July 2026

What was the first spark behind “5 Lovely Seconds”? Was there a specific feeling, memory, or visual that inspired the song before it became music?

I wanted to motivate myself to stop thinking about what others think because I came to the realisation that everything is subjective. “What is good” and “What is bad” are different for everyone. What often sells is our confidence and our own belief in what we do and who we are.

To be honest, my initial idea was to write a book. The lyrics from this song were just a small fragment of that book. The book would take too long to finish, so I thought, “Why don’t I just create a song using those ideas?” That is why this song is special to me, because it has a layered story behind its production.

The track has a very cinematic quality, almost like a scene from a film. Do you usually imagine stories or visuals when creating music, and how does that influence your production process?

I always imagine visuals when making songs. Visuals are what drive the message. For this song, I imagined a theatre or circus. I wanted to make it clear that we are all living in our own movie.

“5 Lovely Seconds” feels like it captures a fleeting moment. What does that title represent for you personally?

Exactly that: a fleeting, freeing moment. The title is a reminder that no one’s life revolves around us. Everybody is primarily focused on themselves, their own problems, and their own wins. So hopefully, the song can motivate us to enjoy our lives regardless of others.

You describe finding freedom through this cinematic world. What does creative freedom mean to you, and did this song mark a turning point in how you approach making music?

Have you ever heard of the book The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F@ck? The message is exactly that. Real freedom is when you feel fully confident in yourself, when you love yourself and do not seek others’ approval. Creative freedom, for me, means being fully myself. Allowing myself to be strange.

I am not sure I had one single song that was a turning point for me. I think life is a sequence of events that can shape the creative journey. It is much more complex. However, “5 Lovely Seconds” marked my growing confidence in myself and my ideas.

Your sound blends emotion, atmosphere, and detailed production. How do you balance creating something that feels personal while still allowing listeners to bring their own experiences into it?

Usually, the way to do that is to give just enough. It is always about balance. That is the thing about feelings. When we feel something in the moment, we do not fully analyse what it is. We just catch glimpses of memories, projections, fantasies, and thoughts. It is not fully formed, even if, in the moment, it feels like it is. Music is the same.

Were there any films, artists, places, or visual experiences that influenced the mood and universe around this release?

Yes. One of my favourite movies, Fight Club, was something that was in my head during the writing process. I like how the movie is rebellious and challenges the fake image portrayed by almost everyone because of the environment we are shaped by.

When building a track like this, do you start from a melody, a sound, an emotion, or a story? Has your creative process changed over time?

I start from a thought and a feeling. Usually, most of my songs are based on emotions I have already processed. When an emotion is not fully processed, I tend to be all over the place. So usually, it starts with a thought about an emotion I experienced in the past, something that is no longer completely fresh. I am too emotional as a person, so I prefer to take time with it.

There is a sense of nostalgia and beauty within “5 Lovely Seconds.” Why do you think we are often drawn to moments that are temporary or impossible to hold onto?

Some moments make us feel good. We are all hedonistic by nature. Of course, we are drawn to moments that are temporary. But that is normal. I used to be very idealistic. To be honest, I still am. But everything in life is a moment, and every moment is temporary. We need to accept that. What I am saying is: “Own your moment.” Be in it. Do it for yourself.

What have you learned about yourself through creating this project that you didn’t expect when you first started?

I have learnt that I can create various styles of music. I have also learnt that I can deliver complex ideas, and not just concepts. Some of my music is based more on atmosphere than lyrics. It is the same as modern art: you interpret it in your own way because of the “mysterious, unfinished lyrics.”

However, the writing process is what I enjoy the most. I am a deep thinker, so I naturally express myself through thoughts. “5 Lovely Seconds” is an example of that.

Looking ahead, how do you hope listeners experience your music, and what other worlds or emotions do you want to explore next?

In general, my music has a darker feel than this song. The world I am building is based on identity, the struggles that come with it, and conflicting feelings. It is about the internal battles that no one usually talks about. When we want to go in one direction but can be pulled in a different one. When we think we need to be one version of ourselves but show the world a different one.

It is about the complex nature of humans. So I want to explore emotions of dissociation and reconnecting with yourself. I want to use surreal, chaotic, and minimalistic visuals, with a little bit of humour, to express that.

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The Modern Shoe Is Ruining The Foot is a striking title. What is the idea behind it and how does it connect to the themes running through the album?

Thea: The title came from a real thing our friend said after too much time spent scrolling on his phone one night, exclaiming as he threw it across the room in disgust, “I keep getting ads that say things like the modern shoe is ruining the foot!” Sam heard that and filed it away as being a useful phrase. If you spend enough time thinking about a phrase or word, they will often end up in your art somehow. We’re not really talking about shoes, if that helps give some context for how it connects to the album’s themes.

