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: 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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BEN & LOUIS FROM ASTRONAUGHTY TALK ‘CHANGING HANDS’ AND WHAT’S NEXT

We had a short chat to Ben & Louis from Melbourne indie-pop-rock-ish band, Astronaughty, about their latest release last week.

‘Changing Hands’ is definitely our favourite official Astronaughty release so far and the fact that it comes with such a funky retro style video has us swooning. It’s a little warm, a little fuzzy, a lotta groovy.

Here’s what they had to say!

“Here comes Astronaughty with a bad mama-jama. And she’s as fine as she can be. This is a DIY dance number at its purest. Recorded and mixed entirely in our Brunswick East Garage, so you can enjoy an iso-boogie on that daily dog walk down the Merri Creek. We slapped together Nonna’s finest ingredients for this tasty caprese. Mangiare!”

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You’ve just released ‘Changing Hands’ along with your first proper music video, how does that feel?
Feels great! It’s good to put something out there again. It was a lot of fun to make! It had a great response from friends. '

Following your releases from last year, ‘Gravity’ and ‘Camera Shy’, what’s different for you guys this time around?
We got to put our own spin on everything this time because we recorded the track ourselves in the same garage that the music video is set (which is also where we rehearse). Nick helped edit the music video, and Ben mixed the track. So it had a real homegrown feel to it.

There seem to be a range of influences and sounds mixed between your live and recorded tracks – how would you describe your sound, or even what you want your sound to be?
A mix between 70s stuff like Todd Rundgren, Big Star, and Japanese city pop artists like Tatsuro Yamashita, as well as newer indie rock stuff like the Strokes, Arctic Monkeys

Favourite track to play (recorded or not)?
’Never Perform Again’, its an absolute shtumper!

What’s next for Astronaughty? Michael mentioned a possible album at the end of the year, is that right?
We’re actually going into the studio in a couple of weeks to smash out an EP, which also includes ‘Never Perform Again’, which we’re excited about! We’re mixing the best of both worlds that we’ve had with changing hands and the previous stuff - this time we’re recording professionally again, but then bens going to produce mix it all (so we still have creative control

What are each of your current top Aussie acts - old or new, but Australian (or NZ if you like)?
Tame Impala, Gabriella Cohen, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, Karate Boogaloo, Good Morning, Julia Jacklin.

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INTERVIEW: DAVID FREELAND CHATS ABOUT LUNE’S LATEST RELEASE, GHOST

Melbourne’s Lune released their debut EP Ghost this week and are even about to hit 100k streams on Spotify for the title track. Our new writer Suze caught up with Lune’s guitarist David Freeland for a chat;

Hey David thanks for taking the time to chat with us. For those unaware, can you tell us a bit about Lune.
We are a relatively new band, a couple of us are from other bands (Blind Oracle, I, Valiance) and a couple of us aren’t but we have all been around in the music scene for a while. Our first single, Ghost, came out in November 2019 we followed up with 2 shows. A release show for Ghost with In Vanity, Vatic and Advocates and a bushfire relief show with BLKLST, Foxblood and The City. We are keen for some more but for obvious reasons it’s not really happening at the moment. This project has been in the works for about 2 years or so.  

Tell us about that.
Nathaniel wrote all the lyrics and Krys did pretty much all the music on this project.  On the new stuff we will be writing collaboratively The project kind of came about as a side project for Krys so I wasn’t initially involved but a lot of it was done by Jamie Marinos and Krys then I came in later and added my production elements and Nathaniel did the vocals. So with the influence kind of stuff I think they just range from all your classic heavy bands , I can only speak for myself but a lot of like the prog metal stuff from the early 2010’s Periphery, Tesseract, and then your classics like Metallica, Slipknot and Slayer.

You’ve melded your sound; you guys don’t quite sit in a specific genre.
That’s the plan, it’s humbling to hear someone say that, it makes me feel good, like feel somewhat accomplished that we fit outside of some sort of category genre that someone has created in their mind.

I guess we are jumping onto some sort of new wave of metal. It’s probably difficult to come up with classifications for this stuff in real time, a lot of that stuff comes up in retrospect. I guess for the time being the less expectations about the way the trend is going the better, we can just completely approach it with a fresh mind.

I’m a big fan of bands that sit outside the norm of specific genres and are happy to experiment with their sound.
That’s what I’ve always strived to do, unclassifiable essentially, as much as possible but then again if someone wanted to call us metalcore, deathcore or whatever then that’s fine as well. It’s not something I personally subscribe to though. If it helps people understand it. If it gets us on a Spotify metalcore playlist then that’s fine by me!

It would have been tricky with covid because you haven’t been able to do shows and gauge a following…
Yeah it has been. The only thing you get to see is comments on social media and reading reviews and stuff its really impossible to translate that into a metric that you can comprehend

You’re not far off hitting 100k streams for Ghost on Spotify. Where you expecting that sort of response?
Yeah that’s real surprising. No way, nothing like that. Because Krys and I used to play in I, Valiance we were expecting a little bit of boost off the back of that but nothing like 100k streams. That track has surpassed most of the songs I’ve released in my 7 years!

You’ll be keen to get into live shows once restrictions are lifted..
We are talking about it. We have one member from Newcastle, Harrison our drummer, so it would pretty much be a situation where he would have to road trip it down depending on the situation. It’s also dependant on whether it’s safe to do so. We are looking at doing a Melbourne launch show as a starting point, we obviously had dates and stuff planned to go with the EP release which won’t happen, that’s all been canned. So, we are pretty much just going to take it one show at a time.

