Music Interviews

Where are you currently based?

I have been living in Montreal for the past 8 years. 

How did you first start playing music?

Basically, I was the singer in a band with some friends. I decided to start writing music to sing over and eventually I stopped singing and focused on producing. 

Your new single ‘Never Really Get There’ is out now, what influenced the sound and songwriting?

There were no preconceived ideas, we just improvised in the studio one summer afternoon. We first started with the chords and then Jesse wrote some lyrics to it. There’s something both melancholic and festive in this song, we just captured that moment. 

How did you go about writing Never Really Get There?

You’d have to ask Jesse, I had nothing to do with the lyrics. On the other hand, I can say that for me “Never Really Get There” represents a feeling of inability to listen to oneself, sometimes life diverts us from our essence. 

The single Features Jesse Mac Cormack, how and why did Jesse come to be involved?

Jesse is a long time friend and collaborator. We like to make music together so it was natural for us to do this song together, nothing was planned. We’ve been collaborating for 4 years already on several different projects. 

How was it working with Jesse?

It’s very intuitive and natural when we work together; we don’t really need to talk to each other, the music speaks for itself. I think our sensibilities complement each other very well, we have a lot of fun doing that. 

The music video is directed by your sister Alex-Jeanna Dube, how was this experience?

It was the first time I collaborated with my sister on such an artistic project. It was really cool and easy. We’re only a year and a half apart in age, we’re like twins. We understand each other easily.

How did the concept for the music video come about?

For a long time, I had this idea of filming people through their windows dancing in their intimacy, in their world. I called my sister and she liked it right away, and she was able to tell a story using this concept. 

Where and when did you film and what did you find most rewarding and challenging during the creation of the video?

The music video was shot entirely in Montreal and in confinement. Everything was filmed in just under a week in April. This video is a tour de force, to have managed to shoot it while everything was playing against us due to the lockdown is the greatest achievement for me. I also think that the casting is very much in the image of our city, I like its diversity. The most difficult thing was to respect the health regulations during the filming. 

Who are you listening to at the moment?

I listen to a lot of Caribou, Amtrac and Khruangbin. 

What do you like to do away from music?

I love to garden and take care of my dogs. But what I like most of all is playing hockey! 

What’s planned for the remainder of 2020?

Lots of new music 😉 

Favourite food and place to hangout?

I really like any kind of food, I really like food hahah. I love spending time at Jarry Park, I think it’s the most beautiful park in Montreal! 

What is your name and role within The Mean Times?

My name is Tom Morgan and I’m on vocals and guitar. I also do all the shit that no one else in the band will do – like badly manage our finances or lack thereof.

Where are you currently based?

In Melbourne. Rock City.

What’s been happening recently?

You know, mostly just staying at home, ordering beer off the internet and cancelling gigs. Oh, we also released another EP the other day, which is exciting. Spewing we haven’t been able to play it live to anyone yet!

Your new EP ‘Stunned Mullet’ is out now, what influenced the sound and song writing?

We recorded ‘Stunned Mullet’ at the same time we recorded our last EP, ‘Raw Prawn’, which we released last year. We’d originally intended to do an album, but the more we got into the recording process and building on ideas, we realised we had two distinct sets of songs that needed to be split into different releases. We knew that each EP would retain a definite similarity, but that they were very different in style. While ‘Raw Prawn’ is a catchy, punk rock EP showing our lighter side, ‘Stunned Mullet’ is an angsty, dystopian rejection of traditional pop and indie norms, but also catchy, dancey and familiar. So we’ve kind of gone from influences like 70s and 90s oz punk rock, writing about life in general and self-deprecation, to a mixed bag of sludgy, grungy, stoner rock, indie pomp and acoustic ballads that all deal with death, depression, bad influences and dead bats.

How did you go about writing the music?

For this EP, it was mostly me writing the core song and bringing it to the band to make it good and point out what I was doing wrong. I actually wrote the first track, ‘She Lives on Oxygen’ when I lived in Amsterdam about 12 years ago. Most likely stoned. It was performed in a couple of bands I played in over there (Hand Bites Dog and Yakuza Smile), but it never felt finished. It only recently got a rewrite and a new chorus and became one of our favourite songs. ‘Miss Damascus 2008’ was written around a bass line that was looping around in my head for ages and layered from there by the rest of the band. Taxidermist came to me on a bike ride home from work one night when musing over the amount of songs that had the lyrics, ‘If you had wings you could fly’. And Faking Death is a dark one that just instantly came out on guitar when I was really tired and struggling with life. But we’ve moved away from that approach lately and are now really focussing on writing together as a band. It’s much more satisfying and enjoyable.

