‘Concrete Heart’. I liked where you kind of got the inspiration from. That whole putting stuff up on social media in a discussion that is important to you and having someone call you out for being a ‘bleeding heart’.
What it specifically refers to is when you weigh in on some kind of debate that is political in its nature, you know it might be something to do with immigration for example or perhaps indigenous Australia. You put forward an opinion or a comment that is sympathetic and a lot of people who disagree with you use the term bleeding heart as a dis. I have always found that really fascinating and kind of funny because it’s like the criticism from the other side of the debate is pretty much like ‘Oh you care too much'. Is that really a bad thing? I like the idea of taking this bleeding heart thing and wearing it like a badge of honour and making a bit of fun out of that whole term. Concrete Heart is the opposite of that. I mean at its essence it is serious, but I tried to approach it the song in a light, fun way because it is a little bit funny as well. 

It is, because you never get a comment to back up the diss. It’s just you’re a bleeding heart. There is no actual discussion or reasoning why.
Yeah, I don’t even understand what somebody means if they use that term against somebody. What are they really trying to say? I guess they are trying to say that you are too emotional and you’re not rational or logical. Maybe that’s what they are trying to say.

It’s because you are passionate about something. That is why you enter those discussions in the first place. 
Having said this, I rarely weigh in on social media debates. I try really hard not to read comment sections around issues that I care about. It can get really depressing when you see the things that people write. It can be a very toxic environment. So yeah it’s not something I do very much. 

I just can’t anymore because of that reason. And the more you read those comment sections the angrier you get.  Some of them just aren’t going to change their opinions. It’s better to just bow out.
That sentiment is in the song as well. There are lyrics in the song that pretty much say exactly what you just said. I’m the same, you just have to back away because it is not really doing you or anyone else any good. 

No, it doesn’t.

Back to Tomorrowland. Are all the songs that little bit more rocky than normal Bob Evans?
I think so.  I suppose it’s a lot to do with the attitude with which they were recorded. Like I said with the band recording them live I think it just gives the songs a real kind of electricity and a character.

You get that vibe off of each other being in the studio together. 
That’s right. There is a character that I can’t recreate on my own. It really is its own unique thing. I’m really proud of the guys playing on it and what we were able to achieve. And Steve Schram who produced it, it’s a really good sounding record. It’s definitely going to be one of my favourite ones that I have done. 

Is there an underlying theme or is it just a collection of 10 songs?
Well, actually there are 11 songs on this record. We were only planning on doing ten and we got up to day six and we only had two songs left. Steve was like “You know we are going to finish early should we try and squeeze one more song in?” I had to go back to my demos and in a very short amount of time I had to choose one. Of course, the guys had to learn it on the spot. All the other songs we had spent rehearsing before we went into the studio. The second to last song on the record is called ‘Fits and Starts’ and it came out great, it sounds awesome, but the guys were literally learning it as we recorded. It’s one of my favourite songs. 

Tomorrowland is out 16th April. 

MUSIC VIDEO PREMIERE & REVIEW: ZACHARY LEO’S ‘IN MY HEAD’ TAKES US BACK TO THE 70’S IN THE BEST WAY

HELLO 70’S VIBES!!!!

The scene opens with a short intro as a beautiful, long haired 70’s style man with a durry hanging from his mouth enters the hallway to answer a phone. Is he being broken up with? Is he being cancelled on? We dunno, but the poor muffin is so sad about it. He sits down next to the receiver and puts out the ciggie, with a short silence as we look deep into his eyes.  He’s got one of those little hallway stands that my Nonna has, it’s so precious. 

I have to be honest- I KNOW I already reviewed the EP and all, but I feel like the song is different now I’m viewing a video? 

Mr Leo has one of those film filters that makes it seem like you're watching a dusty old movie, I thought my screen was dirty for like a split second before remembering that is Leo’s signature style. I wonder what it’s like being stuck in a different era? I love his whole vibe honestly. 

Back to the video and Leo wanders down the hall to the lounge and a stunning record player as the song starts, and this is where the fun begins… 

Who’s sitting behind the bar but the girl in Leo’s headspace…. No spoilers but you’re going to love it like I did. Pure gold... and I’m not talking about the hair.

This whole set is so quirky, do we know if this is where Leo actually lives? There are so many beautiful artistic shots, cutting between Leo strumming away and him lounging around the house, being haunted by the mystery girl. It's just so beautifully mastered and I can’t get over the general aesthetic. 

As it turns out, the whole thing was shot on Kodak Super 8 Film, which makes sense in relation to the actual dusty quality of the film. 

The video feels like it was built on the idea of the song- YES, I know that’s what music videos typically are but this one just is a perfect mesh of Leo’s musical and personal style- it’s subtle but also If you watch, listen to or follow Leo you know what he looks like and can definitely see these comparisons in this video. 

Covid has really hit us all hard in many different ways, but the fact that he was able to film and produce this whole music video during restrictions as well is a testament to his dedication to his music. 

This music video is a kicker. Go and watch it, you need it. It’s so good. Zachary, I adore your costume changes… All of them. 

Huge credit also goes to Brandon Carr, who assisted with Set Design, Directing at his very own house in Melbourne!

Don’t believe us? Watch for yourself as we bring you the exclusive premiere below!

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EP REVIEW: ZACHARY LEO’S ‘FEELS’ IS GIVING US THE FEELS

G’day, kids and kidlets! I know, been a while but here I am, and lawd do I have a stunner for you!

If anyone remembers, I reviewed a sexy little single called ‘Feels’; a beautiful blend of soul, r&b, and some pretty rock vibes all weaved into that mix. 

Well, wouldn’t you know who popped into our email inbox!

Without further ado; I give you….

Feels, an EP by Zachary Leo. 

1: Prelude

Ahh, what a start! This instrumental number is a little bit 70’s, little bit mysterious, and a whole lot of rock. It’s very… music for those good 70’s and 80’s movies- hear me out- Pretty in Pink? It's just so SMOOTH. It’s delicate, slow burning but oh so sensual. This whole intro really sets a high bar for the rest of the EP. It’s so magically weaved together, I can’t even see straight. Where are my glasses???

2: Insane

You know what? I believe there is a vinyl being released on the 20th of November. I am telling you now- I really fucking want one. The transition from Prelude to Insane is LITERALLY INSANE. It’s so smooth and just seamless. What a good start, Mr Leo!

This one is a bit more on the “Rock” side of Zachary’s somehow multifaceted genre. 

I did struggle to understand the lyrics a bit, but I think the focus was the instrumental aspect of this song. It was definitely interesting to hear the somehow unending vocal limit. I understand the angst in this song, this really conveys Leo’s struggle with anxiety and you can feel that? Once you know what the song is, you can hear it. 

All around, it was a really punchy start to the vocal aspect of this EP. Zachary is really mastering the production of his own work, and let me tell you it is hard to stop playing with something until you’re sure that it’s reached it’s peak. This is that peak. The vocals and instrumentals aren’t battling each other for dominance. Everything is working together to create a great sound. Rock is really versatile in that it can basically reach everyone with very little effort. It’s a genre for the people. 

3: In My Head

Hello, gorgeous! This is a really funky little track. I'm wiggling in my seat, it is so easy to move to! I think there is a music video attached to this song, being released early! 

This is way more gentle than ‘Insane’, it’s got remnants of ‘Feels’ so you know it’s a kicker really, it’s got that slow build to the bridge and it just feels like it’s directed at me? I mean, the listener. 

You get your classic Zachary Leo Serenade, with familiar guitar licks and punchy bass. Very good stuff, Zachary. I can dig it. 

4: Interlude

Ah, this feels like the part where you’re supposed to take a breath and relax a little. Every single song on this EP is able to stand on it’s own; and yet they all work together so wonderfully? How does this happen?? 

This interlude is a little bit of lullaby, it’s so soft and delicate, I think this is exactly what the EP needed- just a teeny tiny little breather. 

5: Feels

Now listen; I know I already reviewed this song, however when I heard it again in the order of the EP, I felt like I was hearing it for the first time. I feel like there is a whole other facet to this song that I wasn’t hearing before. It’s a whole new song when tied into this EP. It’s so brooding and I feel like I’m sitting on the couch on hot (Australian) summer night, and Zachary is explaining what he’s feeling towards me, the listener, the partner, the fling-or-something-more, and he's just pouring his heart out, the little muffin. Poor darling. I hear you. When I heard it as a single, I wasn’t sure how it would sound in the EP but now, it fits. Here is the missing puzzle piece. It’s a 6 piece jigsaw but it still needed this song.

6: Out Of Place

Did you think we were leaving the rock behind? You are sorely mistaken, my friend. 

This is such a garage band kind of rock song. It’s super vulnerable but also so wonderful in the sense that we are being pulled in by the delicious guitar and enigmatic drum kicks, and the lyrics just set us down for a great show. This is the garage band your brother and his friend started and you go because his drummer friend is hot but you stay because you love the music. 

This one definitely fits with the title, Zachary definitely puts across that he's feeling out of place in the scenario; I can’t quite pin whether or not he’s been rejected or if it’s coming, but there's a little bit of angst hidden between the rock/grunge guitar riffs, and is that a solo I hear? Yes. Come to mama. 

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Overall, this is a really solid start to Zachary Leo’s Album/EP discography. I believe the songs all worked together to create a beautiful story of love and the mental struggle with comes with that whole thing: rejection, hope, questioning of self worth,; it’s all there if you listen hard enough. 