What are your plans for release day?
I’m taking the day off work and will probably meet up with the guys and take it from there. I guess then we’ll jump back in the studio and keep working on the new tracks. We’re always writing that’s what we like to do

So, you have more songs in the works for another EP, or an album or just a few single releases?
Again, it’s hard to gauge what people’s reactions will be because there are no tours or shows or anything like that. Depending on if shows start to free up and the momentum we gain from the EP, we’ll probably look to follow it up with a couple of singles. We have an album’s worth of material, but we don’t want to release it all too soon. It’s impossible to know really. I’d like to say we’ll have another couple of tracks out because we have been writing so much. The stuff that we have already written but not released on Ghost feels old already so we just kind of want to get it out there. We’ll probably talk to someone who knows what they are doing to work out a plan.

There are a few bands that are going down the single release path.
Yeah look I admire the art of the album but the thrill of having multiple releases days a year is very appealing as well. To continually assert our relevance especially right now with the way things are.

I think you guys will be okay after tomorrow, there’s been a lot of talk about this EP!
I hope so. Yeah that’s real humbling even seeing all the pre-orders come through on Bandcamp and stuff it’s just so much more than what I expected. We are literally such a puny band and we haven’t been around for even a year! The response has been so good.

To finish off what are 3 of your top Australian acts at the moment?
Justice for the Damned – They have a new album out this week too (Pain is Power) I’ve toured with them back in the day and I know they put on a great show. They work extremely hard and are one of those bands where they just get everything right and now they are getting the payoff from that.

Alpha Wolf – I’ve pre-saved their new album (a quiet place to die). I’ve toured with Mitch a lot and played tonnes of shows with them. We’re pretty close with those guys. Big respect for them they work hard as well.

King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard -I’ve got the new live King Gizzard album Chunky Shrapnel that just came out. They are probably my most favourite Australian band I froth them so much.

LUNE's debut EP 'Ghost' is available everywhere now HERE and on BANDCAMP

LUNE are
Nathaniel Smith - Vocals
Krys Smith - Guitar
David Freeland - Guitar
Tyler Hendley - Bass
Harrison Mills - Drums

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TRUTH HURTS WITH THE MOTION BELOW

“The Motion Below are back to finish what they started with "Truth Hurts", part two of their mini music series that encapsulates the inner turmoil of a man lost within himself and ultimate descent into madness.”

Jahmiele had a chat to vocalist Ryan Matheson about the release, the process, mental health, how to get the best out of your own band, and whats coming up next. We had a lot more to say so be sure to check out the full interview in the upcoming podcast episode!

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Jahmiele: So, Truth Hurts is the most recent release with the video and everything, and the second half of the series. Why did you decide to do that in a two-parter?
Ryan: We had spoken about doing a multiple part like thing, for quite a few years and um, we just sorta like never got around to actually completing it. And then after we did Chronus complex, um, last year when we went into the studio, we were going in for two singles and we'd spoken about like, like addressing a particular topic and wanting to attack it in like a multiple part series. So me and the boys like had quite a few conversations about it. And, um, Tom and Aidan had this idea that they wanted to address substance, or not necessarily like, uh, um, what's the word? Like addiction, but it wasn't, we didn't want it to be addiction in the sense of like it was particularly substance abuse or any type of like alcohol or drug. We just wanted it to be addiction in like an umbrella term. So it could be multiple things or it could be anything that someone could be dealing with or something like that. 

J: So make them more relatable across the board.

R: Yeah, exactly. So the main thing was we wanted it to be particularly about the vicious cycle of addiction though. So even though like it wasn't necessarily about substance, it sort of loosely was based on that particular concept of someone being addicted to substance. So sorta how people or people will be addicted to whatever it is and their daily life will be based around solely that particular thing that they do. So whether it's drugs or alcohol, they'll go through the cycle of getting up on any day that you will usually sleep in for majority of the day. Go about doing a few things and then end up reverting back to the substance, so the substance rules their life. And then from there, you know, they sort of, in like the story, the protagonist knows that he's addicted to something and the substance is ruling his life and you can visually see it in the music videos that he's struggling with that fact. And even though he's trying to free himself from the chains of addiction, he can't and he feels ostracized from the rest of the world and paranoid I guess. And because of that he ends up just drawing back to being addicted to something and ends up basically losing his mind because of that.

J: One of the things I kind of picked up in the music video was when he went to walk out the front door and saw someone, it was kind of like a confrontation he didn't want to deal with. 

R: Yeah. Basically. It was pretty much, yeah. He felt like as soon as he went to walk out the door, he felt like the rest of the world was sort of like just, you know, everyone was looking at him, is basically the deal. So, he feels like as soon as he leaves his comfort zone, which is his own, his own house, um, he feels as if he's being ostracized from the rest of the world and everyone is sorta just judging him from a distance, I guess. And that's why in the video he ends up just turning back around and going straight back into the house where there's nobody else. 

J: And what would be like the ideal message you'd like to convey when talking about all of these things to your audience?
R: I guess in a positive sense it would be to try and make sure that if someone is in that position, then I guess try not to do what we sort of orchestrated in the video and actually reach out to people. And you know, even though if you feel like you are being ostracised from the world, there's always someone that's going to be there that's gonna want to listen to you and gonna want to help you. Like, all you have to do is ask for help.

We obviously don't want to send the message out to people that ‘this is what you should do’, it was more sort of like, we want it to orchestrate, we wanted to attack that message in a way that, you know, people could relate to it in a personal way and then hopefully they would obviously do something positive about it.