Where and when did you record/produce and who with?

‘Stunned Mullet’ and ‘Raw Prawn’ were mostly recorded and mixed at Rolling Stock Studios in Collingwood by Nao Anzai, who’s done a bunch of awesome stuff like Cash Savage and the Last Drinks. We actually started it way back in 2017 when we first laid down bass, drums and some guitars at Rolling Stock, but over the following year or two, we added a heap of guitars ourselves – mostly at Eoin’s house. We then sourced horns, strings and more guitar from musicians scattered across the internet, then came back to the studio to do vocals and mix it together with Nao. The whole lot was then mastered by Mikey Young from Eddy Current Suppression Ring.

What programs/instruments did you use?

Heaps of goddam guitars and effect pedals. At one point, when recording ‘She Lives on Oxygen’, we’d already recorded about 5 or 6 guitar layers, but we still wanted more! We asked our mate Cosmic from Brisbane band Death By Carrot to do a mad wah solo, then our former band mate Ant did another solo, then we went full bogan and roped in the craziest guitar soloist we could find in South America. We then changed tack and decided we wanted strings and horns for the second track, ‘Miss Damascus 2008’. We tracked down musicians offering these services on websites and worked with them collaboratively. We’d figure out the melodies or textures we wanted on the keyboard and send them a recording of what we were looking for and they’d make it sound good and send us their recordings to add to the mix. We also added our own keys to pretty much every song.

What did you find most challenging and rewarding during the writing/recording process?

Having no time was our biggest challenge. Having busy day jobs, families and other outside commitments is always what makes it hard for us, especially when recording. If we had more time, we would’ve busted out about 10 albums by now. We’re actually quite efficient when we get down to business. Also, at the time of recording, we didn’t actually have a full-time drummer, so we shipped in our mate Jonesy who’d been filling in for us occasionally to help out. That was a challenge in itself as he also had limited time and heaps of other bands.

Who are you listening to at the moment?

Right now I’m listening to Failure! I’m also liking Rolling Blackout Coastal Fever’s new album at the moment, but the one band I’m addicted to listening to this year is Viagra Boys from Sweden. They sound insane. Expect us to start ripping them off very soon.

What do you like to do away from music?

Outside of music, work and family, I don’t have a lot of time for much else. If I do, then I like to go camping, bike riding and put things in a slow cooker. During lockdown, I’ve also managed to step up an already worrying drinking habit and am becoming even more of a craft beer wanker.

What’s planned for the remainder of 2020?

Hopefully we can go back to the pub! First and foremost, I just want to go to the pub and get on the beers. But then, I want to play some goddamn gigs in the goddamn pub!

We had to cancel our single and EP launches during lockdown, so we’re hoping to put on a massive Melbourne show as soon as things go back to normal. Keep an eye out for that. Then we’ll play as many gigs as we can. We’ve actually been relatively productive with songwriting over the past few months at home, so it’d be great if we could get back to the studio and record it all. Hopefully it doesn’t take 3 years this time.

Favourite food and place to hangout?

Pub feeds and the pub. I don’t discriminate as to which.

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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!

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Where are you currently based?
I’m currently living in a tiny rural town called Bowen Mountain, on the outskirts of the Greater Sydney area near the Blue Mountains. However, in the time before COVID, I was barely here! I was pretty much constantly on the road, touring both within Australia and internationally.

How did you first start playing music?
Music was always a part of my upbringing as my father has played in bands and written songs his whole life. I grew up thinking that being a songwriter was as normal a career path as being a doctor or a lawyer; it was just what I was exposed to from early on. Having a musical father meant that there were always instruments lying around and my parents didn’t mind my brother and I playing them. I started classical singing lessons at the age of eight but soon discovered, when I turned twelve and picked up a guitar for the first time, that contemporary music and writing my own songs was what I wanted to do with my life.

What’s been happening recently?
I’ve been focused lately on releasing my first new music in two years! I announced an upcoming new EP and put out the first single Found Me on May 1, and the second single My Own Worst Enemy on June 12. It’s been so wonderful to introduce fans to a new part of me through this music, and this EP feels like the first time I’ve made music with no boundaries.