Capturing the album live with no edits is a bold choice. What led you toward that approach and what did it demand from you as a band?

Thea: We made the record in late 2023. Part of the reason for recording live was that it’s not as time intensive as doing a bunch of overdubs. Three days in the studio was what we could afford at the time. The main reason for recording live and with no cuts, though, was to create something that could be made only by people in a room together, to resist the onslaught of messaging pushed on artists that generative AI could supposedly be a useful artistic tool. Three years on, we see how that lie has been used to consistently steal and devalue artists’ work.

The process of making the record was so special. You have to have a pretty strong foundation of trust in and support for each other to make a record in that way. Inevitably there will be takes where people make mistakes or aren’t as happy with how they played, but we were all so committed to the idea of how we wanted to make the record that we got used to sitting with and embracing the mistakes, subtleties, imperfections and quirks. We really believe in the artistic value of leaving the mistakes in.

How did the sound of Any Young Mechanic take shape through writing, rehearsal, and time on the road?

Jay: Sam was listening to a lot of Blood On The Tracks when writing this album’s batch of songs, so the open tuned acoustic guitar and formal pop structures were present from the get go. But as a band arranging our parts in the room, we infused the record with our individual tastes throughout the few months of rehearsal in 2023, introducing influences such as BCNR, Thelonious Monk and Swirlies. Seeing Big Thief on their Dragon New Warm Mountain tour, with their perfectly hewn arrangements, had a particularly big influence on how we approached sonic construction. I definitely went for a James Krivchenia inspired approach on several of the songs on Modern Shoe (especially New Place).

The album moves through a wide emotional and sonic range. Did you begin with a concept or narrative in mind, or did it emerge naturally as the songs developed?

Sam: I think narratives always emerge from collections of songs regardless of whether or not they’re intended that way. I wrote something like 15 songs between January and June 2023 and then Jay and I talked about the songs we liked best from that bunch and brought them to the band to arrange. So the 12 songs that ended up on The Modern Shoe were finalised by the time we started rehearsing and workshopping arrangements all together. No other songs were recorded or rehearsed during the sessions.

I was writing with certain structural aims and influences in mind (mainly Bob Dylan), and the record was being arranged within very specific parameters (live only recording, no electric instruments, no edits, no overdubs), so I imagine that made the album sound conceptual without it feeling like a rock opera.

Jay sequenced the album and tried a bunch of different orders until it felt right. I think that was probably the most “narrative” part of the process. It’s like editing a film. The songs are just scenes. I think I knew that I wanted to end with Atlas, Here You Are, but that was about it.

With such a distinctive instrumentation mix including upright bass, violin, banjo and electric guitar, how do you decide who leads a musical idea when arranging a song?

Thea: It’s often a bit of a pruning process. Sam brings a song to the group that’s mostly formed in terms of lyrics, chords and structure. We have a jam together to get a feel for the song, and then start to take things out. I think you feel the song re emerge through the removal of elements. As we made the record with no overdubs, we knew that we only had six possible instrumental textures available to us at any one time, so we learnt to be really selective with arrangement, when to introduce new textures and timbres, when to take them out, and ways to pair sounds for different dynamic effects. Since making The Modern Shoe, we’ve loosened up our self imposed creative restraints, experimenting with additional instruments like synth, clarinet and electric bass and guitar. The arrangement process is becoming increasingly fluid and collaborative, which is a really great place to be in as a group.

The record has been described as grounded in trust and instinct. How do you maintain openness and vulnerability within a five piece dynamic?

Allan: I think we all believe trust is one of the most important things about playing in a band. When we started rehearsing The Modern Shoe, I didn’t know everyone in the band nearly as well as I do now, but we started with a firm musical understanding because we all admired each other’s playing. You need to feel a certain level of security in the rehearsal environment to be comfortable contributing ideas.

It works the other way too. Trust affirms that whatever your personal vision of how a song should go can be improved by collaboration. We all felt comfortable surrendering control because we knew that this exchange of ideas led to a more interesting result.

As we’ve gotten to know each other better this trust has definitely deepened, and I’ve learned more and more that this process is the really rewarding thing about playing music, the risk of vulnerability in sharing musical ideas.

You had already built a strong live reputation before releasing music. How has that early touring experience shaped the evolution of these songs?