J: Yeah, for sure. The videos for Dead End and Truth Hurts were both directed by Martin Wood. He's worked with a bunch of amazing local bands including some friends of mine. It all looks amazing, but what was it like working with Martin?
R: He’s so easy to work with. He's such a good dude and he just like, he just has the knack, he knows what his vision is and how to attack it. So we first met Martin when we shot our previous music videos with Colin Jeffs, and Martin assisted on those videos. So that's how we kind of met him. And then when we did the singles we wanted to work with him because we had already worked with him before and because he's Melbourne based as well. So that was kind of why, but working with him in general, like we told him what we wanted, what the vision was and how we wanted them to come out and he just took that idea and then just, just basically everything, the whole video, like all of it was his idea.  We sat down with him on a phone call one night and he was like, ‘This is what I've got’, like ‘this is what I think we want to, how we want to do it’. And you know, ‘this is the setting that I've got’. And even with Dead Ends, the idea of having that backdrop behind us while we’re playing, and you can visually see that it's clearly a backdrop we’re playing in front of, that was all his idea as well. He took ideas from different band concepts and music videos that he's seen in the past and worked on, and we sort of took those and tried to, I guess use it in our own way. And like all of the story in the actual videos themselves, all of that - he shot it all obviously, but the way that the actor sort of portrayed himself in the character, that was basically like just him. We just sorta just like stood there and watched and we were like, ‘Yeah, man, that's cool. Like your ideas are great. We trust you.’ Pretty much. So yeah, it's really good. he's really, really good to work with.

J: So where did the original interest in metal in particular come from? What are your roots?
R: I guess when I first started playing music I personally was like more of a rock fan, like I was always playing Green Day covers and stuff like that. And then as I guess I sorta got that into music and got a little bit older, obviously spanned out to like Escape The Fate and Parkway Drive and all that kind of stuff in high school. And I just sort of went from there. My first band we started when I was in Year 12 I think, we were more like a death core/melodic metal core band. All the inspiration from back then was definitely like those, you know, early two thousands, post-hardcore bands like Bullet For My Valentine, Escape The Fate, Parkway Drive, all that kind of stuff. And I'm sure the rest of the boys would agree, like we all pretty much have the same sort of roots there.

J: I think you'd also been asked a similar question to this before, but it's a few years later. Um, what important things have you learned in more recent years as a band? Are you still doing what you set out to do? Have you got like different perspectives or anything has changed?
R: I think, um, like the vision was always from the start- So obviously like the name itself, The Motion Below, like we always felt like we were sorta like the underdogs. We always wanted to be the band that sorta come out from underneath from nowhere, creating waves, you know, whether it's in a local level or not, that slowly emerges through, you know what I mean? And like over the years, like most of the bands that were around when we first started aren’t even around anymore. And I think that sort of goes to show, I guess in a sense, out of determination and like what we originally set out to do. I suppose like from the beginning, we went through a phase where we tried to do everything DIY and you know, like, I guess, I don't know, we sort of tried to do things where we tried to save as much money as we could.  

And no matter how hard you do it, it works for some bands, but if you try and DIY everything, it just doesn't work. You need to put the money into the band, into the right places, you know, to make the content, make those music videos, make the band sound good in the studio and take the time to make sure all those things will make you look good. Especially online like these days. Especially like obviously in the music industry and especially now with everything going on. Your online presence is everything. And if you know, someone sees you online and you have a really crappy image, you have poor quality music, your music videos aren't produced well, all that stuff, It takes away from your band and who you are. And we have definitely learnt, especially through all the process of like basically through the cycle of Chronus Complex, doing everything right and putting the money into those particular things, Like PR studio, all of the content that you create, it is really important. And we personally ourselves have seen the results putting that money in, in the last year than we have before that. I think that's like a really important thing that people sort of like don't grasp until you actually do it.

Don’t get me wrong, it costs a fortune. Like it costs money to do your band that way. But the results in saying like, I was talking to our PR agent this morning and we're all talking about how well Truth Hurts has done in the last week. And literally a year ago we had 29 monthly listeners on Spotify and like, you know, no one listened to our band, no one cared who we were, And then from that stage we made sure we did everything right. And as much as it burns out a hole in your bank account, you know, the results show. So doing those things and putting the money into it and obviously putting the money where your mouth is, it gives you results 

J: You get the delayed satisfaction.

 R: Exactly. And if you look now like almost 12 years on from release of State of Decay, sorry, 12 months. And, um, we're now, you know, comfortably sitting at over 10,000 monthly listeners. The new single came out a week ago and it's on 7,000 streams. Like, you know, the numbers don't lie. Yeah, that's sort of like one thing when we're at shows and hanging out with all the bands and friends and stuff. Um, especially bands that are younger, younger than us and sort of ask us for those that like, you know, advice or how a lot of people seem to be really impressed when we did Chronus Complex cause we sort of obviously like went from a band that was just a, you know, a local band like everyone else to sort of somewhat making a name for ourselves.  And I've had a few conversations with a few bands and like, you know, how did you do it? Like what's it like working with those people and stuff like that. And I always tell people like, you just have to put the money in. Like that's sort of at the base of it all. That's where it all stems from. Because if you put the money in, you'll get the results.

J: For new bands who haven't quite started and grasped what to put their money towards - what would you say is the first priority? 
R: It would be production. Like making sure you go to producers and engineers that are going to give you the best product. So like, in the past we've gone, don't get me wrong, previous producers we’ve gone to have been fantastic, but we didn't have that hands on experience where we went into the studio with material and we sat down for, you know, three days straight and just tore everything to shreds in pre-production. And I think it's really important these days, especially in an industry that's so built up, you know, so oversaturated, there's so many bands in Australia alone and you know, a lot of bands sound the same and when you're in an industry that is so oversaturated and everyone's trying to do the same thing, like, you know, it's hard to make a name for yourself. Production step one is really important because you can stem from there….

Once you sort of grasp the concept of letting all the right people sort of have some type of artistic direction over your music, it opens up a whole new world for your band.

Of course as musicians, we’re artists, like you do have to make sure that you still maintain some type of integrity to what you're creating. We have a really good relationship like that with our producers where they know - I suppose we've worked with them for so long now they know what our vision is and they just help bring it out that step further where we can't do it ourselves.