Your new single ‘My Own Worst Enemy’ was written with Alex Lahey, how did you come to work with Alex?
Alex and I met last year in Nashville after I watched her play an incredible gig with her band at the Exit / In. After the show, we met up at Dino’s – Nashville’s greattest dive bar – for a greasy burger and a couple of months later, we got together in Melbourne to write. I’ve always been such a fan of Alex’s music and I was so grateful that she was keen to write together.

What influenced the sound and songwriting?
For me, Alex’s music was a big influence on this song, and I really love the way her DNA is infused into the track since she plays a bunch of guitars and synths on the final version. When we got together to write, we had a bit of a geek out about Phoebe Bridgers and Taylor Swift’s 1989 record, and both those artists ended up being influences on the song too.

Please tell us how the single was written:
Alex and I sat down in a Native Tongue writing room in Melbourne, cups of coffee in hand, and somehow, amidst the random lyric ideas and complaints about the history of my love life pouring out of me, we ended up talking about the feeling of being gaslit in a relationship. It’s awful when someone makes you feel like you’re crazy or paranoid for feeling a certain way, and I know so many people have experienced this disqualification of their feelings from someone they care about. 

The idea of being called “your own worst enemy” because you’re supposedly overreacting is something that can lead a lot of people to feel worthless and helpless in a relationship. So I liked the idea of writing this defiant, confident reply saying “you can’t turn me out”, which is a reference to gaslighting and the origin of the expression being from the 1938 stage play Gas Light, where a husband tries to manipulate his wife into questioning her own sanity and perception by, among other things, dimming the house’s gas lights and telling her continually that she is mistaken in thinking it’s getting darker.

Where and when did you record and who with?
We recorded this song and the whole upcoming EP in LA this past January with a great crew, at the core of which was producer Mike Bloom, engineer Will Golden, my manager Jeremy Dylan and myself. We also had some incredible musicians come in to play on the record, including Rock N Roll Hall of Famers, Pete Thomas (Elvis Costello and the Attractions) and Benmont Tench (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers). We ended up keeping a bunch of the initial guitars and synths that Alex had laid down on the demo version of the song, because we really loved what she had done and wanted to keep her flavour as an artist on the track.

How did you approach the recording process?
We had such a fulfilling time in the studio recording this track, and the entire EP. For My Own Worst Enemy in particular, my favourite memory of the recording process was having Pete Thomas come in and lay down the drums. This was the song we started with on the day he came in, and hearing Pete count in and then start playing this thunderous beat to one of my songs was a true joy and one of the most beautiful, surreal experiences I’ve had in my career so far. 

What does this song mean to you?
To me, this song means standing up for yourself when you’re being undermined in some way. We’ve all been there, whether it’s with a lover, family member, friend or work colleague. It’s important to back yourself and your own gut feelings and know when you’re being manipulated.

How has the feedback been from your recently released single ‘Found Me’?
The feedback for Found Me has been overwhelmingly beautiful. It is certainly the introduction to a new era and a new sound for me, so to see people welcoming the song into their lives with so much love was truly thrilling. I also absolutely loved hearing from people who explained that the song gave them confidence to believe in themselves again after a difficult break up which had made them doubt themselves.

Please tell us about the making of the EP which will be released on August 21, also available for Pre Order now:
Recording this EP, The Making of Me, was one of the most joyous and liberating experiences of my life. Working with Mike, Will and Jeremy brought out a confidence in me I had always sought to capture in the studio. The team’s willingness to embrace a multitude of musical inspirations meant that we felt we were making music that sounded like nothing I’d ever recorded before, but somehow felt more me than anything I’d ever made. 

We were referencing wildly different artists, from Prince to Maggie Rogers to Weyes Blood, and I loved the fact that no one ever asked “What genre of music are we making?”

We also got into a great groove during the recording process. I was staying in LA for a few weeks and I’d get up every day, go for a run around Silver Lake, get some coffee and head to the studio, where we’d work all day, call it at a decent hour and sometimes go out for dinner and a drink or two before calling it a night. It was a very civilised and healthy way to record, and I felt like we were all working at full capacity for that reason. Everyone on the team was a huge pleasure to work with, and I couldn’t have asked for better folks to make a record with.

