January 2020

What is your name and role in Heartlake? 

Our roles vary between members and expertise, Noah usually spends his time on stage looking at his nicely crafted pedal board, Giac chooses to hit drums as a form of communication following speech therapy in his younger years (true story), Luca tends to play a couple notes on the bass with beer in hand, and Liam is a walking megaphone, whilst struggling with singing/playing coordination. 

Where are you currently based and what is the music scene like there?

We’re based in the Northern Beaches, Sydney where there’s plenty young talented bands on the rise, and ones that have established themselves worldwide from the beaches that we all look up to for example Ocean Alley and Lime Cordiale who we supported for a couple shows on their dirt cheap tour in Dee Why 2018. 

How did Heartlake form?

It all started with Giac, Luca (brothers) and Noah who’ve known each other for many years and shared the same love for music and enjoyed playing Sweet Child O’ Mine on repeat, which led to asking Liam who played football with Luca to front the band about a year in at the end of 2017 and actually beginning to craft an original sound.

Your new single ’Watching over you’ is out now, what influenced the sound and songwriting?

We had a number of different songs to choose from when deciding which would be the best to hit people’s ears first. We wanted to capture something that got into the hook fast to hopefully grab your attention, and something simple that can be remembered whilst exploring ways to build the instrumentation with a number of different effects to capture a demanding sound. We all have our own individual tastes and ways of playing and writing so therefore we carry a bunch of different influences whether you may hear them in the song or not. Some of these artists include The Wombats, RHCP, Lime Cordiale, Sticky Fingers, Kings of Leon, the 1975. 

How did you go about writing watching over you?

Liam had come up with a verse guitar part and melody, but we needed something that would bring this together and build into a song. So we built the chorus around the bass hook which we felt created a solid statement and platform into making the general flow of the song clearer. When developing the song in the studio, our aim was to caption an insight into our sound for those listening for the first time and wanting to explore us further. 

How did you go about achieving the sound?

We wanted to create a sense of punchiness and drive, which we achieved through the layering of guitars and vocals in the chorus, and locking in a bass and drum groove which we could build a song around, while creating interest with the use of delays and modulation for example throughout the verses and bridge. We’ve always had a lot of fun with effects when songwriting, and a lot of these sounds from our initial ideas were developed in the studio and we’d like to credit our producer for making that work. 

Where did you record?

We recorded our single ‘Watching over you’ at a home based studio called ‘Jaminajar Music Production’ in Narrabeen with Paul Najar. We got the opportunity to record here when we one the Beaches ‘Northern Composure’ which has been a sick platform to get going for younger bands on the rise.

What programs/instruments did you use during the recording/production process?

We recording bass guitar and acoustic drums simultaneously in the same room, and following that we mic’d up guitar amps and processing most of our effects through a number of different plugins. 

Who did you record with?

We recorded with Paul Najar, who has been great for us through his experience and professional manner in the studio really helped focus us and record the best possible version of our song. We’re so stoked with what he’s helped us achieve and we’re excited to get our music our out into the world. We hope you love it as much as we do.

Please explain how you approached the recording process:

We spent about a day tracking the drums and bass in the studio, this part was the most challenging as this is when we really critiqued the song and made sure we were doing what we wanted to do with the song and made small final adjustments with Paul, our producer. Giac probably had about 10 different takes on the kit as we were still experimenting with structure while recording. We moved onto guitars next and took a while exploring different sounds, and synths and vocals last once the rest of the song was laid down.

Who are you listening to at the moment?

We’re all different in our personal music tastes which is like a piece of the puzzle to our sound, currently we’re enjoying Tame Impala’s new stuff, the 1975, Lime Cordiale, the Weeknd, Mac Miller’s new album (Rest in Peace), Yungblud, Hockey Dad, Tora and Sticky Fingers ‘Yours to Keep’ album. 

What do you like to do away from music?

We’ve all got our different interests, from the surf, to the gym, enjoying footy season, eating, drawing and painting, having a couple (which usually leads to 10) beers on a fine Saturday night, the list goes on. 