Thea: Because the recording process was finished so long ago, the album itself sits in its own kind of world. It’s a real time capsule. The songs have naturally shifted as we play them live. It can be a strange experience listening to the record now and realising you’ve gotten used to playing a part in a slightly different way. It was fantastic but also odd getting the opportunity to tour overseas before we released the songs. I think it confused audiences a bit that we didn’t have music out, but we are so grateful that a lot of people who heard those songs before they were released have stuck around to hear the record now that it’s properly out in the world.

Allan referenced influences like Richard Davis on Astral Weeks. How do individual influences come into the group without disrupting the collective identity?

Thea: The best part of being in a band is that your sound becomes a reflection of who you are individually and collectively. We don’t have too many conversations about what we want to reference specifically in terms of influences during the rehearsal and arrangement period, but you can definitely feel people’s musical identities imprint themselves on the songs as they develop. I think we’re more concerned about how we can each use our individual musicianship to best service the song and support what everyone else is playing than attempting pastiche or being overly referential. With some exceptions, of course. Sometimes referencing a motif or style of playing is a lot of fun. I try to get a bit of Warren Ellis-esque noisy violin in where I can. When we’re not rehearsing, we talk about and listen to a lot of music together. I’ve been introduced to so many artists I otherwise wouldn’t have encountered through my bandmates. It’s a privilege to get to expand each other’s musical worlds together.

The track titles on The Modern Shoe Is Ruining The Foot feel cinematic and vivid. How important is imagery and storytelling in your writing process?

Sam: Incredibly important! Imagery is the name of the game for me. Generally speaking, I don’t want things to be too obvious in my writing, so imagery is a great way of communicating a mood or event without spelling out what the listener is supposed to be feeling. A lot of the songs on this record start with me trying to describe the characteristics of a room where something significant is happening. It’s a very domestic record until Barn Burning, because to some degree that’s where I think a lot of people experience very important things. It can be hard to describe those places so they glow in your mind’s eye in the right way. I try to work off kilter images in as much as I can without making something feel wacky for the sake of it. Usually a weird detail placed sensitively makes an image feel more truthful.

To tell the truth, I try not to spend too much time on titles as long as they appropriately communicate or deliberately miscommunicate what is within a song. If a line from the chorus works as a title, there’s nothing wrong with that. If it doesn’t, there’s probably something else in the lyrics that will guide you to a title that feels right.

Now that the album is out via Warner Records and 23 Recordings, what does the next phase look like for the band creatively and practically?

Luka: We’re all hoping to just keep playing lots of shows. We get very restless. We’re currently working on some Australian dates in the next few months including Bigsound, Yours and Owls Festival and Townfolk in Castlemaine. Also some non Australia dates in October and November. Lots more shows in 2027!

The next creative phase has kind of already happened. We’ve got another album in the tank, which we’re all very excited about. Never have we had more regard for the STEREO IMAGE. We’re getting weirder, but better. Like soup that’s been simmering for much longer than necessary. Some of those songs have been live fixtures for a little while, which has been great in order to understand them more intimately. We honestly could play for two hours at this point.

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What was the defining moment when you realised HYPNOSIS THERAPY had become something far beyond a traditional music project?

Both of us had been making hip-hop and R&B for a long time, but we were looking for something more exciting. That led us to explore electronic music, a genre neither of us had really worked with before. Around that time, we became fascinated by the limitless possibilities that electronic music offered, and that’s where we decided to focus our creative energy.

Every HYPNOSIS THERAPY show seems to encourage complete freedom rather than passive watching. What do you hope people discover about themselves when they step into one of your live performances?

A lot of people discover us through our live shows. What we try to deliver on stage is pure energy and confidence. We perform with the hope that this energy will stay with people long after the show and become part of their everyday lives.

It’s almost like an unspoken message: we made it happen, so you can too.

You’ve built a reputation in Korea’s underground while increasingly connecting with audiences around the world. How has travelling and performing internationally changed your perspective on what makes your music unique?

From the very beginning, HYPNOSIS THERAPY was created with the international scene in mind. We felt the Korean market alone was too small for what we wanted to achieve. We wanted to reach a much bigger world.

That’s also one of the reasons we shifted toward electronic music. We see it as one of the most inclusive and universal genres. At the same time, we believed that by expressing it from our perspective as Korean artists, we could create something genuinely fresh and unique.

Returning to Australia, what stood out to you most about Australian crowds during your previous visit, and has that influenced what fans can expect from these upcoming shows?

Australia was the first country we visited through SXSW Sydney in 2023. It was also the festival’s inaugural year, so everything felt especially exciting and ambitious. As well as performing at SXSW Sydney, we played a show in Melbourne and even held a listening party there for our second album, which was about to be released.