How has your ‘Found Me’ virtual tour been as an experience, what have you found most rewarding and challenging?
I have absolutely loved bringing people these new songs via such an intimate set of shows, where each show has a different theme/instrument. Although I’d love to be playing for crowds in person, this is literally the next best possible opportunity we’ve had to share music with one another lately. 

We felt it was important for the shows to be ticketed (even in the pay-what-you-can model) and to make the production quality way higher than just me on my iPhone, so we’ve had Dan Hartley-Allen, who has shot most of my music videos, making it look and sound amazing, to try and give people the feeling they’d have if they were actually in the front row of one of my in-person shows.

It has been incredibly rewarding sharing all the songs from the new EP, most of which are currently unreleased, and seeing people’s reactions to this new material. All the shows so far have been sold out, which is really special. It’s been challenging to play a full show without the give and take of an in-person audience, but I’m grateful that we live in a time where this sort of online connection is even possible.

What do you like to do away from music?
This question always scares me because music takes up pretty much my entire life, but in the small gaps in between, I like to hang out with my dog Socks (a rescue mutt with about 7 breeds in her – she’s cute as hell!) and keep fit with my fantastic personal trainer Manal Garcia. I’m also very into acting, although I don’t get a chance to do it a lot. 

Who are you listening to at the moment?

At the moment, I’m really digging Kira Puru’s latest single ‘Idiot’ and Briggs’ ‘Extra Extra’ and I’m obsessively listening to a few albums front to back: Lennon Stella’s ‘Three. Two. One.’, Ruston Kelly’s ‘Dying Star’, Christian Lee Hutson’s ‘Beginners’, and Maggie Rogers’ ‘Heard It In A Past Life’.

What’s planned for the rest of 2020?
I’ll be working hard on releasing my EP in August and as soon as it’s safe to get out there touring again, I will! Until that is possible, I’ll be doing my best to find ways of getting this new music out there and celebrating its release, and also working on some skill-based learning to make sure I’m not completely rusty when I do get back out on the road.

Favourite food and place to hang out?
My two favourite foods are sushi and pizza (not simultaneously), and I love to hang out at Low 302, my favourite venue in Sydney.

Where are you currently based?

I’m currently based in Manchester, UK

How did you first start playing music?

It was a natural progression which stemmed from just loving music, to then going out to clubs, buying a set of turntables, then CDjs and I’ve not looked back since. 

How has your COVID19 experience been so far?

It’s been up and down really, I’ve kept myself really busy doing things I’ve been meaning to do for ages but I’m slowly running out of those jobs now. We recently moved into a new home at the start of the year so we’ve been doing lots on the house. 

What have you been working on recently?

Lately in the studio, I’ve been working on a new sound, something a bit darker with more of an old school feeling. I don’t have any definitive dates for when the new stuff I’ve been working on in lockdown will be released, but I’ve been enjoying making it. 

Your single ‘Deeper Expectancy’ is coming out on Umek’s 1605 Label on May 29th, what influenced the sound and songwriting for this track?

I wanted to make something deeper and darker than my previous work. I knew that I wanted a hypnotic sequenced bassline with fast-rolling drums, something for the darker sides of sets and late nights.

Where and when did you record/produce?

In my studio in Manchester, which is above my music school. It was done around February time before all of this started. I was playing shows and had some longer sets that needed records for transitioning into darker and deeper sounds. 

What programs/equipment  do you use to record/produce?

D16 Punchbox, Trillian for Bass, Rob Papen Preditor 2, Rozzer Sequencer, Soundtoys, Breeze 2 rebverb, UAD mastering plugs.

You have another release coming out soon on Terminal M, please tell us more:

It’s a 4 track EP, which ranges from Acid to melodic, to trancey rave stuff – bit of something for everyone on that release. 

You’ve just launched your monthly radio show ‘Moments In Time Radio’ how did the radio show come about and how has the experience been so far?

I’m really enjoying it, especially with having a lack of shows at the moment. It’s nice to plan it out and record something. 

What do you have planned for ‘Moments In Time Radio’?

To start with it’ll be one per month but once we have it established, I plan for it to go weekly and feature a lot more guests and people who are releasing on the label, as well as some friends from the industry. 

Please tell us about your new sample pack:

The first sample pack of the series has been done as a Rudosa style sample pack, with signature sounds and loops, even vocals done by myself for people to use in records. It’s perfect for beginners straight through to established producers.