J: You supported Buried In Verona at Max Watts? You’ve said was your favourite venue to play because you had that massive final, final show for them. Who would be part of your sort of dream lineup to be a part of? 
R: Oh man, that's a hard question. Um, God. I think a big one for all of us would probably be Kill, Switch, Engage. Anyone who saw us in the early days, we used to play My Curse at like every single show.
Probably Parkway Drive.
Bullet For My Valentine. Architects.
These days Polaris, like that would be sick. Those guys are just insane. I think that'd be a big one. especially being in Australia. And Wage War. I mean the boys love Wage War. We went and saw them when I came out early this year and yeah, that really good. Get onto em.

J: Is there anything else coming up for you guys?
R: Obviously it’s hard to do anything at the moment. So, well we've been sort of trying to think of ways to obviously keep engaged with our audience once Truth Hurts sort of starts to die down a little bit. We’re hoping to see, you know, release a few different things, like some play throughs and maybe some covers and stuff. At the end of the year we might be going back into the studio to do another record.

J: Backbeat’s priority is to support Australian music specifically, mainly. We try to ask everyone we interview what their top three current Australian artists are at the moment. They could be new or old, but Australian.
R: Yup. Um, Polaris. Yup. Um, Oh God. Who else? Um, I gotta think about it. Polaris um, geez, that's a hard question. Well, obviously definitely Polaris. I think Alpha Wolf at the moment, they’re making waves there. They're doing great at the moment, and To Octavia, they're really close friends, so definitely To Octavia.

J: Was there anything else you wanted to check in and chat about? Any last words?

R: Check out Truth Hurts!

LISTEN TO THE FULL INTERVIEW IN PODCAST EPISODE FORM HERE!

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TRAVALLEY TALK NEW SINGLE DEAR BABE, RED-HOT VIDEO CLIPS, AND UPCOMING INSTAGRAM LIVE EVENT

Picture: Travalley talk all-things new releases and Instagram live events.  Source: Drew McCarty 

The live music industry in Melbourne has seen a huge stand-still due to COVID-19, however, bands such as Ballarat’s Travalley have used this time to hone their skills, keep positive, and release ear-tingling tunes. 

From starting out in Ballarat as a four-piece, to a now Melbourne-based duo consisting of brothers Levi and Sam Mellington, Travalley have cemented themselves as an exciting alt-surf-rock duo who are the gift that keeps on giving. 

On May 5 the dynamic duo uploaded their latest single, Dear Babe, which was followed closely by their hilarious DZ Deathrays and Dune Rats inspired video clip, which shows Levi and Sam scoffing down some red hot chillies, displaying the boys’ larrikin-style nature almost perfectly. 

Speaking on the inspiration behind their comical clip, Levi said both him and his brother wanted to portray their fun-loving characters. 

“We just don’t really take ourselves too seriously and we like to have as much fun as possible at the expense of ourselves,” he said.

“We’re happy to make everyone laugh just by doing something dumb.”

Their commitment to making enjoyable content for listeners is more than evidenced here - possibly a little too well, as Levi detailed the after-effects of inhaling far too many piping-hot chillies in a small amount of time. 

“So we recorded it about four or five weeks ago and my stomach lining was just wrecked,” he said.

“I’ve only just been able to really start eating properly again.” 

Sam, on the other hand, took a face-first dive into the chillies, with milk being poured all over his face afterwards.  

On the inner-workings of Dear Babe, their fourth release of 2020, Levi spoke of using an old sun-kissed guitar as his starting point for his creative processes. 

“I have this really really shit guitar, well it was good - but I left it in the car on a 40 degree day at work, and when you leave acoustics in the car they crack because they expand,” he said.

“So I always go to that guitar first to write the songs, because if it can sound good on that, it’s going to sound good anywhere.” 

Have you ever gone blank or had word vomit when you’re trying to act cool in front of the person you like? It’s a feeling most people may have encountered on a typical night out. Levi encapsulates this somewhat humbling and relatable experience lyrically throughout Dear Babe. 

“I guess it’s one of those songs that everyone relates to because you picture it in your head like, I’m gonna say this, or I’m gonna say this, I’m going to act this way, and sound real cool and real sexy and then you get to the stage and you're like nah, this is just not working - you just freak out and go blank,” he said.

“It’s kind of like an ode to everyone to just say, ‘It’s fine, you don’t have to be cool or sexy.’” 

With an exciting, quick pace setting the scene and a Jungle Giants inspired chord progression, what’s not to love? The song is fun and upbeat, and keeps the listener on their toes all the way throughout with explosive drum beats courtesy of Sam, and tantalising vocals from Levi. 

On Saturday May 23 the Ballarat boys are going live on their Instagram (@travalley_) for an hour (yep, you heard it right, an HOUR) of covers and originals. 

Pictured: Travalley are going live on their Instagram for an hour on Saturday May 23. Source: Instagram screenshot 

“So it’ll pretty much be like 80 per cent of our songs and then maybe four or five covers,” Levi said. 

Levi and Sam have a glistening path ahead of them once restrictions ease, and they can channel their energy from Dear Babe into their live shows. 

Levi hinted at a possible “Trav-fest”, in the works, with a night of indie-pop, alt-rock, and DJ sets on the cards. But I won’t spoil all the details! More on “Trav-fest” to come in the future. 

For now, sit back in Melbourne’s winter sun when you can and enjoy the tranquil tunes of Travalley. 