That trip gave us real confidence that there was a future for us in the international market. Every show we played was incredible, and the response from Australian audiences left a lasting impression on us.

Your music balances chaos with precision. When you’re creating together, how do you know when a track has reached the perfect point between control and complete surrender?

We know a track is finished when it starts to feel primal. If you ask what “primal” means to us, it’s when all those instinctive, almost animalistic elements come together naturally, and the music simply feels alive.

That’s why finishing a song often takes much longer than people expect. Writing it is only one part of the process. We spend a huge amount of time listening back over and over, making tiny adjustments until every detail feels completely natural.

HYPNOSIS THERAPY often feels driven by instinct rather than trends. In an era where artists can easily chase algorithms, how do you protect your creative identity?

We simply make records inspired by the sounds and cultures we’re genuinely into at that moment. Whether that happens to align with current trends or not doesn’t really matter to us.

Our confidence in our own taste and our curiosity are the biggest driving forces behind our music. We release albums almost every year because we see each one as a document of where we are creatively and mentally at that point in our lives.

Both of you came from different musical backgrounds before forming HYPNOSIS THERAPY. What qualities do you each bring to the partnership that couldn’t exist if either of you were working alone?

We’ve both spent years working in different groups and different genres, so we’ve each built our own audiences. When we came together, that naturally created a strong synergy. It also expanded our musical range and made us much more open to different genres and ideas.

More importantly, we’ve been through a lot together, and that has built an incredible level of trust between us. We’ve never really fought. We trust each other completely and keep moving forward together. If one of us feels strongly about an idea, the other is willing to follow because we know there’s always a reason behind it.

HYPNOSIS THERAPY is both our individual expression and something we create together. At this point, it’s become more than just a project. It’s a part of our lives.

Korea’s underground electronic scene is receiving more international attention than ever before. What excites you most about the current movement, and which artists should global listeners be paying attention to?

Not just Korea, but Japan, China, and many other parts of Asia are seeing exciting new movements emerge right now. It feels like Asian artists are finding fresh ways to blend their own perspectives into established genres, and that’s creating something genuinely new.

As for an artist, the world should be paying attention to… honestly, we’d say us.

Looking back at where HYPNOSIS THERAPY began, what’s one lesson you’ve learned about taking creative risks that you wish you’d known from day one?

Honestly, we don’t have many regrets about the path we’ve taken.

But if we had to give our younger selves one piece of advice, it would simply be: be even bolder. Push harder, take bigger risks, and don’t hesitate.

As your audience continues to grow across different countries, what vision do you have for HYPNOSIS THERAPY over the next few years, and what would success look like beyond streams and sold-out shows?

We’ve already completed three European tours, and today we actually have more listeners overseas than we do in Korea. That’s exactly the future we imagined when we started this project.

We want those numbers to keep growing, but more importantly, we want to become the kind of artist who plays the main stages of the world’s biggest music festivals.

And we believe we’ll get there. We believe in ourselves, and we believe in everything we’ve built so far. We see it as a snowball; once it starts rolling, it only gets bigger.

We’ll keep moving forward. Keep an eye on what we’re doing.

Thank you so much for your support, and please keep listening to our music.

HYPNOSIS THERAPY, Alex Wilcox ‘UMJIGYEO! (MOVE!)

Tiny Minds Agency presents: HYPNOSIS THERAPY AUSTRALIAN TOUR DATES

Thursday 16 July – The Grace Darling Naarm, Melbourne
Doors: 7.30 pm
Porcelain Boy: 8.00 pm – 8.40 pm
HYPNOSIS THERAPY: 9.00 pm – 10.00 pm

Friday 17 July – The Lord Gladstone Eora, Sydney
With Blair Romance
Doors: 8.30 pm
Blair Romance: 9.00 pm – 9.40 pm
HYPNOSIS THERAPY: 10.00 pm – 11.00 pm

Saturday 18 July – The Tivoli Meanjin, Brisbane
Special guest performance at the Full Flower Moon Band after-party
Time: 10.45 pm

Tickets are available via linktr.ee/TinyMindsAgency

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“LTMFG” started as a post-breakup idea but evolved into something much bigger. At what point did you realize this wasn’t just a song about letting go of someone else but about reclaiming yourself?

I think I realized that while writing it. What started as a breakup song slowly became a mirror for every area of my life where I was holding on too tightly. It wasn’t just about a relationship anymore, it was about letting go of old stories, fear, expectations, and the belief that my happiness depended on someone or something outside of me. That’s when I knew this song had become much bigger than heartbreak. It has become a reminder that sometimes the greatest thing we can reclaim is ourselves.