There is definitely some cohesiveness to each song and the transitions are wonderful, and while I think that while interlude was needed in such a multifaceted EP, it feels slightly out of place in it’ lullaby like form. It was a breath of fresh air from the heavier, rock/funk tracks, but I felt like maybe it could have gone at the end instead of the middle of the track list. A calming, almost moment-of-clarity end to the EP would have rounded it off well. 

In any case, it’s wonderful to see such strong music coming out of Melbourne; it’s looking like the music industry will recover from the hefty times we have all been through as of late. 

Great work, Mr Leo. 

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INTERVIEW: SKYWAY CHAT ‘CUT THE TIES’ AND UPCOMING EP ‘HOPE FLOATS, LOVE SINKS’

Skyway’s Rupert Muir recently got back to us with a quick chat about their most recent release ‘Cut The Ties’

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Listening to ‘Cut the Ties,’ I got the impression that it was about needing to break away from something holding you back, but struggling with that potential loss. What was the inspiration behind the song?
Disconnecting from things in your life that hold you back from your true potential.

I imagine that after a long break, you must all be excited and ready to get back into it. How does it feel to be working together again?
Yeah we’re stingin’ to do some gigs to play some of the classics and new songs. It feels normal, like riding a bike or rolling up a durry. A lot has changed in all of our lives but when we’re all together it’s all familiar.

Looking through social media, it’s safe to say that all of your fans are super keen that you’re releasing new music. Did you anticipate this type of response?
We didn’t really think about it to be honest. It’s very humbling to see some of the responses and that people have been listening to us over all these years. We owe some new tunes to ‘em and a gig or two.

Can you tell us a little more about your upcoming EP, ‘Hope Floats, Love Sinks’? What can fans expect?
5 tracks including intro and a cover. It’s pretty lit, it sounds like Skyway after a long hiatus. Some fast stuff. Some slow stuff. Some fun stuff. Good clean fun.

Can you walk me through the creative process that you went through to produce ‘Hope Floats, Love Sinks’?
Had a couple of Jams together and thought why not? Had a few tracks up the old sleeve so we finally hit the studio and the rest is history

With the current state of the pandemic in Australia, the music industry has definitely been put on the back burner. How has this impacted you, both musically and mentally?
I’ve been a hermit for years so I was mentally prepared for isolation and not much changed for me except for not being able to go to the gym or gamble. We’ve been pretty lucky in QLD and all of our respective industries were mainly unaffected. So we’re in no spot to complain. If anything its made us more hungry for gigs.

At the beginning of isolation, creatives were expected to create more and there was an immense pressure placed on them. Is this something you experienced with the production of ‘Hope Floats, Love Sinks’?

We had the foresight of the pandemic so we took that hiatus all those years ago to prevent any sort of creative pressures placed on us...We were mostly done with recording before C ‘Rone got skitz, luckily.

Who are some of your favourite Aussie acts?
Loser, Speed, Smash, Polaris, Violent Soho, Aversions Crown, Thy Art Is Murder,

INTERVIEW: GOOD NEWS EVERYONE - I’M NOT EMO (BUT THE SONG IS)

1. You’ve just released a new single, I’m Not Emo (I’m Just Sad), can you describe the song for me?
I’d say that Emo was our version of a sad boy pop punk song that would’ve come out back in 2015 from a band off of warped tour. 

As a whole, I would say the song is definitely a good mix of an emo and pop punk song, although instrumentally there are a couple of times, such as the second verse and the bridge, where that changes up.  Lyrically, the chorus is basically a description of the point I was at when I wrote this, talking about how I’m not the person I want to be and more and more frequently I would just reminisce on the past. But then there’s also that duality throughout the chorus saying I’m not going to let the past define who I am and that I’ve already come so far from where I was and I can’t let that go to waste.

If I look at the song broadly, I would say that it’s not a song about being sad but more about being hopeful for what’s to come

2. What was the inspiration behind the track?
At the time we started piecing Emo together we were listening to a lot bands like Real Friends, Moose Blood and Pierce the Veil so just naturally we began writing things that were more in that vein. 

As whole though, we all really enjoy the vibe that you get from seeing bands up on warped tour so I think that played a big factor in influencing the song, being that we listened back to it and could see it being something a band on warped would play

I think coming into Emo, we wanted something that was a bit more upbeat that we could have some fun with and I think we achieved that pretty well. 

Right as this was coming together though, Victoria went into its second lockdown which was rough because we weren’t able to catch up with our friends which put me in a really negative place. That’s why there isn’t anything especially complicated about the lyrics, it was straight from my mind to my paper on exactly how I was feeling listening back to the demo

3. As you’re in Victoria, I imagine it must have been challenging to work on new music. How did this single come about with the restrictions in place?
The way that we normally work as a band wasn’t really affected that much by the restrictions. Typically what would happen is I would demo a few songs, have the boys come over and listen to it, pick out parts we wanted to change or fix up and then decide what to do with it. 

With these restrictions all that changed was instead of having the boys come around, I’d just send them a google drive link to the song and we’d go from there.

Once we knew we wanted to put this out, we recorded our parts and sent them off to Jaime Preciado from Pierce the Veil to mix and master and we couldn’t be happier with the result!

4. The music industry has definitely been hit hard with the pandemic. How has this affected you, both mentally and with your music?
For us, we were just starting to get organised to do some gigs and all that so it definitely set us back a long way when it came to what we’d want to be doing right now. Right now though we are going to be getting into a rehearsal studio in the next couple of weeks so at least now we can start making some progress and hopefully get out there and start playing some shows soon!

Mentally, the first month or so of the lockdown left me reflecting a lot on better times and had me thinking about a lot of people and memories that I hadn’t for a long time. It put me in a bad head space and I realised that there was a lot of thing I hadn’t properly worked through and I think that’s probably going to reflect a lot lyrically in our songs that we’ll be putting out later

5. I have to ask...is the band name a ‘Futurama’ reference or just purely coincidental?
Yes it is! One day it got thrown around and we thought it was funny but eventually we couldn’t agree on a name so we stuck with that one

6. What are some of your current favourite Aussie artists to listen to?
Right now I know that Alex is listening to DMA’s, sticky fingers and dune rats. Adam is listening to a lot of Thornhill, Windwaker and Stand Atlantic. I’ve been listening to a lot of The Beautiful Monument, Eat Your Heart Out and Columbus 

7. What can fans expect to see from you next?
We’re currently working on our next EP that’ll be coming out between February and March of next year so that’s always exciting. We’re also now going to be able getting into a rehearsal studio to get ready for some gigs whenever we can so that’s gonna be fun once we can!

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INTERVIEW: THE NYLEX FACTORY CHATS INSPIRATION, EVOLUTION AND SOLO ENDEAVOURS

First time BackBeat writer Kayla debuts with us by interviewing one of our own - Dan with his act ‘The Nylex Factory’.

Did you find that “If I never make a profit” came quite easily to you or would you describe it as an arduous task, something that required labour and extensive thought?

It came really naturally. I wrote it as they were announcing the new easing of restrictions. I'd been up eagerly waiting for them to say one thing or another but at around 8am decided I should do something else and then spent the next five hours in the garage. By the time I was finished I barely noticed that now be able to get a haircut, let alone play golf... (I did neither of those things). I hadn't had any intentions of 'going' for any particular sound; it sort of just happened to be what I was feeling at the time.

The cover art is super intriguing considering on previous single releases you’ve used your own artworks. (super cool ones might I add!) What is the concept behind the cover art for this single and what appealed to you the most about using someone else’s artwork in this instance?

The amazing artwork is by @geraniumthief. To me it represents someone communicating through a fake/sterile environment in order to get a message across to new ears. Just like the song, the message might not be conventionally 'pleasant" but it's certainly important to hear it because it comes from an honest place. Also, I think my art has a very particular style that is immediately recognizable as its own, and since this release marks the start of something new, I needed an artwork to play against what people have come to expect of me both visually and sonically. This isn't to say I won't use my own artworks again in the future but I needed some separation to really establish this sound as a new and concrete path. This wasn't another sound experiment, rather a bold new world for The Nylex Factory to dig into.

It seems as though this upcoming release has underlying tones of resisting the need to make a profit off things we’re passionate about, for them to be considered worthy pursuits. Would you care to elaborate on this concept for your listeners?

It's about whether or not you'd continue to do something even if it never gives you any long-term economic relief. And of course, you never know that for sure but I think this is a common source of anxiety for creatives so I wanted an entire song dedicated to that energy. As artists we're told our entire life to look for other career paths and this is a response to that with a very blunt and cathartic execution (and a slapping 808 kick). Beyond wealth, local artists need to realize their reach extends beyond their own beliefs of how popular they are. People will dig your work if you're honest, even if it's just for those three minutes. If your own biases get in the way, send your draft mp3 to somebody and get some energy back. You'd be surprised how empowering and rare a compliment can be.

Is there any advice you wish to give new creatives out there hoping to experiment with their sound?

Go for it. I think vulnerability (which comes through experimenting with sounds and taking chances) has always played an important role in music and it may just be the next big thing that people want, especially as human connection dwindles, live/human sounding releases are comforting to hear. Seeing someone take a chance is inspiring and energetic. As releases get more and more expected and cliche and perfect everyone's eventually going to want something new and raw and by experimenting with your sound you give the audience exactly that. If you think it surprises you just wait to see what somebody who isn't you might think.

It’s often understood in the music industry that evolution is integral to the growth of Artists. Taking note of that, do you foresee The Nylex Factory venturing further into new forms and genres?