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MODERN OPERA ARE USING SELF-QUARANTINE AS AN OPPORTUNITY TO EXPERIMENT

Modern Opera are on the cusp of something amazing. Having only premiered their first two singles in the past two months, the self-proclaimed “weird bedroom pop” band produce anthemic tunes that could rival the quality of bands well into their third album. The five-piece Melbourne group, made up of members Jordan, Jack, Harrison, Ernie and Michael, have so far released ‘Blindfold’, as well as the recently released single ‘How To Stop Myself’ and have already established themselves as a pop act worth discovering.

With a laundry list of musical inspirations including The Japanese House, The 1975, Bon Iver, Frank Ocean and Frank Sinatra, the band connects with these sounds in a new, unprecedented way. Their enamouring and layered output shaped by this caught my attention instantly, so I had to catch-up with lead singer and guitarist Harrison about what makes Modern Opera a band so worth listening to.

Despite only just recently releasing two official singles, the members of Modern Opera have been working on multiple musical projects together for nearly two decades. Throughout the years together, line-ups and band names have come and gone, but like a phoenix, Modern Opera was born from the ashes of a music project Harrison and Jordan decided to wrap-up last year.

 “Just over one year ago we played what we decided was our final show as our previous act, and spent the last 14 months figuring out who we are, and how we wanted to do things,” Harrison explains. “Blindfold came out almost a year to the day of that final show.”

‘Blindfold’ is the opus that signalled the arrival of Modern Opera into the scene. Filled with sparkling highs and melancholic lows, it’s a single that reflects a band completely in the creative zone. Fittingly, the meaning behind ‘Blindfold’ is as layered as its production style as, according to Harrison, it hides a darker undertone behind its lush sound. 

“[It’s] basically a song about anxiety and a panic attack wrapped up in a love song packaging,” says Harrison. “It’s about learning to face up to the costs of lifestyle at the same time as you’re unexpectedly falling into something you didn’t know you needed, or even want at the time, and suddenly that connection is your anchor for everything.” 

‘Blindfold’ and ‘How To Stop Myself’ are songs that are intentionally different. The former was made in a studio, with outside help on its production but the latter, was made in a makeshift studio in Modern Opera’s own garage. Due to COVID-19 and the necessity of self-isolation, Harrison and the band decided to hide away in their own homemade studio and from that, after a 5 day straight songwriting bender, ‘How To Stop Myself’ was born.

“It’s the best thing we’ve ever done and we’re really excited about it,” says Harrison about the new single.

From his own experience experimenting during self-quarantine, Harrison gave some nuggets of wisdom to bands still making music during this crisis.

“Just find the fun in creating things that you love and want to hear, however you can. That’s the only reason to be in this industry anyway,” says Harrison.

 If their two singles aren’t exciting enough, an EP could be on the horizon for Modern Opera. An album on the other hand, might not be on the cards for another few years according to Harrison. 

“We are currently writing and recording like we’re doing an album...and most likely packaging up an EP or two in the next 18 months,” he explains. 

“The thought of putting my name on the “debut album” that defines us makes me fall into a heap of uncertainty so it’ll probably take a while to get that one worked out.” 

With the group “not sticking with any formula” of what they do, what we can expect from Modern Opera over the next 18 months could be the unexpected. With such a solid sound under their belts, whatever direction the band take next will be a step in the right one. With two songs down, and a whole heap to go, the future for Modern Opera looks bright ahead.

CHECK OUT MODERN OPERA AND A HEAP OF OTHER AMAZING LOCAL ARTISTS ON OUR BACKBEAT PLAYLIST NOW!

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PHONER CHATS WITH MIKEY FROM GLOOM IN THE CORNER

The Gloom In The Corner are a concept band exploring the depths of human melancholy through a vessel of their own creation. The past few years have been a meteoric rise for the band, where they performed at Bigsound 2019, at Unify Gathering 2020, won the triple j unearthed competition to play Download 2020 Melbourne (which was unfortunately cancelled), and then took out a spot on The Faction’s Hardest 100 of 2019 with their song Misanthropic.

I was lucky enough to score an interview with The Gloom in the Corners vocalist Mikey, on the launch of their powerful new single ‘Violence’.

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 Dan:  So, to start things off; where does your new song ‘Violence’ fit into the Gloom catalogue and which aspect of it are you most proud of?

Mikey: Which aspect? Okay, we’ll do the easy part first. It fits in right at the start. The best way to think of violence is like a theme song for a TV show, or a theme song for a movie. It introduces the band and the story at a pretty face value that people can mosh along to. As far as the aspect I’m most proud of…fuck! I mean the artwork is definitely up there…. Sam smashed it. I think the breakdown too…because of how ignorantly heavy it is. I remember when we got the mix back from Jeff and I’m just sitting in my car and it just shakes because it can’t handle bass or anything below 80 hertz.

D: That’s how you know it’s good…

M: One hundred per cent.

D: You have such a rich lore and a heightened sense of world building within your songs, does that come from a love of books and if so what are some of your favourite authors?

M: It very much comes from books, but not just books but also TV shows, comic books, video games - we try to implement subtle little nods to them throughout our music. Favourite author? I’m looking at my shelf now…I think the Scarecrow series by Matthew Reilly. And Skulduggery Pleasant; Sherlock is my love note to Derek Landy from that series. I think, definitely if I was going to point it at one book I would definitely say Skulduggery Pleasant. I think everybody else in the band would agree with me.

D: Everyone likes the same book?

M: It’s more so they all know I cherish the series. Punisher as well…especially the Netflix series, especially characters like Jay. I wanted them to be able to relate him to somebody like Frank Castle or Sherlock with Skulduggery. Our recent Australian and American markets, not many people are too super familiar with Skulduggery pleasant. I’m one of three people that I know who’ve actually read it.

D: It was a very specific time in Australian books.

M: It just kind of fell under the radar, unfortunately.

D: When you first started the storyline that has continued throughout the years, did you expect it to be where it is now? And if so, did you have it mapped out?