A lot of people know they should let go of what’s hurting them, yet they hold on anyway. What was the hardest thing you’ve personally had to release in order to find peace?

Honestly, the need to control the outcome. Whether it was relationships, my career or trying to fix situations that weren’t mine to fix, I spent a lot of energy believing that if I just tried a little harder, everything would work out. Finding peace came when I realized that letting go isn’t giving up, it’s trusting that what’s meant for you won’t require you to abandon yourself.

The video captures people smashing symbols of their past pain. Was there a moment during filming that felt surprisingly emotional or cathartic for you?

Absolutely! It was amazing to watch everyone write down things they were ready to let go of before smashing them. There was so much laughter, but there were also these quiet moments where you could tell people were releasing something real. I felt a huge release from my body when I took the first swing and smashed the vase. In the video you can almost see the energy rushing through my veins and instantly, I felt lighter.

It reminded me that healing doesn’t always have to be heavy, sometimes it looks like your friends cheering you on while you swing a gold baseball bat at an old story you’ve been carrying for way too long.

You’ve experienced the highs and lows of the music industry, from Nashville opportunities to building your career independently back home. What has that journey taught you about resilience?

It’s taught me that resilience isn’t about never feeling discouraged, it’s about continuing to show up anyway. There have been incredible highs and some really difficult seasons, but every chapter has taught me something valuable. Looking back, I wouldn’t change the journey because it’s shaped not only the artist I am today but the person I am too.

Looking back at your younger self chasing big dreams, what’s something you wish she understood that you only learned through experience?

I’d tell her that success isn’t something you arrive at one day, it’s who you become while you’re pursuing your dreams. I spent so many years believing I’d finally feel enough once I reached the next milestone. What I’ve learned is that confidence doesn’t come from accomplishments. It comes from learning to like the person looking back at you in the mirror.

There’s a strong message of self-worth running through this release. Was there a defining moment in your life when you stopped seeking validation from others and started trusting yourself?

I don’t think it was one defining moment, I think it was a compilation of many little ones. Every time I chose my intuition over someone else’s opinion, every boundary I set, every time I walked away from something that wasn’t aligned, I built more trust in myself.

Looking back, I realize self-worth isn’t something you suddenly find. It’s something you practice every single day.

You’ve described “LTMFG” as being about surrender. In a world where we’re constantly told to fight harder and push more, what does surrender actually mean to you?

To me, surrender isn’t quitting, it’s releasing the need to force what isn’t meant for you. It’s trusting that life sometimes has a better plan than the one we’ve been desperately trying to control. Ironically, the more I’ve surrendered, the more freedom I’ve found. That’s really what “LTMFG” is about.

Your upcoming book focuses on self-love. Was writing a book always part of the plan, or did you realize there were conversations you wanted to have that couldn’t fit into a three-minute song?

I’ve always loved storytelling, so writing a book felt like a natural extension of my music. Songs have this incredible ability to make people feel seen in just a few minutes, but there were conversations about healing, boundaries, wellness, relationships and self-worth that deserved more space.

The book lets me dive deeper while still carrying the same heart behind my music.

Country music has traditionally explored heartbreak from a place of sadness. Do you think we’re entering an era where artists are more interested in telling stories about healing and personal growth?

I do, and I think that’s a beautiful thing. Heartbreak will always be part of country music because it’s part of being human, but I think people are also craving hope.

We still want songs that acknowledge the pain, but we also want songs that remind us we can heal, grow and come out stronger on the other side. That’s definitely the message I wanted “LTMFG” to live in.

If someone is listening to “LTMFG” while going through one of the toughest periods of their life, what would you want them to hear between the lines of the lyrics?

I’d want them to know that letting go doesn’t mean you’ve failed, it means you’re making room for something better. Whatever you’re holding onto, you don’t have to carry it forever.

I hope the song reminds people that they’re stronger than they think, worthy exactly as they are and that sometimes the most courageous thing you can do is choose yourself and take one small step toward a new beginning.

As a matter of fact, I received a message from a beautiful friend of mine who was in the “LTMFG” music video. She let me know that a friend of hers had reached out to thank her for sharing the song, as she had a best friend going through a very trying time with an ex.

She passed along the song to her quiet, introverted friend who was dealing with heartache, and the next thing she knew this woman felt a weight lifted and had viewed her unfortunate connection in a different light. She’s now simply choosing to “Let the Motherf*cker Go” and has said that it’s brought her so much peace.

This is why I do what I do, and this is success for me: to help lift and inspire those around me who need it the most.

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