I expected that at some point I'd put vocals into the songs but I always assumed it would be purely singing as opposed to the rapping you can hear on the track. So, with that logic I'm pretty open to exploring anything and everything under the Nylex moniker assuming that it is electronic. Otherwise I may need another name. For me the deep dive into garage dnb and hip hop was a natural way for me to give the project a life of its own. Isolation has been extremely hard on inspiration lately so I've had no choice but to look for new and strange places to find it.

Can you identify any influences or thought processes that really pushed you to create this new single?

My thought process for the song came after hearing a few artists such as Jk 47 and Nerve on triple J the night before. It was the first I'd heard of both artists and I dug them but I started to wonder where Nylex Factory existed or fitted in the Melbourne cultural landscape. And I wasn't sure it did as of yet, so I turned the radio off and started writing in the car and that's where the chorus developed that cathartic self-defeating kind of energy, which is the headspace of an artist in modern times. The song was a response to finding the balance between trying to please people while attempting to maintain one’s own innocence and purity in the process.

The Nylex Factory really appears to be a passion project and starkly different to your other releases under Tall Relatives. As someone who also plays in a band, how have you found the creative process during the switch to solo endeavours?

There's no gigs so I have a lot of time on my hands. I wouldn't say I spent much if any time on Tall Relatives since March up until after I wrote this song as a sort of vocal warm up to meet the demands of the next Relos single 'State of Disaster' (coming soon) which I recorded shortly after. It's a garage studio set up that I've recently made for myself so it lends itself to either of those vibes whether it be rock, edm or rap. It was actually art I had to temporarily stop doing at the time (which I'm back to doing daily at @millkman) to have enough energy to approach the song writing and beat making for this single.  

Have you found quarantine has had a profound impact on what works your creating and the processes in which you create and form such works? Is there anything you wish you could change on this release particularly, that quarantine made impossible?

For art, yes. I've made over 250 pieces this year since March. For music, no. Quite the opposite. It's taken me eight months since I've presented myself as a musician so it's safe to say there's a lot of pent up energy here. If that's good for the songs then great but it doesn’t mean I had fun or enjoyed myself from a musical perspective for a very long time. I think the single has a certain rough energy to it that makes it work in the context of what it represents; a sort of anarchic setting of tone for the ep that's to come after. I could change a million things or record it at a studio but then it wouldn't be what it was; released. I'm too much a perfectionist to really give into that sonic kind of scrutiny. I prefer to ask myself whether or not an atmosphere is created and if it is it then to me it means it's ready for release.

The Nylex Factory is an Argentinian experimental dance + electronic producer based in Melbourne.

Currently making Dark Progressive Electronic House and Techno, his upcoming single sounds like a filthy mix of Bauhaus and the Avalanches.

Very dirty.

The Nylex Factory is Dan Blitzman.

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INTERVIEW: REINS TALKS WHAT KEEPS HIM HERE

Since first listening to Chris Pearce’s solo project last year I have been waiting for more to be released. What Keeps Me Here is what Reins have blessed us with. I reviewed it recently and that just left me with more questions than answers, so I asked Chris if he was keen to have a chat about the EP

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So this is a little bit different to Saviour!

Yeah it is, big time. I’ve always done stuff like this, but I’ve always loved metal as well. It wasn’t a big change for me. If anything I was probably way less metal by the time I joined Saviour. Joining Saviour made me get back into metal again.

I’ve been following Reins for a while and I have a feeling that it was Nick Deveril that put me onto you.

He’s the most supportive dude.

Yeah we met through our common love for Saviour.

What Keeps Me Here is so good, I couldn’t believe that nobody had done a write up about it.

I didn’t really send it around. I probably should have. I had one review in the works but never followed up on it.

I had it on loop for about 3 or 4 hours when I wrote the review. There are so many messages in the songs

It’s an awesome review. Thanks for that.

The more I listened to it the more I got out of it. Then I realised that it loops from Losing Your Mind back around to Storm Clouds. Just like the pattern of depression can repeat itself. Did you know you had done that?

Nope not at all. I just wrote all the tracks and chucked them together on the EP the best I could kind of thing. Its even interesting hearing people see it as like this release around the one thing. When I was writing the songs they were all so separate. Every track was separate, and I pieced them together. I guess it’s worked out because they all flow well into each other.

I actually thought you were telling a story because when you listen to it from start to finish you start with that depressive state, you hit rock bottom and then you start to come good only to fall into that state again.

Some songs are obviously specifically dark and angry like Storm Clouds. I get weird sleep paralysis and start doing weird stuff in my sleep which my girlfriend has to put up with. So Losing My Mind is about that.

See I took a totally different meaning

I always try and write lyrics that are not super obvious, they are more that you can take it on however you want.

Which is what I did because that’s not how I interpreted it. I took it as when you are in that depressive state it paralyses you.

I write a lot of songs that are specific and others that aren’t. Temporary Fix is about when you have a problem with something, or you are unhappy, and you turn to alcohol or anything to try and numb the pain and forget about it. It doesn’t work, it always comes back in full force. It’s just that temporary fix.

I took Temporary Fix as being in that dark spot and self-medicating. 

It’s all along those lines

When I published the review I was like OMG I hope I got this right!!!

I really found it an interesting read. It was almost more in depth than what I’d kind of processed my own songs. I just write them I don’t really think about them.

Grey and Old to me was someone at that suicidal point of depression looking forward into the future at what they might miss if they were to take their life. I’ve got this whole story from this EP!

That’s cool. Way more in depth than I went. Grey and Old for me is just every lyric is a specific memory that I have, something that has happened. It’s all good memories, yeah it’s more just memories to take when I am old really.

I’m still over here following this story that I have got happening.

I like that though, that’s cool. I like that your getting that vibe from it. I think it’s very upbeat and happy music wise, but a lot of people reckon there is still a darker tinge to it which is surprising. Because I listen to heavier music and emo music I see that song as a super happy boppy song, but other people are like no its still not that boppy.

The first few weeks I played it I was bopping around, and I was singing but not actually listening to what I was singing. It wasn’t till I sat down to review it and I’d already written this big blurb about what a happy boppy EP it was, I had to scrub it and start again haha.

Some of the songs have that emo vibe, like Storm Clouds. It probably makes the rest seem like they are emo, and they are probably not. Brightness is a happy song, that’s about family. But also acknowledging that you should put more effort into seeing your loved ones.

And I took a different take on that one as well

Whatever you wrote was almost that kind of vibe but more in depth. I think it was more feeling bad that you’re not being present for your loved ones.

I think my favourite is What Keeps Me Here but choosing one is hard. And I took that as, going back into that cycle again, and there’s that one person that is holding you here.

I don’t really know what I meant with that song, but it makes sense at the same time. It’s like a sad love song but its not at the same time. It’s for the people that put up with you through the bad times. They’re what keep you around when you could obviously be anywhere else. They are the reasons that you are where you are.

I think I wrote that it’s not the physical space of home it’s the people that you surround yourself with.

For sure.

Do you have more songs piled up?

I’ve got so many honestly. It’s hard to get through them there is such a big pile of songs to finish. I’ve got another EP, hopefully I finish it this year and release it early next year. It’s a follow up to ‘What Keeps Me Here’, like a part two.

Do you do a lot of the writing for Saviour?
No not a lot. I think I did three songs on A Lunar Rose.  We all throw in our little 2 cents worth, but Bryant does most of it. He’ll send stuff over and get me to have a listen. I’m not as good a metal guitarist these days.

You do alright playing stripped back guitar. Like I said WKMH is an EP that you can throw on Sunday mornings and get that chill vibe.

Yeah it’s definitely that kind of vibe. Mellow, chilling kind of vibe. The next one is going to have a bit more of a full sound I think. I’m going to write it as if it’s a band rather than a solo act. I’ve got a band that can play my songs, I’ve got some mates that can jump on board.

You’ve got some older stuff up on Spotify as well that I love.

Yeah the older stuff still sounds like a full band. I’m going to stick with a similar sound to what I’ve done previously but I just want to make it more fine and crisp I think.

This one is definitely different to your older stuff.

Some of the songs on this EP I wrote back when I did that older stuff. It was just finally getting around to them.

Do you do the recording yourself?

Yeah I do all the recording here and then send it off to a guy who does all the mixing and mastering for me. He recorded the drums on the EP as well for my drummer who is really good.

Did you have a band at the EP launch?

Yeah they all played at the launch. They are pretty much band members, but they don’t have to deal with all the other stuff. It was a good night, even though there are restrictions it sold out.

That’s great that it sold out. So they just turn up and play?

Yeah pretty much.

I guess that means that you can probably tour eventually???

Hopefully. Obviously touring is a bit out the window at the moment. Lots of people are touring WA at the moment though. I actually didn’t even record any music during lockdown. I’ve just been gardening, cleaning out the shed. Stuff I normally neglect!

It’s been a productive time. For the normal everyday stuff that you neglect, but also for bands to regroup and write new stuff.

Yeah. The number of albums that are dropping now, that are quarantine albums, is actually crazy.

Anything else you want to tell us about the EP

Not that I can think of. You went pretty far into it (laughs) better than I did. I think I just write these songs and chick them out and don’t think too deeply as to what they are about.  Storm Clouds is such an emo song, I wrote that in one session. Wrote and recorded it before I even had a chance to think about what it was about! That happens frequently. I wasn’t even going to put it on the EP but once I wrote it I really liked it and I released it straight away. I got it out there as quickly as I could. That song did way better for me than anything else I have done so far. I was really surprised at how quickly it came together.

Sometimes they are the best ones!