Who are you listening to at the moment?

Im listening to more music than ever at the moment. I’m buying more in lockdown than I would be if I were touring as usual – it’s crazy. I’ve been getting vinyl records delivered as I’ve had more time to get on discogs and dig around on YouTube – I’ve almost completed Bandcamp haha. 

 I’ve really gotten into some faster-paced music the past few months, old school sounds, Alignment, Blicz, Airod, Hadone, Inhalt Der Nacht just to name a few.

What do you like to do away from music?

I play golf, go for walks, bike rides (when I don’t fall off and break my bike). I spend a lot of time catching up with friends so looking forward to doing that again when lockdown is lifted. 

What’s planned for 2020?

I think we will start by planning a UK tour as I feel this will be the first place, venue wise, to open up to me, then start looking to rebuild things in Europe and worldwide. 

Favourite food and place to hangout?

There are so many great places just in Manchester alone to try, and as soon as they reopen I’ll be going to many of my favorite places to support them. If I had to pick one I’d say Cottonoplois in the Northern Quarter, but I will be doing a food and booze crawl asap haha. I’m also really starting to miss Ibiza and with no trips planned it’s quite depressing, so I will be heading over there as soon as possible.

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What is Your Name and Role Within Peak Park?

Hey my name is Mitch Summers, I’m the lead vocalist and rhythm guitar player for Peak Park. Additionally, as is the case with all our band members, I have played an active role in our songwriting process, predominantly contributing to melody, lyrics, soundscape and structure for our most recent releases.

Where are you currently based?

We are currently based in the South-East suburbs of Melbourne (technically on the Mornington Peninsula). We spend most of our time at Cal’s house in his super-groovy bungalow out back.

How did you first start playing music?

I first started playing music in grade 2 when I was about 10 by learning the guitar. When me and my sisters were little my Dad would serenade us with some of his favourite songs on guitar, introducing me to classic tracks like Space Oddity (David Bowie) and Leaving on a Jet Plane (John Denver). At the time he had me utterly convinced that he himself wrote the songs, so much so that when I heard them on the radio, I was annoyed that they’d ripped off my Dad’s music. I mainly learned the guitar through the chords Dad taught me and then through YouTube, but it was always with the intention of singing along to my own playing, and so naturally singing progressed along with my guitar playing and was never something I really had to teach myself, purely because when I played I sung.

Your new single ‘Please Don’t Be So Hard On Yourself’ is out now, what influenced the sound and songwriting?

Because we’d been working on this song for around six months, the influence pool was quite large for this track and was constantly evolving as time went on, depending on how the vibe of the song was feeling over time. Some definite influences during this time were artists like Mansionair and Rufus, along with Radiohead and Billie Eillish. In terms of songwriting, Tom came up with this incredible marimba loop in the very early stages, and that pulsing, thumping kick is what has driven the song through the whole writing process. We wanted a song that felt like it was pushing and moving with force and purpose, while overlaying it with vocals that were scattered, spaced out and dissolving into themselves.

Lyrically, the song deals with struggling with mental health, and notes experiences of anxious thought spirals that cause anxiety and a feeling of hopelessness. It also deals with the internal stigma that opening up to someone is something to feel shameful about, and that to do so is to burden them with your feelings. The lyrics are largely based on personal experience, and try to depict how it feels to be overwhelmed by the number, and severity of ones own thoughts and emotions.

How did you go about writing this track?

This track has been in the works for a long time, longer than we’ve ever spent on any song before. Initially it started with a few chords that I thought sounded interesting that I played to the guys, and the next week Tom had configured this really cool marimba loop based on the chords, and the song grew from there. The main focus was always the pulse of the bass and kick, along with the boppiness of the marimba loop. The goal had always been to eventually lead to a more atmospheric explosion of sound, which it does, however quite late into the process we thought a section following the ‘climax’ would be really interesting and complicate the feeling of the song even more.

The main line and eventual title of the song ‘Please Don’t Be So Hard On Yourself’ actually came from one of our jam sessions in which we were trying to come up with vocal ideas by literally just looping the song and forcing ourselves to sing something, until Tom came up with the line Please Don’t Be So Hard on Yourself. A call and response happening between Tom and Cal (singing please don’t be so hard on yourself) and me making up a line that would later become the lyric ‘Don’t Give Me Up’ that you can hear in the back of the mix. I wrote the rest of the melody and vocals a couple of weeks later, centered around these kinds of ideas, and reflecting on particular thoughts I was having around this time.

