Where are you currently based?
We are all based in Naarm/Melbourne, Australia
How did the band form?
Sarah met Jack and Connor through her singing Mentor (Susie Ahern), who happens to be their mum. Sarah intended to form a group of session players to support her solo career.
Sarah and Jay had been friends all through high school, (since they were 12 years old) and studied music together as well. Sarah asked Jay to also be a part of the session players as a pianist. They all became friends very quickly, sharing interests in the same genre of music.
There came a point where Sarah realized that their friendships and musical connections with each other were so special, so they all decided to become a band to continue sharing and creating that magic with each other.
What’s been happening recently?
We have been on a high from releasing our 2 latest singles ‘ I never liked you in the first place’ and ‘Okay’! These were accompanied by our first music videos, which has been exciting!
At the moment, we are playing a lot of live shows, supporting some amazing local bands as well as working on our online presence.
We also just finished recording another two music videos that are set for release at the end of 2022 and early 2023!
We are also hitting the studio again in November to get some music prepared for releases in 2023! A lot of great things are in the works since the pandemic and it feels great being able to create and release new music.
Your latest single ‘Okay’ is out now, what influenced the sound and songwriting?
Bring me the Horizon’s ‘amo’ was one of the albums we were listening to a lot during the writing process, and also Issues album, ‘Beautiful Oblivion’.
We’ve always been influenced by Paramore and Bring me the horizon.
With songwriting, we usually just write straight from the heart.
Sarah usually does most of the lyric writing, and finds that it stems from lessons learnt and mental battles that people don’t really like to talk about.
How did you go about writing Okay?
Connor actually came up with the main guitar riff, and then we all put our own personal touches on the track.
Before each song we have a pre-production day with our producers, where we all throw our ideas in, we would bring forward songs that we’re currently working on. Pre-production really helps us strive for a goal for each song and makes sure that we all have the same vision.
We originally brought our producers a different song that we were working on, but ended up scrapping it half way as we didnt feel it matched the energy we wanted to portray.
Where and when did you record/produce/master and who with?
We recorded/produced and co-wrote this song with Ash Daws and Evan Lee at The Loud Noise Estate in Melbourne, in early 2020.
We have always loved working with them as we feel they bring out the absolute best in us!
We have an amazing creative relationship and friendship with them, which we find very special and are super grateful for.
Please tell us about the Ultravlt mention on WILLOW’s social media?
At the time, we had just established ourselves as Ultravlt, but since it was in the height of the pandemic we began creating an online presence as a new band, so we decided to do our own renditions of songs that we were loving.
One of the songs we did was ‘Transparent Soul’ by WILLOW. We had heaps of fun making it!
Jack’s fiance (Molly), called Sarah at 7am to tell us that WILLOW re-posted the cover on her profile. All of us were in shock as we didn’t expect her to see it, let alone share it on her page! This opportunity gained Utravlt many new followers and expanded their audience internationally. We are incredibly grateful and were ecstatic.
Who are you listening to at the moment?
Sarah is obsessed with Demi Lovato’s latest album “Holy Fvck”, as well as her usual favorites The 1975’s, Paramore, Gretta Ray and currently loving Cat Burns.
Connor is listening to Sleep tokens “This Place Will Become Your Tomb” and Stand Atlantics “F.E.A.R”
Jay is always listening to either The Garden or Death Grips. Anything experimental is always up their alley.
Jack is currently listening to Forest Claudette, Sleep Token and hundredth. Loves to listen to a bunch of different genres.
What do you like to do away from music?
Music is a very big part of all our lives, so it’s very rare for us to do much else.
Sarah loves acting and is currently working on her acting career, she also loves to go on long drives and spends every other moment with her dogs.
Connor is very passionate about cars. He loves modifying them and working on them. Connor also likes to spend his time doing graphic design.
Jack loves to spend time with his fiance and dog. He is also passionate about fish, and is obsessed with his fish tanks. Jack is always creating and writing music in many different genres.
Jay is a big book nerd and is just finishing up their masters in librarianship. They love the contrast of spending evenings at loud gigs, and days in the quiet coziness of a library.
What’s planned for the future of Ultravlt going into 2023 and beyond?
Ultravlt do plan on continuing to write and release tracks as well as continue to work on their online content. We aim to do bigger shows and hopefully get to tour one day!
We plan on having some headline shows coming and continue to create a household name.
Favorite food and place to hangout?
Our favorite foods are pizza, American BBQ, Chinese, and KBBQ.
Our favorite places to hang out are Philip island and bed.