For sure. Other songs like Grey and Old, I wrote the first half of it 4 years ago. I’d kind of forgotten about the track. My partner kept telling me it was a really good song and I needed to finish it. I was like yeah one day! Eventually I decided that I should try and finish it so the last half of the song I wrote 6 months ago. It’s kind of like a different track the bridge onwards but it works. I’m really happy with that song.

When you posted about which one was our favourite I couldn’t even really pick one because they are all good in their own way.

There doesn’t seem to be a clear favourite that I have seen. I thought Temporary Fix would be the least liked, but a few people have said that was their favourite. Heaps of people are liking the title track too. All my favourite songs I haven’t even released yet, that’s the funny thing.

That’s good then! Are they coming on the next EP?

Yeah. I have to get a move on I guess and get it finished. It always takes longer than you expect though.  

Hopefully it doesn’t take too long! What Keeps Me Here is one of my favourite EP releases this year and one you should definitely throw on Sunday morning while you’re having your morning coffee.

READ THE ‘WHAT KEEPS ME HERE’ REVIEW HERE

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INTERVIEW: SUZE CHATS ‘ABSENCE’ WITH INFINITE ILLUSION

Infinite Illusion have just dropped a new single ‘Absence’ and the boys have definitely taken it up a notch. Liam McDonald filled me in on what has been happening with the band.

How heavy is this new song!!

It’s funny because it’s our heaviest but also our lightest at the same time and I don’t really know how that ended up working. Dynamically it is so different to anything else we have ever done. We like it.

Me too. When I first heard it I was like Wow that went next level!

A lot of it has to do with the fact that our first lot of stuff was written by Sam when he was 15. We are all mid-twenties now, so Sam wrote that nearly a decade ago. We’d all been doing our own thing and when it came around to release it was a joke. We were all just hanging around and were like ‘hey do we want to release some music?’ and it just spiralled from there. And then we just kept going. This is the first real song that we wrote as a band now.

It wasn’t what I was expecting

I don’t think even we were expecting it. We got a new member at the back end of last year and we completely changed everything. We didn’t really have any intention of releasing any other music to be honest, we were a bit stale and then we got a kick to keep going. This is the first song that came out of it. We’ve got a few more coming after this. We are actually going into the studio the day before Absence comes out to start recording another couple of songs. I think after that we are planning to do an album, I’m not 100% sure. We’ll see how we go.

What’s the story behind the song?

The story behind the song is pretty interesting actually. Dan hit me with a concept, I write the lyrics for all of our stuff, but the concepts are somewhere I have always struggled I guess. Well not struggled but I tend to box myself in to certain topics and that kind of thing. It was really good Dan hit me with a concept of PTSD and reclaiming a loss of identity. Which is actually something I resonated quite well with but didn’t put a lot of thought into. It’s a personification of that kind of feeling, of being trapped and trying to come back and overcome depression, anxiety, PTSD, whatever it might be. It’s a very metaphoric story behind reclaiming who you are before mental health kicks in, as opposed to who you are after. And that’s were if you listen lyrically as it goes along it’s very much a song that literally tells a story. It starts off you’re being held back, you’re falling apart. This thing is attacking you. As it gets further along, the chorus tells the main story. As it gets closer to the breakdown, the breakdown hits in the song “I’ll break your fucking jaw myself” is literally a line about turning around and throwing back. Just fighting and getting out. I remember when I sent the boys that lyric, I loved it and I remember writing it and going that’s really cool. I honestly didn’t think I would get away with it, I thought the boys were going to come back and be like you can’t do that its ridiculous. Instead they were like no that’s staying. A lot of the song built on that lyric, that pre breakdown lyric stayed and I edited everything else on the side to really create that story of a reclamation identity. Fighting back against something that I think a lot of people in our scene deal with.

Dan wrote this song at a time when he discovered he has PTSD. Through 2019 he definitely had this big breakdown. He was in a couple of other bands as well and he overwhelmed himself and it broke him. We bought him in as a fill in drummer. I’m good friends with him so I asked if he wanted to fill in for a couple of shows. It was like an instant click, between me and him especially with these concepts and lyrically. And really translating that into music as well. I thought everything kind of clicked and he’s got these incredible experiences, he’s older than the rest of us, that we can write about and really tell some cool stories. This is the first one where we are really focused on the story telling of the song. Even though the music is important I think for us playing this live, when we get that chance, will definitely be a little bit more emotional than anything else we have done. I honestly think it comes across in the track as well.

Like I said when I listened to it I was like what the hell happened between Ill Intent and here?

We took a break to reinvent ourselves in all honesty. We took that break intentionally and everything fell into place.  We have been sitting on this song since January, obviously with a few things kicking in it pushed it back a bit further than we would have liked. But it gave us time to really think about who we were as a band. I think above anything that is a positive. We weren’t being forced to play shows, we had time to pull back and just think “What are we doing here? Who are we? Are we just another metalcore band? Do we want to attach ourselves to politics or mental health? What do we want to do?” We all have different political views so that was a big no, but the one thing we all absolutely resonated with was mental health. Having someone who has had such heavy experiences, my best friend died when I was 16 and Sam has lost a couple of friends, To The Grave losing Josh. We saw all that and we were like this is where we need to be. I think this is the one where we can actually help give people, not so much a space, but give them a soundtrack to that space. And just really focus on doing that. I think that is why lyrically we are pushing this content so much. Lyrically, above anything else, its quite a powerful song and we are really proud of it. I’m proud of the lyrics that I came up with, they came so naturally as well which makes it better.

It wasn’t forced, it came from an experience. It’s not something that you guys have just thought ‘Oh I’m going to write about this cos I can’

Pretty much that’s exactly it. Experience tells those stories better that anything. I think as well when we were writing it we had a big discussion: do we censor it or do we just make it violent. I’m not a big fan of censoring things, I don’t think it’s ever a bad thing to feel uncomfortable. I feel being uncomfortable is a huge part of growth. Obviously people are scared to feel like that, scared to face those truths. We made the song vivid for that reason, if it does make people feel a little uncomfortable that’s okay. It could be good; it might not be good and that’s a risk we had to take.

There is no point writing a song like that and not being real about it.

Definitely. We did get a lot of push back from quite a few people being ‘Guys this is a little bit graphic, you could really trigger some people with these lyrics’ We pulled them back a little bit, but it ended up being like what we had written to start with. The guy that we produced with was just like nah don’t pull back, just do it. You’re not going to make an impact if you are being safe. We were just yep that works let’s just do it.

I would totally back him with that one. If you want something to have an impact on people, don’t water it down. It’s not going to have the same effect.

Exactly. This song is all about that impact for us I think. Our last record wasn’t bad, I’m not a huge fan of it, I would never listen to it. That was the big one for me. This album we really wanted to make that impact. We want people even above anything else to just know out name. Even if they don’t listen to the song, that ok. I just want people to get used to seeing our name around because we have every intention of keeping it there.

You only have the one single ready to go?

In terms of all our demos, we have about 7 or 8 that are being recorded over the next 3 months. The plan is 3 stand alone singles, reinventing our sound and image off the back of those. Then we will do another record. Whether that is an EP, or an album remains to be seen. That depends on a lot of factors.  We are just playing it by ear, one single at a time. None of the singles that we release will be on that record. The record will be totally stand alone as the new version of us. Ill Intent gave us a start but it’s definitely time that we left that behind and really focused on the new version and sound that we have. Except for maybe Afterthought, that’s the only one that will stay around for a little while. We really like that song, and we think it’s a lot more modern than the rest.

I liked the EP!!!

I don’t think it was bad, it just wasn’t anything special. Musically it was good, technical, heavy breakdowns, big riffs. It was cool but there was nothing new about it. It was good if you liked it, but it didn’t hold people. I think it didn’t give people a reason to stay.

This one will if the first single is anything to go by.

I’m a lot more confident with this one. I’m not sure if it’s because I’ve been listening to it by myself for the last 6-8 months! I took a break of listening to it then I came back to it. I was like yes this is good. Its really hard a musician to sit there and praise yourself, questioning could you have down stuff better. But coming back to it, I actually took this lesson off Mikey from Gloom, come back to it and if you still like it, its good.

I’m a classical piano player. I have been my whole life. So for me to join a metalcore band is kind of unheard of. I remember one of my old conductors from an orchestra I played in a couple of years ago was like ‘What the fuck are you doing? How do you make that noise, it’s disgusting’. I was like yep it is but its fucking sick!!

It’s a cool genre to be in. I think as a small band above anything else, its really really cool to be in metalcore. I’ve been in other bands over the years, nothing heavy. Blues and rock and one cover band that I don’t talk about! I’ve played big blues festivals and stuff.  But there’s nothing quite like the support I have experienced in metal. There is nothing quite like the community, it’s so amazing to see a community that is so supportive of each other.

So there will be no touring with this!

There’s nothing in the pipeline. Collide, we have had to push back twice now. Unify is looking like it’s not going ahead as well. It’s shit but at the same time at least we aren’t dead. You have to take the positives. I think it has given a lot of us time to grow as well. Time to reflect. I was working stupid hours, and I know the other guys in the band were the same. We had no time for ourselves. We can either use this time to loathe in the fact that everything has been taken away, or we can use this time to become better. Really reflect on past practises, how we do things and who we are. Make time for other things in our lives. Take the positives out of being forced to do nothing.

I started Recurrent Verse at the end of April and it’s just gone crazy. I’ve already posted 60 articles and I’m getting more everyday

That’s mental. That’s so good. It’s good to see some new publications around.

I only do Australian bands because there is so much happening here. Aussie metalcore is my passion.

