What inspired the creation of your latest single, “The Man Or The Boy”?
Lyrically was written at a time I was feeling stagnant in my life. I found myself questioning whether or not I’d become the person I thought I’d be. It felt like I was quite trapped within my own thoughts and felt compelled to write about it. Musically we just wanted it to feel quite anthemic. Something you could listen to and shout out the lyrics.
Can you elaborate on the thematic elements of mental health and self-reflection present in your music, particularly in this new release?
As a person I’ve always found it quite hard to be vulnerable and open up to people. I think a lot of artists are like that. They speak through their music rather than directly to people. I feel like I’m always learning more about myself, my shortcomings, my strengths as life goes on and through that process it’s natural for me to want to write about it. I always treat my creative process as a diary entry.
How did the collaboration with Michael Bono influence the production and overall sound of “The Man Or The Boy”?
We’ve known Michael for a long time now, and every time we work with him it feels so easy. It’s essentially just a group of mates getting in the studio together, trying to make the best thing we possibly can. Usually the way we work is by bringing in a finished demo of the track. Michael’s ability and professionalism to take our music to the ‘next level’ whether it’s through added production, writing or the final mix is awesome to witness and gives us so much energy.
Could you walk us through the songwriting process for this track, especially in terms of overcoming creative blocks?
I had brought in most of the song as you hear it now to our home studio. Jono and I both felt like it was a special song and we decided to try and finalise it in one sitting. We were actually stuck on the chorus for quite sometime and I’d been struggling to finish lyrics for that part of the song. We ended up setting up a microphone and I started scatting melodies and words into the microphone. After about half an hour we had pieced together the lyrics for the chorus. That idea of riffing and scatting into a mic is something we always end up doing. It means you’re totally in the moment and through that we always end up finding a bunch of cool sounds and words that come out subconsciously.
What do you hope listeners take away from “The Man Or The Boy” in terms of its message or emotional impact?
That no matter how low you feel like you are, there’s always a tomorrow and a better day. We live in a time where people put so much pressure on themselves to be ‘totally put together’ or have it all worked out. The main message for me is just to be kind to yourself, trust your process and be unequivocally yourself.
How has your sound evolved since your debut single “Teenagers In Love,” and what aspects of your musical identity remain constant?
I think we feel like we’re starting to find our own sound now. We’re getting a lot better at writing and production and it’s starting to feel more consistent. We feel a lot more confident in our creative process and have learnt a lot since that first single. I think something that’s remained the same for us and will continue to do so is our honesty. We’re both big believers in having total artistic freedom to do whatever feels right to us. If a song we’ve written doesn’t make us feel something then we just move on.
What challenges did you face in recording and producing this single, and how did you overcome them?
Honestly, apart from finding lyrics for the chorus there really was no major challenges for us. I really believe that you can’t force a song. If it’s not coming naturally straight away then we tend to move on and turn our attention to something else. The only other small challenge we had was getting vocal takes right. I really wanted to make sure I was conveying the emotion and sentiment of the song through my vocal delivery.
Can you discuss the significance of the chorus and bridge in “The Man Or The Boy,” particularly in relation to the song’s overall narrative?
I think the chorus and bridge kind of sum up the whole idea of the song. ‘Pulled apart from the inside out’ refers to the inner conflicts and monologues you go through when dealing with hardships. Again, we really wanted the chorus to feel like a big release of energy and emotion. The lyric in the bridge ‘my ears are ringing, never been good at forgiving myself’ is one of my favourite lines in the song.
How do you approach translating the raw emotion of your songwriting into a live performance, and what can audiences expect from your live shows?
I think just being totally in the moment. If you believe in your songs and what you’re singing that emotion will come out naturally on a stage. We really just try to have fun when we play live. We want to make shows an ‘experience’ for people. Somewhere they can come to escape, dance or just feel apart of what we’re doing.
In what ways do you feel your experiences supporting other artists and touring have influenced your growth as musicians?
It’s always awesome seeing other artist live and watching what they’ve adopted as songwriters and live performers. Collaborating or even just sharing ideas so important to us, especially with other musicians. Seeing musicians do what they love and conveying their passion and artistry on a stage always makes us feel inspired.
What role do you see your music playing in the current indie music scene, and how do you aim to carve out your own niche within it?
I think we’re just trying to be our own favourite band. We don’t shy away from labelling ourselves as pop artists. We tend to like walking the line of ‘pop’ sensibilities paired with left field production and lyrics. I do feel at times Australia doesn’t take pop music seriously. There seems to be an a-typical Aussie indie band ‘sound’ at the moment which we’ve never felt like we aligned with. I’d like to think we’re offering something different for people.
Looking ahead, what are your aspirations for the future of Bad Weather, both creatively and in terms of reaching new audiences?
Right now we want to be putting out as much music as we possibly can. We’ve never felt more inspired and driven as we do now. I want to create a world of our own music that people can dive into anytime they want and get lost within it. We’d love to tour more as well. Now that so much is done online, I think people forget how important and fulfilling shows are.
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