What’s planned for 2020?

We’ve got a busy year ahead of us. We plan to get as many gigs under our belt as we can and get our name out there and release more music following Watching Over You, two of our members graduated high school last year so we’re gonna give it our all this year and see where it takes us.

Favourite food and place to hangout?

Favourite food is definitely burgers. We’ve been on a mission to find the tastiest burger around and can confirm that Bar Luca in the city is something else, the Blame Canada is the burger to beat (this is not sponsored). We keep ourselves entertained with anything that’s put in front of us, and enjoy taking the mick out of each other once every few minutes wherever we go. 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/heartlakeband/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heartlake_/

What’s been happening recently?

In between shows and our usual day to day lives, we’ve been hard at work behind the scenes preparing for a multitude of things, this single being one of them. We’re all keen to rip into 2020 and releasing this single is just the beginning for us. 

Your new single ‘Wherever You Go’ is out on the 24th of Jan 2020, what influenced the sound and songwriting for this track?

I think Will was listening to a fair bit of ‘Royal Blood’ at the time he wrote ‘Wherever You Go’, and that’s where the big bass and lack of guitar in the verses came from. 

In terms of drums, I think the idea was really just, “keep it simple, keep it tight”, and that definitely worked for me. The bass and drum combo in the verses is what hooked me when I heard the first mix, and it still does whenever I hear it today. 

How did you go about writing Wherever You Go?

This track kinda fell together pretty quick, I seem to recall. Once we had established the basic structure of the verse, everything else just flowed on and clicked together. We definitely spent a bit of time fine tuning the details, but for us ‘Wherever You Go’ was really easy to connect with, and we had no problems laying it down.

Where and when did you record/produce?

‘Wherever You Go’ was recorded with a bunch of other tracks, including our last single ‘Too Much’, in May 2019. We all spent a few days at the local ‘Housefox Studios’, and took our time getting everything sounding just right for these tracks, and we’re quite proud of how they all turned out. 

Who did you work with during the recording/production process?

As usual, the three of us bounced ideas off one another until we found the perfect mix to suit the song, but a big influence for us was Lachlan West. He helped us out majorly for our first two EP’s, and we didn’t want anyone else to be behind the desk when we walked into the studio this time around. He has an insane amount of knowledge and skills with all the equipment, and also its just a bonus that he’s an awesome as fuck drummer and mad legend.

How did you approach the recording for this single?

As I mentioned before, we recorded a few other tracks in the same session at the studio, but we made sure we weren’t biting off more than we could chew. We took our time setting up, and made sure every little detail sounded perfect before moving onto the next thing. Being a relatively straight forward song drumming-wise, it was a pretty simple process to lay down the track and then spend a bit more time focussing on the guitars, vocals and all the other little things. 

What programs/instruments did you use?

The drums on the track are played on a custom kit, based off a Pearl Reference Pure, and a variety of tasty sounding cymbals from Zildjian, Bosphorus and Meinl. We messed around with a few different sizes of snares and toms, but we ultimately landed on the usual 14 inch snare and I couldn’t be happier with how it turned out. 

In terms of production, Lachy is the production wizard, so the ball is very much in his court. All that stuff doesn’t really make sense to me, I think he uses Protools.

Who are you listening to at the moment?

For the last few weeks I’ve had ‘The Vanns’ on repeat non-stop, especially their ‘Through The Wall’ album. I really cant seem to get enough of it, which is the best feeling to me. If I haven’t been listing to that, then I’ve been blasting some ‘Middle Kids’ as well which is always a safe bet.

What is the average day like for you?

For me, most days consist of work until about 4pm. I manage to listen to quite a bit of music while I’m there so I’ve always got my ear out for what’s on the radio/what’s up next on the playlist. After work is usually a quick swim at the beach and/or a bit of time playing drums. I try and get behind the kit every few days, and recently I’ve been investing a bit more time in my technique, instead of just thrashing away like a maniac. If its not one of those things, I usually hang out with Will and Dan for a few hours and we just chill out, have a few drinks and have a laugh. 