That’s the cool stuff. I don’t know what it is about Australian metalcore but far out there is something in the water here. Jesus some of the bands that are coming out like Elision and Inertia. Deadlights, I’ve always been a huge fan of those guys.

I am so keen for new Deadlights. Mesma is in my top 10 all time albums.

It’s such a good record. Elision’s new stuff has been incredible. The technicality in those boys is amazing. They are a very talented bunch of dudes. I have so much respect for them. Inertia as well, they are one of those bands that I think has the ability to blow up. Outloved have just announced a record. I was like omg this is like listening to BMTH but not listening to BMTH!! It had that impact on me. It was like listening to one of my favourite bands. It was so good to hear. There is just so much good stuff out at the moment.

There’s so many new cool bands coming through too like Ghost Complex, Canyon, Tides Collide, Dweller, Wake the Blind so many good bands

And Lune. I forgot about them. Then you look at the big boys and what they are releasing. Alpha Wolf’s record I thought was really good. There’s more coming from other bands. That 2 year cycle has now reduced to 1 year. To see so many bands releasing stuff is so good. I honestly don’t think I have heard a bad release this year.

I haven’t either. Someone said to me that everything I write is always so positive, do you just not review bad bands! I said to them honest to god there had not been a bad release this year.

I think album of the year has to be Make Them Suffer or Currents. They are my two.

I would say at the moment mine would be Alpha Wolf, Make Them Suffer, Saviour and We Set Signals.

Saviour’s was sick too. It means everyone has to step up or you are going to get left behind.

Diamond Construct is another one! Who would think adding a DJ would work… I’m loving all this experimentation in the scene.

It’s super important to do that metalcore has always been such a non-accessible kind of genre. It’s always been you like it or you don’t. That is definitely changing now, metalcore as a genre is changing with bands like BMTH leading the way. Whether you like AMO or not, it has set a standard for what you can do in metalcore. I personally thought it was their best record.

I personally think that 'Absence' is Infinite Illusions best release so far! After talking to Liam I think we are about to see big things come from the boys. Bring on 2021 when hopefully gigs return, and we can see 'Absence' played in a live setting..

‘ABSENCE’ - OUT NOW

CHECK OUT SUZE’S REVIEW OF ABSENCE HERE

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HEAD OVER HEELS FOR ST EMERALD

Move over Bachelorette, MAF’s, and Farmer Wants A Wife, it’s time to turn off the tv and straight onto the radio - or any form of streaming service - to tune into Melbourne indie-pop band, St Emerald, with their new single, Head Over Heels featuring the incredibly talented fellow Melbourne singer songwriter, Jessie Singleton. 

Compared to their EP, Worried Hearts earlier in 2020, Head Over Heels moves away from a full band indie-rock sound and is a sweet love song with the duets to match, as Jessie’s vocals add that layer of tenderness. It’s an interesting direction St Emerald are taking, but one which showcases their adaptability, and further explores their gentle songwriting abilities. 

It’s a gorgeous release from the relatively newly formed group, with finger picking moments sure to strike a chord with fans of Plain White T’s Hey There Delilah. But the melody isn’t overpowering, the acoustic moments blend almost seamlessly with the backing vocals along the way. This track, just over two minutes in length, is an ode to that fairytale-love-stuff which is perfect for those moments spent daydreaming about a future lover. 

Single artwork by: @jamesmactaylor on Instagram

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INTERVIEW: ILLYRIA TALK WARMING UP TO NEW MEMBERS WITH ‘FROSTBITE’

With a new line-up, Perth based Illyria have just released a new single Frostbite. Don’t be deceived by the beautiful, melodic beginning to this song because things heat up to a frenetic pace pretty quick! I’m loving everything about this tune and how it captures so many elements seamlessly. I caught up with vocalist Ilija to talk bands, black metal, self-production and everything in between!

Hey Ilija thanks for taking the time to chat. What does the world need to know about Illyria?
We’re a very small band from Perth just making our way through in this very competitive and busy world. We are currently working on our third album. We play a form of progressive metal that has black and post rock elements it and because of the whole crazy 2020 scenario we are just trying to consolidate and find our feet again.

It’s trying to navigate releasing stuff in a whole new way I guess

It’s not only the whole studio thing. We really miss being on stage and doing the whole live performance thing because that’s another service you provide as a live band. When you’re in Perth, which is so isolated, it’s kind of restrictive.

That’s it. It’s not only having no gigs but having that distance as well.

Especially with the border restrictions. I understand that, but obviously you have to find new ways of getting your music out there which has been a very big learning process.

Totally. The good thing is more people are taking to social media and things like Spotify to discover new music seeing as there isn’t really any other way at the moment. People are engaging more with the bands to which is good to see.

It’s very true. We have noticed an influx for sure. It’s the retention now that we are learning to maintain. It’s cool that you have 25,000 people listening to you this month but how many more are going to keep listening. There’s a lot of new bands and endeavours that are coming in that you have to stay on top of, so we are just still trying to find our way through this. It’s a big learning curve.

It’s good that everyone is in the same position but it’s also really good because it means that everyone is involved. And everything you do doesn’t just represent your backyard it represents the whole planet really. We definitely keep that in mind when we release our music because I think we can safely say that our biggest audience is everywhere but Perth. Not saying that we don’t succeed here, its great but we have a lot of loyal fans in Europe and the Americas and you have to honour that as well.

You having that black metal element would get you a lot of that European audience. Black metal in Australia isn’t as big as it is overseas.

When I created this project it was because of that dire need and urgency that I wanted to bring that sound to somewhere new like Australia. I was living in Europe at the time and got exposed to the sound while I was there and feel in love with it and wanted to bring it back. It’s worked really well. For me personally I actually enjoy the post rock side, the members that used to be in the band were more the black metal side. I still love black metal, but I don’t get into the dark, gloomy clique sort of thing. For me it’s more a way of expressing an atmosphere and ambience to my liking without getting to depressive. I like to think that our music is a little more upbeat, a lot more Australian in some kind of way. We like to bring that charm in.

I think the best way we like to explain our sound to people instead of whipping out genres is us just saying it’s a roller coaster ride of emotion.

I’m not a fan of the genre label.

Yeah. It’s hard to bottleneck bands into genres in my opinion. I think the best way I like to explain it is I like to bring up emotions instead, I think people get that more. We definitely take pride in our music and lyrics.

So who does most of your writing?

I do most of it in terms of the way its all arranged, the foundation of it. I write the guitars and vocals predominantly and the bass player and drummer will review what I’ve done and then we come together and amalgamate it all and put our own bits of flair in. It’s initiated by me or the other guitarist and then we get together and refine it.

Have you guys toured over this side of the country yet?

As Illyria we have only played in WA, but we have all toured over east with other projects. We were looking forward to taking that leap of faith, but this year has been quite the hinderance and I don’t think we are going to be able to do anything anytime soon.

Where did the name Illyria come from?

I was in Ancient History class in year 11 and my first name is Ilija. I was trying to make a solo project at the time and I was struggling with it all and my ancient history teacher got out a map of the Roman empire and one of the provinces was called Illyria’ I had a chat to my teacher and asked how you pronounced it and he was like yeah its Illyria! I told him what I was thinking of doing and he said that it was perfect because it had my name all over it! We did a google search and there was a band called Illyrian at the time, but Illyria wasn’t taken. Google searches for us are interesting because there is a Buffy the Vampire character named the same and historical roman stuff comes up! It’s very charming and it represents me very well. What started as a solo project has now turned into a band 7 years later. I’m very grateful for the journey and for being on this call right now.

That’s is actually a very cool story. What’s the story behind Frostbite?

Frostbite is actually the first song by Illyria that wasn’t written on guitar by me. We have a new line- up now and have two new guitarists. One of them is a good friend of mine and Matt’s that we used to play in bands with called Steph en. He’s a tremendous guitarist to work with, in fact I even consider him one of my massive influences. He’s not played in bands for the past 5 years and he has all these songs banked up. I really liked this demo when I heard it. It’s the first song that I have truly gotten to just focus on the vocals. I wanted to provide something a bit different for the listeners to hear the new line-up. And that we are going in a different direction but still holding on to some of the past. We are just building up our chemistry and the fluency within all of our sounds and styles in the new line-up. Bringing in two new quality guitarists that are far, far better than me technically I really wanted to showcase their ability. Instrumentally this song is quite different. It’s a bit more ambitious but I know thematically and lyrically I don’t think I’ve strayed to far from the path. It’s still about all the typical emotional struggles and battles. I really hope that people like the new package that we are providing. We are working very hard to get our next release out.

You guys have produced everything yourselves?

Yes our bass player produces everything, our new guitarist is a videographer, so he filmed the music videos. And we all have experience in engineering our audio. Everything is through experience and sheer will and desire to do it ourselves. There is actually a whole consortium of self DIY producers in Perth and we all just get together and help each other out. It’s like we are shifting back in to musical tribalism in a way, bartering our services. That works for our dynamic because we are a small community here in Perth.

We love that by self-producing we are not limited to deadlines. We normally take 3 years to release an album, its really nice to have that freedom to go with the flow, to fuel this passionate hobby with four other blokes that you really get along with.

Finally who are your influences?

It ebbs and flows doesn’t it? When I first started this band it was bands like Deafheaven and Lantlos were definitely at the forefront, but you can’t ride on that saddle for to long and you’ve got to find new moments to latch on to. Lately it’s been American Football, Fallujah, Between the Buried and Me and random prog bands from the 70’s. I’m just really stretching out and trying to find stuff that I can latch into to keep writing albums that don’t sound stale.