M: Look, yes and no. It’s a complex answer, about as complex as the lore.

D: Let’s hear it!

M: I had an end goal, more or less. I had an ending to where I wanted this story to end up, it’s just the journey that kind of gotten me there. For example; when I originally wrote Fear Me, the original plan was, at least in my head, for it to jump into the next arc. I kind of expected Fear Me to be its own thing and then we’d move on from there. Then we kind of realised, okay we wanna do an EP and I can talk about Ethan, James’s brother and that’s what became of Homecoming. And then we decided again that we were going to push back the record and so I was like what are we going to do here, and that’s where Sherlock came up. So, even though Sherlock has been in the story for a long, long time (since Fear Me started), he didn’t actually have a name until Flesh and Bones became an idea. I was very careful in the way that I implemented him into the story and kind of wove him in to make sure that nothing contradicts or retcons itself or anything like that. And then here we are again with the three singles coming up; we’ve pushed back the album again so I’m like, okay cool I think we can finally end this arc before we move on to the next arc.

D: What made you want to take a conceptual or narrative approach to music even from an early stage?

M: I think it comes from a mixture of my love of storytelling, and storytelling in general. On top of that, around the time we started doing Fear Me, I was kind of just sitting there like, so many bands doing stuff like Villains or Sworn In or down tempo heavy bands, etc. and I thought how could I make this different to everybody else….I’d already semi-written the story before when I was in high school. I used to write short stories so I kind of just picked and chose characters and events that I wanted to incorporate into the story and kind of completely rewrote it. And so it came from a mixture of my love of story telling and also being like, cool I want to do something different here and something that people are going to go “Oh okay, this band is different for this reason”.

D: Now, ‘Violence’ is one blood-soaked ride into the history behind The Glooms.  What events inspired the writing of the track?  

M: Me playing a fuck load of Doom 2016. I mean if you couldn’t hear that in the influence then like you need to go play that game…I’m not biased against saying that Mick Gordon’s writing definitely influenced the track, as some people have picked up on (thank you Music Feeds.) We had thrown around ideas for how we wanted to start these three tracks and I said ‘fuck it let’s just do something absurdly heavy’, and to me one of the heaviest records came out in 2016-and still to my opinion holds up as one of the heaviest records in later years--was the Doom soundtrack. Violence was kind of a little love sonnet to that game; I’d been playing Doom for years and years even before 2016 came out… It’s my little love note to that.

D: It’s so cool you can weave all these creative outlets into a song.

M: I try to do it as subtly as possible. The Witch Hunt breakdown is the time warp code for Futurama. The tabs for the guitar is that time warp code. I’ve got a few subtle game quotes, etc. hidden throughout songs as well. It’s my little way of giving the nod to those games that have very much so inspired me growing up. Same thing with TV series’ and books and movies, etc. As far as stuff that actually influenced Violence, I think I just sat down and said ‘fuck it, I’ll write something as heavily as possible’ and that’s what came out of it.

D: What was it like working with Jaime Marino (whose worked with bands such as Alpha Wolf) and what does he bring to the table as a producer?

M: He’s basically there to make sure we’re not doing anything dumb-

D: As all good producers should.

M: It was awesome working with him. He understood what we wanted to do from him being in his old band Sentinels, which was a concept band too, so he understood what we were trying to do and why we were trying to do it, so it was refreshing. He made sure if anything didn’t fit--or if anything stood out that he thought was weird--that we’d go back and revise it. Thankfully, not to toot our own horn, I mean this in the most modest of ways, but I feel I don’t actually have to do that much to these songs which is so refreshing to hear because all the way throughout the process we’ve been told ‘you need to change this, you need to change this and this’, and I feel like this time around we did something semi-right? He was awesome to work with.

D: What are the main differences from working with a label (I know you guys have signed to Collision Course) on this record as opposed to self releasing?

M: It’s interesting. Collision Course came about because we went to Tim for marketing. He’d been wanting to work with us for a while and we’d been wanting to work with him and he said I’m starting a record label and I’d like you guys to be the flagship of it to get things started and that’s how that deal came about. I can’t speak for every record label but Tim has been super flexible to work with and it’s been an absolute pleasure working with him for this release. He’s been super encouraging of our ideas and understands what we’re trying to do and how we’re different to other bands that are doing heavy music in the aspect of the story and everything. And he’s fully on board; he’s a huge nerd too and he gets it and loves what we’re doing. I can’t speak for every label like that, some labels will be like ‘you need to rewrite songs like this’ or ‘you need your marketing to be like this’ etc. etc., but he’s been super flexible and understanding and it’s been super awesome working with him.

D: What can you tell us about the cover artist?

M: We’ve consistently had Sam Mayle from the U.K. He’s done everything since Homecoming and if we ever re-did Fear Me I’d love for him to do Fear Me well. The art is the first piece of the three singles, so you’ll get three standalone pieces of artwork that make up one big picture. If people haven’t picked up on it already it’s basically our recreation of the last supper. It’s going to include old characters, new characters, and it’s our nice little way of finishing up the story and showing everybody’s characters that haven’t had proper artworks done for them before and everything, as well as bringing back a few old ones and showing people like ‘Oh yeah I recognise that character, that’s cool’ and that kind of thing.

D: Gloom In The Corner has been around for a few years now. Have you noticed any significant changes to the Melbourne music scene (prior to the pandemic, of course)?

M: I mean some of my favourite bands have come and gone. It’s kind of hard to pinpoint one defining thing. You’ll find this in every music scene wherever you go, there will always be bands that try to emulate other bands in the scene. But that’s going to happen with every scene. Not going to pinpoint that to just Melbourne. My main take from it as well is that all ages shows have dropped off, which is sad to see, but from my understanding, a lot of the demographic who would go to all ages shows now all go to 18 plus shows. So, there’s not enough entry level all ages shows for kids who were my age to go to. And so they just say ‘fuck it, we’ll just wait till we’re eighteen’ and go to eighteen plus shows…which sucks. Hopefully after Covid-19 it kind of revitalises because all ages shows are a hell of a lot of fun to play.