Please tell us about the bands DIY approach to recording and production:

It’s interesting thinking about this, because we’ve only ever recorded and produced our own stuff, so it seems perfectly standard to me on the inside, but isn’t this case for a lot of artists. There’s obviously pros and cons to doing this for us; we get to have full creative control of the sound, we can give ideas plenty of time to develop and grow without the pressure of deadlines and time constraints weighing on us. At the same time, it means that we have had to put in a lot of work behind the scenes than we otherwise might have had to, particularly in relation to mixing, which Tom has done for every song for us.

It also means we’ve had to put ourselves through a lot of trial and error along the way having no real experience in the field, to try to get a sound that sounded both professional, and how we wanted it to. Sometimes a professional sound is hard to achieve if the equipment and set-up itself doesn’t feel professional, and this has been a definite challenge for us along the way, but one we feel we have been able to overcome through a fair bit of experimentation. We’re still learning HEAPS about the process with every new release, but this one feels like a massive step for us on both a professional and creative level.

Where and When did you record?

Most of the vocals and bass were recorded at Cal’s house, and the guitars, along with the mixing was done at Tom’s house. Because we’re self-recorded and produced, we have the benefit of being able to record really whenever we want. Weirdly enough we often record, mix, and write a song all at the same time as one big process, this song being no exception. So we would often draft an idea for the song, Tom would incorporate it into the mix, we’d record it properly if it needed it, and then move on to other ideas. So our process of writing and recording a song kind of happens all at once. We had essentially finished all of our recordings just before the start of the COVID crisis, so fortunately it didn’t affect the work on this release as much as it could have.

What programs/ instruments did you use?

This song has a fair bit going on in terms of instrumentation; guitars, vocals, bass, synths, sequencers, modulated and acoustic drums, a subtle brass section towards the end of the song and some resampled vocal work to top it off. What is probably most notable to me however is the amount of layers that we managed to put in the song with the final the Logic file nearing 200 total tracks. What’s interesting is that a lot of the effects and sounds, including all of the drums, were done entirely on Logic, as we weren’t able to record them in real life. I think it’s a testament to Tom’s mixing ability as to how convincing each part sounds in the end.

 How did you approach the recording process?

As I touched on a bit before, we recorded, wrote, and mixed this song all as one big process, so a lot of the recording was done on the go when we decided to throw something into the mix. The vocals were probably the major ‘recording session’ focus we had, in which we did actually spend a solid couple of days trying to fully flesh everything out. We knew we wanted the song to have a lot of vocal lines and layers, and so this was probably the most time consuming recording that we did for any one instrument. We also dedicated a session to getting Cal to record the bass for the finished product. Other than that, most of the recording (including the guitars) was done either by Tom at home, or by drafting ideas together in a jam and then refining them and recording them as we went.

Where can we listen?

Our new single, along with all of our other music, is available on all streaming platforms. This includes Spotify, Apple Music, Triple J Unearthed, Soundcloud, Bandcamp, and YouTube (Links down below!)

What do you like to do away from music?

If I’m not playing music I usually like to be active and do some form of exercise every day, and then usually spend time hanging with friends or playing videogames (League of Legends a big one there). I also have a habit of watching a lot of YouTube.

Who are you listening to at the moment?

Currently still listening to Stella Donnelly’s debut album which is an absolute treat please check it out if you haven’t, as well a fair bit of Joji, Billie Eillish, and Two People. And then as always my standard daily dose of Radiohead for good measure.

What’s planned for 2020?

With everything changing as it is at the minute it’s hard for us to have a fully locked in plan, but at the minute we plan on running out this release and uploading a stack of supporting content that we’ve been working on behind the scenes, and then probably start looking towards finishing writing, recording and releasing a couple of new tracks we’ve got in the works later in the year. On the gigging front, we’re super hopeful that the Aus live music scene will be back on its feet as soon as it can be so that we will be able to give these new singles proper launch releases. Obviously it’s super important for this crisis to be dealt with properly however, so in the meantime we’ll just be keeping insanely active on all our socials to keep providing content to people and doing what we love as best as we can.

Favourite food and place to hangout?