ILLYRIA ARE:
Ilija Stajic – Vocals/Guitar
Andre Avila – Guitar
Stephen Barrett – Guitar
Daniel Hacking – Bass
Matt Unkovich - Drums

MEET SIDNEY ROSE: MELBOURNE’S NEW INDIE-POP TRAILBLAZER

Pictured: Sidney Rose has made the most of lockdown, with her new single, Guarantee Image: Sarah Caust 

For some artists, the push and pull of Melbourne’s lockdown measures has stunted creativity, forming mental roadblocks. This was not the case, however, for a newcomer to the scene, Melbourne indie-pop artist Sidney Rose. Described as “pop, but left of centre” by Triple J’s Tommy Faith, Rose has established herself as one to watch with her second single of the year, Guarantee. 

Produced by Ben Oldland, Guarantee is a captivating indie-pop track, which, believe it or not, was a product of her first time in a recording studio after beginning her project in December 2019. 

After chasing musical theatre for three years post high school, Rose found herself more immersed with the notion of storytelling purely through music, and so made the switch to the Australian music scene. 

“I think my real passion, at the core, is telling either my story and expressing that... then also being able to then use that [mode of] storytelling to tell other people’s stories, I think of it as a cool craft when you get down to the crux of it.” 

Drawing on influences from Canadian musician Lennon Stella and Australia’s own Eliott, Rose blends vulnerable lyricism with alluring hooks.

“What I’ve always found with music is that it’s a lot easier to sing something that’s really raw and honest than it is to sit and say that to someone’s face, so Guarantee wasn’t necessarily written about a certain person,” she said. 

Pictured: Rose embraces vulnerability in her track, Guarantee 

Image: Sarah Caust 

“With Guarantee it was the first time I was really trying to write from just kind of what was in front of me at the time, rather than trying to pull on past experiences.”

Indie-pop as a genre is proving popular among the masses, with artists such as Rose appreciative of the sheer amount of work which goes into creating an indie-pop track. 

“Working with Ben on Guarantee I just didn’t understand the full craft of indie pop, there’s so much craft to coming up with hooks that stick with people,” she said.

“And so to try and translate really sad emotional stuff that I write with my guitar and put that into a context, it’s just really cool.”

Navigating the Australian music scene as a young emerging artist during a global pandemic is quite the task, but one which Rose was more than willing to tackle, noting her determination and much-needed optimistic nature. 

“I actually set a goal at the start of the year basically to be writing something musical every day, creating in some way, and that’s something that I’ve stuck to and I’m so grateful that I have,” she said.

“I think I’ve been able to stay growing as an artist, because I’ve either created with someone else via Zoom that day or I’ve been forced sometimes to sit at my piano or sit at my guitar and sing and figure something out because I’ve made that commitment to myself.” 

The current climate in the Australian music scene has allowed Rose to slowly make her mark and work through moments of personal growth.

“Because I haven’t experienced it in normal life,” she laughed. 

“Normal life, whatever that is, I haven’t had anything to compare it to, I’ve really just been able to grow and find ways to do it.” 

For the remainder of 2020, Rose has her sight set on collaborations and demos, and eagerly working on her live set for the return of live music, whenever that may be. 

“I think at the moment it's still up in the air but I’ve been building up a whole heap of collaborations and demos and things because I’d love to have as much released stuff [as] ready as I can,” she said. 

“At the moment it’ll look like a lot more releases and stuff to come out of lockdown – kind of like lockdown babies but [in the form of] songs.” 

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FEATURE: EVIE CHATS TO BEC SYKES ON EDITHVALE AND GIVES US HER RUNDOWN ON THE SINGLE

Every so often you hear a song that completely transports you to somewhere else. It is engulfing, wholesome, and wounding all at the same time. It is that final puzzle piece that makes the end of a relationship make so much sense. It is a memory.

Yet Bec Syke’s debut single, whilst seemingly relatable in so many ways, captures a time unique to the beholder. Through the simplistic beauty of stripped-back melodic vocals, Melbourne based singer-songwriter shares Edithvale, a story about the end to a relationship realised by the torching of a car.

“My ex-boyfriend [and I] used to drive down to Edithvale beach in summer,” Bec says. “My ex’s car got stolen and set on fire just after we broke up, so I was thinking about how much of our relationship took place in his car. The car being set on fire was like a symbol of our relationship going up in flames.”

Symbolic to its core, Bec explains the how writing process came to her organically.
“I wrote the song on my family’s upright piano and the chords, melody and first few lines poured out of me so naturally. It was quite cathartic to write.”

The sombre piano chords Bec describes initially set the tone for the song, but it is her opening vocals which induce multiple emotions, many of which I was not prepared for…

I want to be in love again. I don’t want to be friends

It is that line – honest and raw – which takes the listener on a journey told from the front seat of a car in a hot summer’s night. Whilst the song resonates with the pain of a relationship’s end, it doesn’t simply park in the heartbreak, instead it reflects the complex emotions of happier times.

Bec’s vocals are flawless, her storytelling abilities showcased as she draws her listener in to glimpse a memory with intimate closeness. This song doesn’t include all the flashy bells and whistles- nor does it need to, with vocals as mesmerising as hers.

Although a relative newcomer to the music biz, Bec’s talent scored her the chance to work in the studio with Tom Iansek (Big Scary and #1 Dads) which led to the creation of Edithvale. Recently presented with the Josh Pyke Partnership – a yearly grant whose previous winners include Angie McMahon and Gordi – it is safe to say this artist is making headway in the world of music. Bec Sykes is clearly a name to remember, and I cannot wait to hear what is next in store for her.

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PREMIERE: Thea Fitzgerald CLOSES OUT THE BUILDING BLOCKS ERA WITH TWO FRESH VIDEOS

Thea FitzGerald closes out the Building Blocks era with two fresh videos, and we’re pumped to be bringing them to you here first! Better late than never, 23 year old Melbourne singer-songwriter Thea FitzGerald has two brand new videos to round out her debut body of work - Building Blocks.

Adding to the stunningly vibrant visuals previously released for ‘Stuck’ and ‘Holding Your Hand’, the killer team at Thick Heart Productions have worked with Thea to add to the collection with videos for ‘Breathe’ and ‘Higher Ground’. With a huge focus on colour to build the emotional narrative of each story, these new videos are absolute eye-candy.

The new videos add aesthetic and emotional symmetry to the body of work - the upbeat playfulness of ‘Higher Ground’ bears resemblance to the somewhat chaotic mix of cheek an pain in ‘Holding Your Hand’, whilst the solitary power of ‘Stuck’ is mirrored in the confined discomfort of ‘Breathe’. There’s a stellar cast involved too - Stephanie Wall, Ed McCullough and Sarah FitzGerald beautifully execute the story of Higher Ground, and Tamara Bailey nails her performance in Holding Your Hand.

WATCH THE NEW MUSIC VIDEOS HERE!

If you haven’t yet sussed the Building Blocks EP, you’re bound to love something in there – it’s a catchy fusion of pop, indie and R&B with infectious hooks, and will not disappoint! These new videos are the perfect ending to the Building Blocks chapter, making way for the release of Thea’s highly anticipated second EP later this year!

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INTERVIEW: WILL HYDE - INSPIRATION, ISOLATION, AND WHAT’S NEXT

Imagine the first time you hear a record of your own voice, or the silence right before someone clears their throat and tells you how they really feel. for will hyde, this uncharted territory has been years in the making. Evie had a chat with will about his recent releases, his process, time in isolation, personal experiences and inspirations, and what’s coming up for him in 2020!

(This is an email Q/A so we’ve left everything just as will wrote it - straight from the…Will’s…mouth'!)

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QUICK FIRE 

If you could go anywhere right now (pretend lockdown/ the pandemic isn’t a thing) where would you go?

i would love to go to the States!! i wanna go back to LA & NY soon.

If you could have 3 wishes what would they be?

great question.

1)   for everyone in the world to live in the present moment (that would take away anxiety, depression - living in the past/future like many of us do).

2)   for people to be happy. if we were happier, there wouldn’t be a need to bring negativity into the world.

3)   for equality in society. we’re all humans. sexuality/skin colour don’t need to seperate us. we all wanna be loved. we ain’t different, come on my people.

What is one thing you have put on your “bucket list”?

hmm. i actually haven’t thought about this or about a bucket list! i think i wanna spend some time in a silent retreat for a while at a temple in the future. i wanna meet Ekhart Tolle! 

Favourite song you are currently grooving to?

i love ‘not fair’ by kid laroi!! i always forget what i’m listening to i had to go to my artist spotify playlist haha (songs that remind me of u - quick plug).

Do you have any pets?

i do! i just got a puppy - his name is Bear. he is a labradoodle. when he yawns he makes a really cute teddy bear sound. i also have a few fish (they don’t get as much attention anymore which feels tough to say). 

Best piece of advice you’ve ever received?

hmmm. don’t wait for happiness. happiness will never come if u wait. success won’t change how u feel about urself. the only way u can start feeling better is to make peace with who u are NOW. :)

 And now for the serious stuff; 

How have you been coping in lockdown? Have you found any inspiration to get creative?

i have been finding it very good for me. i have been learning a lot about myself. i get lost in my head too much, i need to connect with the present moment more often. when i get lost in my head, life doesn’t feel as exciting or satisfying. i actually haven’t felt an effect of lockdown, purely because i got used to working from home when i first left school. routine is important. taking time for myself has been important. i’ve been reading! i’ve been writing a bit. i made two songs which feel super good to me. so it has been positive, yet i haven’t forced anything. i only really make music when i feel inspired!