D: What is the craziest thing that you’ve witnessed as a front man?

M: After a show I had a kid come up to me, say hi and proceed to do a death core scream in my face and walk away like it was nothing and said ‘Thanks man’ and I’m kind of standing there like what the f*ck just happened. I also saw someone eat sh*t real bad at that same show, that was a real bad one.

D: What’s in store for Gloom in the aftermath of the pandemic?

M: Hopefully touring and hopefully we get to do the full length as well!

D: Well it’s been an absolute pleasure talking to you.

M: Thank you for having me, it’s been awesome.

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Thanks so much to Mikey for his time and words.
Be sure to check out the new release ‘Violence’ and give em some love. 

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INTERVIEW: A CHAT WITH DAL SANTO ABOUT NEW SINGLE ‘FALL IN’

Our writer Tori caught up with Dal Santo to chat about their new single ‘Fall In’ - and we’ve got the exclusive premier! Read through to the end to find out all about their inspiration, who they’re listening to right now, and what to expect coming up from the band in the future.

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When Dal Santo guitarist Gaurav wrote ‘Fall In’ he could never have imagined the global pandemic we are now facing;

“This song came at an interesting time. We wrote it just before this was all kind of happening and we had a lot of gigs lined up and a lot of awesome things happening, like every music lover and every muso in the world really” 

Dal Santo were scheduled up for a big year of gigs with two strong EP’s behind them and the addition of their new drummer, Sunny whose name reflects her impact on the band.

“It’s interesting because when you get a new member in a band, they come to you and say I really love that song, and you think, we don't play that live. Sunny’s favourite song is Radio, but we haven't played that live for a couple of years actually. On top of that you have a whole new feel because you have a new member who adds their touch on it.

We had a few friends EP launches and album launches lined up this month. We had a gig with our friends Catholic Guilt which has been moved to August. Postponed, not cancelled which is great and playing with our old friend, Late Nights. That was lined up for a couple of weeks ago but unfortunately cancelled”.

Given Dal Santo were regulars to the pubs and bars of Melbourne, like so many of us, music is a religion and we can’t go to church.

 Which venues do you miss or want to get to?
“I’ve gotta say the Gasometer is probably one of my favourites. We did a residency there last year and it was the end of summer. They would open up the roof in the big main band room, so when the support acts were on, the sun was sort of still glimmering through and its kind of light in that room. Then it gets a bit darker but has that open air, open festival - you know like when you do a stadium show when they have the open roof feel which is more intimate? So I would say its one of my favourites”

 So, tell me, inspiration, where did this song come from?
“Yeah, so this is an interesting one. We wrote it pretty recently, just before things started getting pretty grim, but it’s kind of like a pessimistic view of when good things happen and they are always bound to get a bit shitter again, until you can see thats just what life is. So, it’s kind of a bleak view on things. You kind of go, this is great, but if you are looking at the world glass half full. The themes are a bit more optimistic - when I was younger I had this starry eyed view of the world. As you get older, it’s not that you are more pessimistic or cynical it’s just you kind of, you've lived a bit more, the world might have beat you down as well and you kind of learn from those experiences.” 

The new single is coming out, does this mean there is an album coming this year?
“We are working on an EP. We jumped in, we got in just in the nick of time. We jumped in the studio in January and smashed out a couple of songs going on the EP that we are hoping to release by the end of this year. Luckily, one of them got finished which is this single, Fall In. That was the one that, especially given everything that has happened, really stood out to us. A relevant song. It’s not a sad song, but it does have that sort of ‘arm around your best mate’ feel about it.” 

Leave the Light On is my favourite!
“Funny story about that one, you can hear traffic in the background. When we were recording the album we were doing it at Laneway studios and we would work on it on a Saturday night when the venue was closed to the public so we had the place to ourselves. One night, I reckon it was about two or three AM. We thought it would be a good idea with our producer, Will, to lug out all these mics literally on to Hoddle Street. He was like, I want to get this busking feel to it so he set up all these mics with cars revving past us, probably wondering what these guys are doing in the middle of the night. So we actually recorded it on Hoddle Street. You give it a listen, you can hear a couple of beeps towards the end.”

What is the last thing you listened to?
“Last thing I was listening to was a band called Pandamic, ironically. From Queensland, we played a gig with them last year. It was the 420 show, with The Bennies headlining. These guys were on the bill and they were super fun.”

Dal Santo are hoping to be back touring again soon, but to keep us going in the meantime, here is their new single with our own exclusive premiere - Fall In.

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INTERVIEW: FUTURE STATIC - ALL ABOUT ‘FATALIST’

“Where the previous release 'Want' expressed a need for answers, 'Fatalist' - produced, engineered, mixed and mastered by Christopher Vernon (Belle Haven, Better Half) with help from Darcy Handley (Terra) - is fury and confusion. 'Fatalist' is the realisation that just because you want an answer, doesn’t mean you find one, and as Future Static emphasise, "If you can’t get even, just get mad."

The group released singles "Choke" and "Dead End" a few weeks ago and have had a massively positive response, beginning with a SOLD OUT "Choke" single launch show, plays on Triple M's Hard N Heavy, triple j Unearthed love, both added to rotation on The Faction, Spotify playlisting on Homegrown + Heavy and Rock Out., a number of shares across social media and national publications as well as worldwide with a spotlight from Kill The Music.”

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We chatted to Future Static about the response to and creation of Fatalist, their mission as a band, their biggest influences, what cats dream about, their top 5 isolation bangers, and whats up next!

