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Where are you currently based?
Geographically, in Melbourne, emotionally, somewhere on another planet.
What’s been happening recently and how has your Covid experience been so far?
We’ve just come back from seeing our beautiful friends & family in Perth which was such a huge opposite to what our COVID experience was. No friends to so many friends, feeling depressed to crying with laughter. The only constant has been we drank and ate way too much.
Your new EP ‘Starters & Appetizers will be out Feb 19 2021, what influenced the sound and songwriting?
We wanted a bright, 80s pop sound that sparkled with a little mystery & weirdness. We wrote all the songs during lockdown so a lot of those feels are incorporated into a few melodic moments and definitely through the lyrics. When you’re stuck at home by yourself, you start reflecting on things a little too much, and so a lot of the lyrics are reflections on past experiences and feelings.
Where and when did you record/produce/master and who with?
We recorded & produced everything in house, and by that we literally mean in the house. Noni recorded vocals in a wardrobe padded with yoga mats. One of our super talented friends Joel Dowling mixed all the tracks for us – all of his stuff is bloody incredible and has worked with so many cool artists like Matt Corby & Samsaruh.
The EP covers various topics of depression, anxiety / social anxiety, heartbreak and finding out who you are, how did you approach the writing process?
It was different with each song… For Jules, he would be up late with a bottle of wine and a MIDI keyboard – definitely how all the melancholic magic happens. For me, I would often lock myself in a room and listen to the Jules’s track over and over again until something stuck. One of the songs took 10 minutes to write, the other took 5 weeks. I think that time alone & apart from each other allowed for an introspective & emotional canvas.
Please describe a bit about the background of each track:
Track 1: Butterflies & SSRIs
This is an instrumental track that we hope paints a melodic journey about addressing depression & anxiety through therapy and medication (SSRIs) and finally being able to function and see the world in colour for the first time. For Jules, this has been a super long journey and so we felt it would be perfect to open the EP with an instrumental that would frame the topics of each track after – there are a bunch of different elements that you’ll hear repeated in other tracks to draw the whole thing together.
Track 2: Ultra Passion
We originally released this Nov 1st last year. Ultra Passion is about foolishly jumping into a bad relationship with your heart on your sleeve and having it break your heart. For me, this recounts a particularly heartbreaking time in my life. The first line sums up the song: “21 and a fool, we didn’t know what we were doing.”
Track 3: Sober Spaceman
Another re-release from last December. This one is about being held back from making decisions in life for fear of disappointment and living life passively on ‘autopilot’ because of crippling anxiety. Almost like you’re floating through space, unable to redirect where you’re going in life and finally sobering up to the reality of the situation.
Track 4: Sad Champagne
Is about trying not to jump into a relationship after heartbreak – not wanting to be alone, but knowing that you need to be alone to heal, and reflecting on the brokenness of past relationships.
Track 5: Private Wine
Story through an introvert’s eyes at a party and struggling to ‘be normal’ and fit, because of social anxiety. I wrote the lyrics to this one with Jules in mind. It’s about finally finding your rhythm and ‘dance’ in life, something we both found in 2020.
What did you find most challenging and rewarding through out the creation of the EP?
I think its always tricky working with your romantic partner, and we both have very different working styles and processes. But the reward was the fact that we produced this together and got through it on the other side and we still like working together.
Who are you listening to at the moment?
I’m listen to RAYE (@raye), LEON (@Leon), & SayGrace (@callmesaygrace). All powerhouse female artists.
What do you like to do away from music?
Personally I like to binge watch TV shows on Netflix, nap, eat and clean – I guess classic traits you’d find in most Racoons. For us, a perfect day is a drive down to Mornington listening to music and then grabbing a gin & tonic.
What’s planned for 2021?
Fingers crossed our first show! We’ve got a bunch of new singles lined up after the EP (some cool collabs in the mix). Also a sneaky music video or two.
Favourite food and place to hangout?
Definitely Japanese – we are huge suckers for ramen, particularly Shujinko in the city, hands down best ramen in Melbourne. I love a trip to the National Gallery of Victoria – it’s super igniting on a creative level, plus I love to make memes out of the Renaissance paintings.