Do you collaborate with other musicians?

As a band we haven’t collaborated with anyone yet, or that I know of. However if any opportunity of the sort came about, I would be keen to pursue it and see where it takes us. 

Have you ever dealt with performance anxiety?

Yeah for sure. I cant speak for everyone when I say this, but I’m sure most performers have had some wobbly knees before a show or two, I think its just natural. Obviously as time goes on and you become more comfortable doing what you’re doing, the nerves will go away. But I have definitely been anxious before a big gig, but they’re the nights that tend to be the best shows we play, so its always worth it. 

Any advice for aspiring musicians?

Persevere! It sounds simple but it really is important. We’d all love to play our music and “make it” overnight. But the reality is that rarely happens in this day and age. However, if you’re good at what you do and you continue to put the effort into your practice/gigs/recording then you will 100% start seeing some results, you’ve just got to persist.

What’s planned for 2020?

A whole bunch of stuff, to put it simply. 

Without revealing too much, I can safely say you will hear more new tunes, and you will see us playing more shows around the country and locally. 

Stay tuned, we’ve got some cool stuff coming.

https://www.facebook.com/pg/inklinesband

You’ve had a gnarly 12 months, what’s happened and what’s been happening?

Its been crazy! 2019 was hectic – I think I played about 200 shows 😮

I released an EP and a single with Zoe Badwi, and I did a tour around Bali, Fiji and Oz the last two months of 2019! It was hectic.

Where are you at the moment?

Currently I’m in Tasmania! Playing a show in Burnie Oz Day Eve! My new single just got released! YEEHAW!

We’re frothin on your new single ‘Take It In’ what influenced the sound and songwriting?

Thanks man! Im super proud of it! About a year ago I stumbled across this dude Max Glyde. Absolute freak. The moment I heard is shit I wanted to make something with him. 12 months later we have a single and about 7 beats stacked up! I think his classy feel and my funk work super well together!

Where and how did you go about writing/producing Take It In?

We made the beat in a studio at his uni in Box Hill, and to be honest the crux of it came together in about an hour. Was pre crazy. We both work with Velvet Bloom so we got her in a week later and she smashed the top line. From there, we finessed it for 4-5 months after that.

What programs/instruments did you use to record/produce?

Me and Max both use Ableton. And me and max both heavily use Massive and Sylenth for sounds! As well as Max on live guitar!

How did you approach the recording/production process?

Unless a vocal is sent to me, I pretty much always start with making a beat which is what Max and I did, then you approach a vocalist and re structure and do stuff from there!

Who did you work with if anybody?

Max Glyde (collab), Velvet Bloom (vocals), Lachie Milne (Mixing), Panorama Mastering (Mastering).

What did you find most challenging and rewarding during the creation of Take It In?

Rewarding for me was the dynamic me and max have in the studio. We just click and its so good. It was challenging finishing the last 10% of it. Really challenging. Most of it was there but we took several sessions to be completely happy with it!

How has your live show progressed over the last few years?

My DJ set I feel has just become more versatile and I think as a performer I’ve become more confident in what I’m doing. Im also playing more and more originals which is great. I am definitely working towards my live show though with a full band. Watch this space 😛

What have the fans been like live?

They love it – and its great cause they vary so much depending on where you play. Blessed to be here.

Who are you listening to at the moment?

Max Glyde, Tentendo, Dombresky, Blush’ko, heaps of slower stuff and Yoga music when I’m trying to sleep haha.

What’s planned for the next few months and 2020 as a whole?

Definitely playing shows, but more importantly releasing music and making heaps of it. I have about 4 singles ready and raring and I want them all out this year ideally. 2020 for me is really honing in on the production side of things.

I hear that you’ve got a fun lil show coming up with The Partae, what can we expect?

You must’ve heard correctly 😉 Intimacy, funk, fun and a heap of taking it in 😉

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