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You’ve had a fantastic reception to Fatalist, was this something you expected? What has been the best/favourite word of praise?
As artists, you always want your work to be recognised and reviewed positively. We hoped that it would be received well, and we had a pretty good feeling about the whole process. But we had no idea that the record would resonate with people the way that it has, both in publications and in our general listeners. It really blew us away, and we’re so grateful for the warm welcome that the EP has received from so many people.

In terms of words of praise, our personal favourite has to be, “I struggled writing this up because I just wanted to listen and listen and listen, and that was it.“ 

Fatalist is a collection of emotional, rather angry (head)bangers - what was the songwriting process like, and given the angry, honest, emotional nature of the tunes, was it taken from personal experience?
Lyrically, the EP dives into some pretty heavy places, and whilst this sometimes meant emotions were running high, we were fortunately surrounded by great people through the whole process. Every day involved a lot of laughs and funny stories, which we definitely needed to get us through it.

The lyrics are definitely taken from personal experience and then expanded on. This is something we have always wanted to be a part of our music; we wanted it to be a cathartic experience for us as well as something our listeners could relate to and feel a part of.

Musically the record also comes from a dark, angry, nihilistic place. It was a definite experience of catharsis for us, every chord or note is played with a ferocity and anger that we’ve never really utilised until now.

Fatalist’s release day, April 3rd, was also National Chocolate Mousse Day, National Find a Rainbow Day, and World Party Day! Did any of you inadvertently celebrate any of these? We were partying because of the release of course.
Definitely sad we missed those! We had a little zoom party with some friends and drinks as it rolled out.

 Favourite track on the EP?
BM: My favourite track would have to be The Fatalist. Lyrically, it’s quite heavy and it’s a song that a lot of listeners have resonated with. It’s got this absolutely huge feel to it, and I feel like it’s the perfect ending for the record.

RQ: Defs “Never Miss” It’s just flat out riffs from start to finish, a challenge to play live, but one that I’d be happy to take on again and again.

JT: Dead-set, Dead End. It’s my absolute favourite track to perform live. I’m a hardcore kid at heart and Dead End scratches that itch with it’s dark and edgy sound

KN: For me it’s The Fatalist. After the huge journey the EP takes you through, to have this big, emotional epic finale to tie everything together is something I’m really proud of, and always hits me hardest when we play it.

JS: My personal favourite from Fatalist is Adaptive Manipulator. It’s succinct and undeniably aggressive, a thematic turning point and will leave a mark on anyone who hears it. 

What's something you'd like listeners to take away from your music/your message in general?
Our main mission in Future Static has always been to instil a sense of strength and unity in our audience. The main thing that we’d like listeners to take away from our music is the fact that you are not alone, and that with the help of the people around you, you have the power to get through whatever it may be you are struggling through.

You had a sold-out show for the single launch of ‘Choke’. Unfortunately, we didn’t make it, but we hear it was awesome - how was that for you guys?
Ridiculously good. We pulled together an incredible line-up with Stand Tall, Furious George and Excuse for an Exit, had an amazing audience of familiar faces and new supporters, and it honestly felt like our strongest show yet. Not knowing how serious the lock down would be at that point, we’re incredibly lucky to have that show be such a high point, and selling it out was the cherry on top of what’s turned out to be an awesome release cycle. 

Biggest influences - personal and/or professional/musical?
KN: It definitely helped that we wrote and recorded this record with Christopher Vernon, but Belle Haven are a huge influence for me. From how they interact with each other and their ability to have fun with each other while being able to write such high quality music with a huge spectrum of sounds, they’re definitely people and musicians I look up to. 

BM: Yungblud is someone I look up to on a personal and professional level, probably because those two worlds seem to overlap seamlessly for him. His energy onstage is nothing short of electric and his shows are so much fun, but he also speaks out about real issues and uses his platform to inspire real change.

RQ: Definitely Lee Malia from Bring Me The Horizon, he’s an incredibly versatile guitar player with a great knack for playing to suit the song. He’s also a great riff writer, something I aspire to be.

What 5 songs would you put into a Top 5 Isolation Bangers playlist to perk up your day?
Want you in my Room- Carly Rae Jepsen

Hard Times - Paramore

Sell Out - Reel Big Fish

Allergic To The World - Sleep Talk

If I Fall - The Story So Far 

What are your plans once we’re allowed out of isolation? What have you been missing most during this time?
BM: I miss just going outside. I’m someone who lives life spontaneously, so not having the freedom to just go out and see what the day brings is kind of excruciating. I can’t wait till I can hang out with my friends at gigs again, sometimes I feel like it’s the only time I feel alive.

JT: I miss my friends, hanging out at shows and being up on stage performing our music together. My fondest memories were created in and around shows; either the ones we produced or the ones we go to. I miss the atmosphere at live venues.

KN: Definitely friends and shows too. We were so lucky to have our last pre-isolation show be our incredible single show, and it’s definitely a memory I’ll treasure until we can get back out there again. There are a lot of people getting a lot of hugs when it’s safe to give them!

JS: Saturdays with the boys; what else are Saturdays for? 

RQ: Being able to kiss the homies goodnight

What do you think cats dream about?
RQ: Electric Sheep.

KN: Electric Mice.

Seriously though, final question; what now / what’s next?
More music, exploration of new and exciting sounds. We’re not a band that likes doing things twice in a row, comfort is complacency, and we’d rather be pushing ourselves outside our comfort zones in terms of our capabilities in a live or a studio setting.

Thanks so much to the guys and gals from Future Static for their time, and don’t forget to check out the new EP if you haven’t already - and check out our own review of the EP HERE!

The 'Fatalist' EP is available now to stream and purchase at all good online outlets and streaming platforms!

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