Tough one. On the savoury side I’m a bit of a sucker for a bit of Guzman and Gomez, can’t really go past a spicy burrito with guac. On the sweet side, I usually can’t say no to a cheeky Krispy Kreme donut. I don’t really have a favourite one place to hang out, I’m usually just down to hang out with friends, wherever that is. If there’s food, I’ll be there.

Handle: @thisispeakpark

Website:                   https://www.thisispeakpark.com/

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

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

Triple J Unearthed:   https://www.triplejunearthed.com/artist/peak-park

Spotify:                    https://open.spotify.com/artist/3mQFEozQvou2miIjMxWVcH

Apple Music:                   https://music.apple.com/us/artist/peak-park/1464838695

Soundcloud:             https://soundcloud.com/peakpark

Bandcamp:               https://peakpark.bandcamp.com/

When and how did you first get into making music?

I started out making music as part of a high school band when I was 14. This led to song writing and production in my late teen years while studying at University. My early inspirations for creating music came from listening to Kanye West’s singles from 808’s and heartbreak, and the song writing aspect came heavily influenced by Drake.

How would you describe your music style to someone who doesn’t know you?

My music can be both a mix of R&B and Melodic Hip Hop. I usually switch between the two and I enjoy making one as I do the other. Sound-wise it’s ominous and the lyrics always tell a story that people can relate to.

Your Newest single Reload came out on the 29th of May, tell us more about it:

Reload’ is basically my come-back single after a few months off since my EP ‘Come Alive’. I just wanted to get a lot of things off my chest. The track expresses my ability to reset and keep moving, despite the barriers I encounter.

Musically, I worked with an up and coming producer, FRAAN, who’s known for his high-octane hip-hop productions to create this beat. The track has a lot of energy!

We also dropped a music video on the 25th of May so be sure to check it out! 

(Link: https://youtu.be/EJBrQctCxco)

What’s the first song you remember liking?

Homecoming and Heartless by Kanye West.

Who are your biggest influences?

Kanye, Drake, and The Weeknd. Here’s why.

The Weeknd is the greatest ‘artist’ alive right now. He covers a theme, has insane production and great melodies. Drake because of his simple but effective lyricism and Kanye because he’s just the GOAT..

Who is Lakshane outside of the music game?

I’m a pretty laid back guy and a nerd with music. I love events and being out and about if I’m not in my studio. I’m always sprinting up new ideas and love executing them, whether it’s with music or my work career.

What’s your outlook on Australia’s music scene at the moment?

Australia’s Hip Hop scene is definitely in its International boom right now.  I feel like we still have to find what makes us unique instead of adopting or copying others, Youngn Lipz, Chillinit, and Kid Laroi definitely bringing that though. I hope we can move past the boom-bap and onto something new.

With R&B there’s a lot of artists killing it from AU who aren’t talked about like the rappers. They’re putting up great numbers and doing big things. Let’s hope we can make Australia’s urban music industry more profitable for artists.

Who do you want to work with in the future?

From AU I’d love to collab with Youngn Lipz and Chillinit. International wise Saint Jhn, and maybe Drake!

Where are you currently based and how did you wind up there?

I’m currently based in the central highlands of Bali, Indonesia. The waves initially brought me here, I landed a 6 month surf coaching job just as the English winter was about to begin in 2010. It’s been my home base ever since.

How did you first start playing music and singing?

My dad taught me guitar at age 11 but a had piano lessons since I was 6. He and my mum were big Beatles fans and he would teach me a lot of their songs. I especially remember learning blackbird in the garden along with my brother – this was my first intro to fingerpicking. I overcame the ‘singing whilst playing conundrum’ pretty quickly somehow, so I was blessed in that sense, I learnt a bunch of songs from tablature from the internet and from my dads books ranging from Black Sabbath to Van Morrison. My first live song performance was at a friends living room and we only played one song, Daytripper!

How have you been dealing with the current COVID19 situation?

It’s a shocking time and I’m doing my best to stay positive. I’ve been keeping  busy inside recording, I have an album of songs ready to get down and my plan is to release them as singles as I go. I’ve also been getting into some gardening that I’ve been wanting to do for a while but never made the time – it’s nice to do something different and give my ears a break for a day or two. I really like the idea of growing your own food and being self sufficient, plus it feels great to be out in nature. It’s super easy to do in the tropics because everything grows so fast.

You have a new single ‘Lucky Kid’ out now, what influenced the sound and songwriting for this track?