You started off as one half of teenage electronic duo SŸDE, what led you to follow a solo career?

i like answering this question because it was a defining moment for me. i had a picture in my mind of who i wanted to be, what i wanted to stand for, the people i wanted to keep around in my circle. all of those things made my heart scream to follow my next chapter. we had a great run in SŸDE, a lot of moments i’m proud of, yet i had my darkest days during the period. i found it tough to be myself & the art i was creating while apart of the group just wasn’t me. i felt like i didn’t know how to be myself after leaving, i had to teach myself to be authentic to me. that was a really positive experience. the biggest catalyst was my depression/anxiety which forced a lot of internal change within me. i wanted to write about it, sing about it - the only way i could do that would be to go out on my own. very grateful for those times.

Can you please describe us what your creative process is like, how do you find inspiration for your music?

for sure! i like listening to a lot of music. especially during this period. just sitting back and taking in a bunch of different sounds has always been positive for me. honestly, the only music i listen to is stuff that makes me feel. when i feel something, that inspires me - because i have the opportunity to pass that on and give that to someone else. hopefully they feel some type of emotional connection to the songs i create. music is a gift that keeps on giving. from there, i generally just go about my day & melodies, track titles and production ideas flow thru my brain. when i think i have something great, i will work on it - take it to my notes and flesh it out. i mostly do this process by myself now. i like working with friends who are producers. i enjoy hearing how other people can interpret something i’ve made and make it better. collaboration is amazing like that. i always like to have a solid idea before entering any studio :).

 ‘easy for u’ is very groovy with a deeper message; it seems to be a bit about the kind of push and pull struggle of a hopeless relationship. Was this song based off an experience you had, or can it relate more broadly all kinds of relationships?

well thank u! i’m glad u felt that. it is based on experience yet i also want to keep my songs applicable to every relationship. there’s love in friendships, ur relationship with ur parents & of course intimately. the hard thing about the struggles of relationships is that it can feel very personal. usually people are just acting in their best interest but it does feel like something could be wrong with me. that’s a maturing thing i’ve let go & can understand now. it takes a few sobering conversations to reach that perspective tho, for sure.

What inspired you to write ‘meant to be’?

i remember going in to the studio session with fergus & dylan thinking about the concept of fractures. how a relationship can be so broken & over but it feels like u could still make something of it. i find for me that getting over people takes time. even tho i make decisions about who i want in my life quickly, if there was a connection, it still is a human that i’ve had memories with, you know what i mean? so sometimes it feels like we really could make amends. the trouble is, humans don’t really change! as much as i can want them to! they don’t usually. that’s a tough reality. a good lesson i’ve learned tho! on & up.

What do you hope people will take away from your work?

i hope people take away that it’s honest & authentic. i don’t want to sugar coat things & i just wanna do me. i spent too long doing the opposite. i hope people see a maturity in it too! most importantly, i hope people can find peace or happiness thru the music. that would be so special! that’s what i do it for.

You have been very open about the topic of anxiety and the challenge of overcoming adversity. How has the challenges in life influenced your music?

thank u. that means a lot to me. i like to think so! in the biggest way possible. it has shaped everything i have done. because of what i have faced, i am the person i am today. i wouldn’t change anything for the world. it has taken me a lot of pain to find peace & start to find true happiness. all of the sobering conversations i have had with myself, when i would cry about shit that was happening in my life, it all has a purpose. that purpose could be as simple as saying this & then it helps one human out there. if it does that, maybe my purpose has been fulfilled. not sure, but either way that’s how i think of it!! i also feel a freedom now with everything i’m creating. i find expressing myself so much easier. because i know myself a lot better. now that i’ve taken a lot of my shadows out of the closet to face, i can be free-er. it feels great!

Who are your favourite Aussie artists? What music inspires you?

i like a lot of the pop underground stuff coming out of the states at the moment. chelsea cutler, jeremy zucker, lany, gracie abrams, sasha sloan. all so dope. from australia, my home, kid laroi is a star. he’s doing a lot for australia. i think ruel is a stud, matt corby is a musician that i was fortunate enough to collaborate with & he is just a truly talented person. probably one of the most gifted all around musicians i will meet in the world.

 What does 2020 have in store for you musically?

i have a lot of music coming out!! i’m excited to show different sides of me, i’m fortunate to be able to release music & so i’m just enjoying putting out layers. i have more acoustic performances that i’m recording for the new songs coming out. i have music video’s dropping. hope u love it <3.

Where can we find your music?

u can find me on social media!! ( below :) ). thank u for the interview - this was a lot of fun & i’m grateful for ur time.

FOLLOW WILL HYDE 

INSTAGRAM (pics of meh)

TWITTER (where i post a lot of how my brain works)

FACEBOOK (my mum checks me on this so u can too)

YOUTUBE (there’s good juice on here so try that 1 too).

INTERVIEW: NEON PATTERN SUNDIAL (FKA BEN ALPINE) IS TAKING IT ALL IN HIS STRIDE

Hey there Ben! First off, a huge congrats on your debut single 'All In Your Stride'! How has the single been received so far? Any favourite critiques?
Thank you! Yeah the reception has been really great and to be honest a little overwhelming! I’m not sure what I’d expected, but I don’t think I realised I’d be spending the entire release day responding to messages from friends and reading blog posts about the song. It was so cool though, definitely very very stoked and thankful.

Ben Madden wrote a review on the song which was so cool to read. I just feel like he took from the song exactly what I want people to, especially saying that “you’ll feel positive about your day by the end of it”. Otherwise it’s just been so cool to hear from friends. I had shown it to a few people that I’m close with as we were making it, but tried to keep it under wraps for the most part. So it was awesome to now have people really dig into it and ask about the details in the artwork and things like that, which is exactly what I want people to do.

Tell us about your creative processes; how did 'All In Your Stride' come to be?
I don’t really think I can say that I have a definitive creative process as that sort of thing always changes. it’s sort of split up into two parts….

Firstly, I’ll create the demo mostly by myself. I’ll just work on it whenever; in my bedroom, on trains, at uni, mostly with headphones. I’ll just record everything really rough and try to not get too caught up in lyrics or synthesis or getting the right take.

Then I’ll bring the demo to my friend and producer/mixer Marc Scollo, and we’ll go through and flesh things out, tidy up the arrangement and basically re-record everything at a much higher quality. Marc is basically like 49% of the project if you ask me. This is where we replace the sample drums with a live kit, and start arranging vocal harmonies and all that stuff. Usually the song changes a lot during this process. I definitely rewrote some of the lyrics right before recording them...

All In Your Stride was in it’s ‘demo’ stage for over a year before Marc and I started on what became the final production. And I started it at a time that I wasn’t very inspired so it sat dormant for months and months before I picked it up again. I rewrote a lot of the lyrics at the last minute which seems to be pretty standard for me at the moment. I don’t really consider myself that great of a lyricist and feel like I have a lot to learn.

My friend Bek Nafiz was pretty important in the process, we did a session mid-2018 that basically got the entire foundation of the song down. It was her idea for all those funky guitar lines. I should also mention Alex Siderov who played drums on the track.

I'm very intrigued by the single's cover art, it's quite beautiful. Tell us about the concept and the images you've used.
Yeah! The artwork seems to be getting a lot of attention which is so awesome. It was basically all Jack Mackinnon. I just gave him a bunch of photos I had taken that reflected the aesthetic of the song to me. Which were mostly these vast landscape images that gave off this optimistic feeling, to me at least. He picked those ones and put them together that way and I loved it immediately. He absolutely killed it I reckon.

The photos are either from my travels or places that I’ve spent a lot of time and are all important to me. I picked up photography about 2 years ago, and I wanted the aesthetic of this project to be very rooted in reality and that sort of dreamy representation of it, so using those photos was a no-brainer.

Some of your influences include Hippo Campus and The Japanese House, how do these artists inspire you and your music?
Like everyone I listen to a lot of different music, especially electronic music and a lot of pop, but I feel like those two artists reflect the more ‘indie’ guitar-driven side of my sound, especially on All In Your Stride. I was listening to Bambi by Hippo Campus and Good at Falling by The Japanese House a lot during making this so the input was definitely there, both of those albums are some of my favourites. The Japanese House’s tuned and harmonised vocal arrangements were 100% a huge thing for me.

COVID-19 has had an extreme effect on the music industry, and I’m sure you’re missing festivals and gigs as much as me. What was the last gig you went to? Any events you were looking forward to that were cancelled/postponed?
The last show I went to was my friend Earnest Jackson’s single launch for his song Sweaty, which is a massive tune and their performance really went off. Before that I saw Golden Features who is always amazing. And I was getting really really excited to see Bon Iver and Tame Impala before they both got postponed!

Give us your Top 10 songs that are getting you through lockdown.

In no particular order! A real mix here of random stuff I’ve picked up and had on repeat...

Phone Numbers by Dominic Fike & Kenny Beats

Ego Death by Ty Dolla $ign, Kanye West, FKA twigs & Skrillex

Firing Rifle by PNK FME

Day After Day by Goldwater

You by Tennyson

Nirvana by ELLIANA

Playing On My Mind by The 1975

Motion Sickness by Phoebe Bridgers

Strobing Light by Ishq

All The Way by Tom Cosm

Finally, what’s next for NEON PATTERN SUNDIAL?

I don’t know how much I want to say! I’ve got a bunch more songs ready so there will definitely be another single sooner or later. A lot more on the way.

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INTERVIEW: CHATS WITH MELBOURNE POP-PUNKERS PAPERWEIGHT (FKA NORTH SIDE STORY)

How has Covid been treating you guys?
Actually, we’ve been quite lucky - we had a lot of our projects finalised just before Covid hit, so we’ve been able to stick to our release schedules, even during lockdown. We filmed our music video the week before that first lockdown was put into place - phew!

