Where are you currently?
Molly: We are currently living in the Northern Rivers NSW with the whole family and it’s safe to say this household is crazy. We have completely taken over our house during quarantine, there’s music going on 24/7, someone’s always cooking in the kitchen (just hopefully not Sarah because anyone who’s seen our Chef Nation cook off knows that’s just not a good idea!) and music gear has packed out our lounge room because that’s where the film our Virtual Concerts (haha sorry Mum & Dad). Anyone feel like house swapping?
What’s been happening since we last spoke to you? I see Money is still climbing the radio charts and you performed a virtual show with the Wolfe Brothers?
Sarah: Yes it’s been pretty crazy here wrapping up our World Virtual Tour with Live Nation which was so much fun! ‘Money’ is climbing up the charts as well as our brand new single ‘Breathe’ and we are just so thrilled and grateful to be putting all of this new music out into the world and to see the positive response. It’s been a lot of fun doing livestreams and playing music for folks all around the world from our lounge room and connecting with other artists like the Wolfe Brothers! We actually did a Far North Queensland tour with the Wolfe Brothers at the beginning of the year so it was a lot of fun catching up again and bringing some music to people virtually with them too!
Your new single ‘Breathe’ is out now, what influenced the sound and songwriting for this track?
Sarah: Sonically, this song is really authentic to our roots. When I was writing it I wasn’t really thinking too much about the production, sound etc like often I do, it was really just being vulnerable lyrically and making sure the music felt exactly like the way we were feeling in that moment. The song then led the way. I think you’ll hear our roots in both Country and influences we’ve grown up with, bands like Fleetwood Mac, Eagles, Alison Krauss etc. It’s another element to us as a band and myself as a songwriter that people haven’t heard yet, and one that we’re really excited to share.
How did you go about writing Breathe?
Sarah: I wrote it around the time when Australia was experiencing terrible bushfires. I was in Nashville and watching it all go down from the other side of the world was so devastating. It was a message I really wanted to write for myself and something I’ve found really beautiful about this song is how people are connecting their own stories and experiences with it. It means something different to everyone that hears it and I’ve found over time it can relate to a lot of different parts of my life at different times too. That’s the goal as a songwriter and to see people really resonate with it in that way means so much.
Where and when did you record and who with?
Lachlan: We had a blast recording at the end of last year in Nashville Tennessee’s ‘Sound Emporium Studios’, a place where so many absolute legends have recorded and where we had the amazing opportunity to record our debut album in! (Which includes Breathe). We also had the honor to record our last 4 singles and album with Chad Carlson, who is a great friend of ours and an absolute weapon of a Producer/Engineer! He has won GRAMMYS for engineering many Taylor Swift albums, worked with Jewel, Trisha Yearwood, the soundtrack for the ‘Hunger Games’ and lots more!
What programs/instruments did you use?
Lachlan: In our latest single ‘Breathe’ I was using my old 1997 Fender Mustang, which I bought off a fellow musician in the car park of McDonald’s haha, not sure how that happened TBH. There’s also some beautiful acoustic guitar.
Where can we listen to the track and see the video?
Molly: You can listen to ‘Breathe’ on all streaming platforms and watch the official music video on our YouTube Channel… We also have an animated lyric video!
Please tell us about the creative process behind your new video:
Molly: We’ve grown up in an area that is surrounded by gorgeous beaches, forests and waterfalls. This is where we go to destress and take our moments to just “breathe”. We along with our director Louis Murphy wanted this music video to be peaceful and easy on the eye… Soft tones and serene visuals (really capturing the beauty of nature). When we saw the first cut, the dolphins, whales and ocean life gave us goosebumps. It’s so beautiful visually and fits in perfectly with the message of the song.
We filmed at sunrise so it was a very cold and early morning, but so magical and we really wanted that to translate on camera.
Can you tell us about your virtual show in India, we hear it was a huge success. Please tell us about your exposure to the Indian audience, how it came about and how the reaction has been so far.
Molly: Playing to India on our World Virtual Tour was incredible! Lots of our friends and family have visited India and told us how much they love it. Also one of our favorite bands of all time – The Beatles – wrote a lot of their White Album in India so there’s that connection too! Book My Show / Live Nation asked if we’d like to do a concert for their audience in India and Sri Lanka… we obviously said yes! The way the Indian press picked it up and welcomed us was so warming, we are incredibly thankful. Over 497 000 people watched the concert which is INSANE and still sounds crazy saying it out loud.
Please tell us about your upcoming virtual show dates and what we can expect:
Sarah: Well we haven’t got any virtual concerts scheduled at the moment however we have started a weekly live streamed show on our social media, where we’ll be chatting with everyone, playing games, QandA’s AND of course some acoustic performances. You can check that out on our Instagram @the.buckleys
You have an upcoming album titled ‘Daydream’, how has the progress been so far?
Molly: We are so so excited for everyone to hear our debut album. Going into it, it was a little nerve racking as it really is such an honor to be able to record an album, especially these days and something we certainly have not taken for granted. We wanted to pour every bit of ourselves into it and make sure we really capture who ‘The Buckleys’ are right now, musically, personally and artistically. The process was so fun recording with Chad Carlson and the amazing musicians in Nashville, at such an iconic recording studio. We approached it almost like we were creating an album in the 70s – as a full body of work and ‘journey’ from track 1 to 12. We are really proud of it and just can’t wait for people to be able to hold it, singalong, dance to it, relate to it etc!
What do you like to do away from music? I hear Lachy likes to surf? What are some of his favourite surf spots?
Lachlan: Well, when we’re not playing or doing anything music related then we generally love to get out into nature, either going for bush walks or heading off to the beach for a surf, it also gives us a lot of inspiration strolling out into the wilderness. I mostly like to longboard around Byron Bay, however I did have a 3 meter shark swim underneath me at the most easterly point of the head land!
Who are you listening to at the moment?
Lachlan: At the moment I’m falling down the rabbit hole of Funk, punk funk and Motown. We all love funk and love listening to bands like Parliament Funkadelic, Sly and the Family Stone, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Al Green, Stevie Wonder, and SO much more! There’s something about the amazing creativity and “ridiculous beauty“ that encapsulates me.
What’s planned for the remainder of 2020?
Sarah: We have our debut album coming out VERY soon which we are so excited about and cannot wait for everyone to hear it! Our goal is to keep bringing music to people whether it’s in person eventually or virtually. Now is such an important time for people to connect with music and bringing some joy into homes around the world is something we intend to keep doing however we can. And we of course can’t wait to get out on the road and playing shows when that’s possible!