Lucky Kid is a kind of postcard to myself. A reminder of where I’ve come from and what I’ve got to be grateful for. It came to me one day out of nowhere and I wrote the whole thing at the kitchen table in one sitting, which is super rare for me. I always have this nostalgic feeling when I play the song live and I wanted to capture that when it came to recording, which meant performance was key, so there weren’t many takes and it all came together quite quickly.

How did you go about writing Lucky Kid?

It was this rare moment where everything happened at once. I was hanging around downstairs with my acoustic guitar drinking tea and thinking of England and how I got to where I was, just playing around with a few chords and all of a sudden the verse melody came to me and I just started writing out what came into my head.

How and when did you record/produce Lucky Kid and what programs equipment did you use?

I recorded and released Lucky Kid in April 2020. I have a little wooden bungalow next to my house that I use as a studio. It’s helpful to have all my gear and instruments set up so I can just go in when I feel like it. I use an Apogee Duet as my audio interface and Logic X. My go to mic is the Rode NT1a, I also use other condensers and dynamics for different purposes. I started by laying down a scratch guitar and vocal and making sure the tempo is right, then add a live performance of my kick and tambourine and make sure it’s in time. Then once the song is mapped properly I can comfortably go for a real guitar take, then vocals/harmonica and slide guitars and light percussion were added after.

How did you learn how to record/produce?

I’ve always been messing around with recording since I was a kid and I used this Tascam 4 track that was my brothers, but never had any formal training. I schooled myself from copious YouTube videos and blogs and just learnt what I needed to know as I went along – a kind of trial and error approach. By no means am I a pro but I know what I want the song to sound like and I’m now proficient in the various parts of the process to get a decent version down.

Please tell us about how you came to send the mix to a guy in Amsterdam that he ran through his Ampex Analogtape machine, how did this come about and how did the process effect the track?

I sent the mix of Lucky Kid to a friend and we were discussing tape vs digital sound. We started riffing about sending digital mixes through a tape machine to see what it would sound like. I was curious to do an experiment, so after some googling I found this guy in Amsterdam at Lullabye Studios who had an Ampex Tape Machine from the 60’s. So I flipped him the mix and he put it through in various speeds and saturation and sent back 4 different versions. I could really tell the difference, the guitar and vocal and percussion seemed more present to me. I chose the 15IPS setting with normal saturation, It just sounded more full, thicker and clean. Some of the other variations sounded cool but at 7.5IPS with higher saturation it just sounded too gritty for this acoustic song. It was amazing really to be able to do this process remotely. It doesn’t beat actually recording everything to tape of course, but you can get a little bit of that analog colour on your mix for a small price, and I’m stoked with how it turned out. I’ll definitely be doing this with more of my recordings.

Where, when and how did you master Lucky Kid?

So I received the mix after it had gone through the tape machine and I mastered it myself here at home. The process it quite simple really, you are in essence just making the track louder and balanced. I usually just do a bit of EQ, light compression and make sure the loudness meets the optimised standard for streaming platforms like Spotify etc.

What did you find most challenging and rewarding through the process?

I normally have a hard time getting my acoustic guitar to sound good, it’s often quite boomy and involves heavy EQ in the mix, but I played around with some unusual microphone placements and found a spot near my strumming elbow that required almost no EQ whatsoever. I think mic placement is super important and it’s something I’ve overlooked previously.

Where can we listen/buy?

Go over to Spotify, Apple Music or any music platform to listen to Lucky Kid. Its available to purchase on iTunes and Bandcamp too.

Who are you listening to at the moment?

I’ve been listening to the Beatles recordings a lot at the moment, they are just fantastic and always inspire me to get into the studio. Been getting into some Dr Dog, Phil Cook and Hiss Golden Messenger to name a few.

What do you like to do away from music?

I really like to travel so I try and go somewhere new each year. I feel like it’s important to go somewhere so I can come back with new ideas and experiences that can weave their way into the music.

Favourite food and place to hangout?

My girlfriend and I have been trying out new recipes and there’s lot of yum food coming out of our kitchen right now. And since I decided to be vegetarian 2 years ago it’s opened my eyes to a whole new world of dishes, hence to say I’ve never looked back. So, actually here at home is my favourite place to eat and hang out right now, and it’s the safest! Plus all my dogs are here too, they love that I’m home so much.

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