You’re about to drop a new single - what can you tell me about it?
Our new single “The Kids On The Ground” is a bop! It’s all about the bittersweet reality of growing up, moving forward and embracing a place in time. It's a celebration of good memories that are no more, and thus was written with the intention of being upbeat and happy with an undertone of bitterness.

What has been the toughest thing for you guys through Covid, being that you are a new band?
Not being able to gig! After all, nothing beats the experience of a live show... we were so ready to get out there and smash it - but best believe, when we’re able to, we’ll be one of the first back on the stage.

Who are your biggest influences?
Haris: The Beatles, Twenty One Pilots, Blink 182, New Found Glory, Green Day.
Luana: Sum 41, Heroes For Hire, Simple Plan.
Basil: Led Zeppelin, Blink 182, Metallica, Rage Against The Machine.
Tom: Blink 182, Ben Folds, The Beatles.

What made you decide to become musicians? Was it from a young age, parents/family influence or a band you heard and that made you think ‘yep, that’s what I want to do?’
Basil: I started playing drums when I was 13. At age 10, I’d play on my older cousin’s kit - it was the one thing I looked forward to every week!
Luana: I do come from a musical family, but my real lightbulb moment was when Joel Little from Goodnight Nurse gave me his guitar pick at the first local show I ever attended - that was all I needed to pick up a guitar!
Tom: School of Rock! Having a family full of different musicians helped broaden my music taste and I now appreciate all kinds of music.
Haris: I don’t come from a musical background, but I don’t have any memories of any time in my life where I wasn't completely enamoured by music/creative storytelling. I guess it has just always been there.

What is on the horizon for Paperweight?
We are always writing and creating. The hardest part is being patient with our release schedule - all we want to do is show everyone everything as it happens! But rest assured we have plenty of things lined up that we truly can’t wait to share. 

Your dream line up to tour with?
Haris: Cannibal Corpse, Baby Metal and The Wiggles would go off.
Luana: Sum 41, Simple Plan, Zebrahead
Basil: All the bands I’d have wanted to tour with don’t tour anymore...
Tom: Blink 182, New Found Glory, Sum 41

Top 3 favourite Aussie acts at the moment?

Haris: With Confidence, Between You & Me and The Dead Love
Luana: Between You & Me, Drastic Park and Terra
Tom: Children Collide, Stand Atlantic & Down For Tomorrow 

Catch Paperweight's 'The Kids On The Ground' below and jump on their socials to keep up to date with what they are up to.

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INTERVIEW: SYDNEY RAPPER TUKA PERSONIFIES HIS SOUNDSCAPE WITH HIS NEW ALBUM ‘NOTHING IN COMMON BUT US’

Pictured: Sydney rapper Tuka breaks genre boundaries with his new album, Nothing In Common But Us
Image: Supplied 

For those who are accustomed to the Australian hip-hop scene, the name Tuka would almost be synonymous with Blue Mountains hip-hop trio, Thundamentals. Iconic moments for the hip-hop group like their 2012 cover of Brother by Matt Corby for Triple J’s Like a Version segment (amassing over 4.9 million views) may also spring to mind, as well as their popular light-hearted tune Sally. Tuka is one third of that trio, and is hoping to define himself as a solo artist with his new album, Nothing In Common But Us. 

In the last five years, Tuka had a semi-hiatus from his solo career, making two albums with Thundamentals and subsequently touring those albums. A major defining moment in that five year period for Tuka was a relationship which influenced a large part of his work. 

“Nothing In Common But Us is from my perspective, it’s about personifying a relationship into the one character,” he said.

“I definitely got the idea for the album from spending a lot of time with someone and them uprooting a lot of things that I didn’t know about myself.” 

Listeners are greeted by tracks such as the first single from the album, Wish I Knew, which was co-written with The Presets’ Julian Hamilton, and premiered on Triple J’s Good Nights. Tuka is renowned for his warmth when it comes to hip-hop songwriting, however this track finds him experimenting with deep house influences and breaking down the barriers of conventional genres. 

“I guess the sonic soundscape was a victim to whatever I found exciting, that didn’t put me in the box of being a hip hop artist - I wanted to be an artist in general for this one,” he said.

“Dropping a genre or trying to create my own genre was the objective, there really weren't any rules.” 

Nothing In Common But Us expands upon hip-hop more broadly and invites the listener to sit with a wide spectrum of emotions, with Tuka including spoken word poet Anne Casey to explore these feelings and as an ode to his relationship with poetry. “When I saw Anne perform it just hit me right in the head because it’s what I was writing about, and she actually coined the phrase ‘Nothing In Common But Us’, within that poem,” he said. 

“...and so afterwards I talked to her on the side of the stage and we had big chats, and I asked her if I could use that line and she was so cool about everything I asked her.” Oftentimes, you can catch Tuka heading to Glebe in Sydney to share wine with friends and listen in adoration to poets who grace the stage.

“You just watch all of these people come out of the woodwork, they’ve had this whole life of experience, and they’ve put a lot of effort into writing a piece of poetry about their perspective and a lot of the time it’s just so beautiful,” he said. 

Tuka also collaborated with rising Brisbane indie-pop star Sycco (the brainchild of Sasha McLeod), who features on his track Click Bang. 

“Oh my god, she’s a genius! When I sent it to her I didn’t send her any harmonies or anything, but I just sent her a lead,” he said. 

“She got it first try, I didn’t even give her any notes. She just came back with her own take on it and I loved everything about it.” 

It’s hard to tell what’s in store for the rest of the year for Tuka, as the live music scene is on halt due to COVID-19, but Tuka assured us that it’ll be full of the thing he loves most: writing music. 

“All I have to do is write music, and if I told myself that when I was a 17-year-old kid when I started this, I would have been elated! And I am, I am very happy - I’m in a super privileged position where I can wake up and I write a song and that’s my responsibility for the day – and that’s absurd.” 

“I’m using COVID to just do a proper reset and hopefully write some of the best music of my life that will be relevant when I go to play it live, whenever that is.” 

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INTERVIEW: CHRISTOS ON ISOLATION, INFLUENCES, CATALOGUE-BUILDING, AND WORKING WITH HIGH-PROFILE PRODUCER JAMES ANGUS

New BackBeat team member Milli had a chat with up-and-comer Christos (Chris Kallis) about his latest release, his writing process, and building his creative catalogue.

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How does it feel to be releasing music through this weird time- were any of your methods changed or different?
It definitely is a weird time at the moment but I personally think its a good time to be releasing music. A lot of people are still stuck at home with not much to do so us artists have to use that to our advantage! I've just tried to be more interactive online as that's where a lot of the attention is during this time. 

I know you come up with songs based on your life experiences, what do you think is the best topic to write or sing about?
For me writing about relationships that I've been in is the best topic. Whether its being in love or being hurt, it's something a lot of people can relate to and I like to express these emotions and feelings through my music in hopes of connecting to my listeners.

 I noticed that Movin’ leans a bit more towards the ‘cloud rap’ type genre than the other songs you’ve put out and Calling is different still, would you say that your style differs depending on the song? 
For sure, I like all of my songs to sound different in their own way. At this early stage of my career I'm trying to build my catalogue to show my versatility as an artist. I love experimenting and I'm always trying new things with my music and style.

 How would you describe your sound? 
It's hard to limit my music to just a single genre, I would describe it as a mixture of a few genres. My sound is mainly Hip hop, R&B and even Pop while my style is melodic rap.

Who are your influences or musical idols?
A lot of the new gen artists like Juice, Trippie and X. I love how those guys have underlying messages that are usually quite sad, coming from their own struggles and experiences, similar to my music. Each of those artists still produce their stuff in an upbeat and vibey way. When I am creating music across genres, other influences would be Travis Scott and Don Toliver.  Funny, because I grew up listening to a lot of bands like Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Violent Femmes and Red Hot Chilli Peppers. A lot of Michael Jackson, Andre 3000 and Chris brown too. It was just always something that was playing at home or on the radio.

 What were you thinking about when writing “Calling?”
I remember pulling the beat up, vibing to it for a bit and I instantly had a melody in my head that I wanted to use. From here I wanted to take my listeners on a personal journey of an up and down relationship. Each verse kinda builds on this, making it something people are able to relate to with their own experiences. You know when someone is trying to reach out to you but you know you shouldn't go back down that road with them? That was the motive for this track. 

How was it to work with James Angus?
Basically I was looking through his BeatStars and stumbled across this really cool beat but it was super short! Only like a minute long I think. I hit him up and sent him the demo I made and he liked it so he extended the beat for me, sent it over and I made it into a full song! It was really cool to work with him being the high profile producer he is. 

What do you do in your spare time, when you’re not creating?
When I'm not making music I'm working some part time jobs and spending time with my girl, friends and family but managing my own career as an artist definitely is the most time consuming!

 What are you working on right now?
I actually just finished filming a music video which I plan to drop a few weeks down the line so stay tuned for the 'Calling' visual! At the moment I have a bunch of unreleased music that I'm planning to release over the rest of the year.

 Last question- Ice cream or cake? 
That's a tough one because I enjoy eating them both together.... But it's gotta be ice cream. 

 Actual last question: top 3 current Aussie artists and why?
There are loads of talented Aussie artists breaking through at the moment but some of my favourites would have to be Oliver Amun, Vic August and Youngn Lipz. I feel like they are all making dope music and their melodic rap style is what I'm also doing with my own music. 

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