Where are you currently based?
We’re based in Sydney, creating on the lands of the Gadigal and Wallumettagal people
of the Eora nation, and the Norongerragal people of the Dharawal Nation.
How did you first start playing music?
I think collectively we all grew up as sort of shy kids who found it hard to make friends, and each managed to find some solace and friendship in these inanimate musical objects instead.
Please tell us how the group formed and your origins:
We’re a collective of seven friends who have really become each other’s chosen family in some truly dark days. The group really started as a bunch of individual friendships, going all the way back when Tim and Ally met in high school. Over the last few years, all those friendships have amalgamated into this shared space built on creating these songs and videos together. The process was really one of inviting friends to collaborate, adding members one by one, until the collective as it is now eventually came to be.
What’s been happening recently?
In October we put out our first single, GOD DAMN LEDs.
Tim and Ally are both studying and have been in a pit of research and writing.
Carlo’s been planning the future of Sydney.
Jackson’s been zooming around in his van fixing coffee machines.
Zac’s been composing a score for a short film.
Jay and Jess have been getting paid to make TikToks and renovating their flat, which is actually a palace for their dogs.
What is your intention for your music and group?
We really just want to be the Brockhampton of sad indie music.
Your debut single ‘God Damn Leds’ is out now, what influenced the sound and songwriting?
In writing GOD DAMN LEDs, we wanted to make something expansive and cinematic like The National or Arcade Fire, but with the melodic and lyrical content of something more like The 1975 or Phoebe Bridgers.
How did you go about writing God Damn Leds and what does this track mean to you?
GOD DAMN LEDs was written in a couple of bedrooms before fleshing it out in the studio and turning it into what it is today. The song is speaking directly to someone who makes you feel seen, heard and important enough to stay alive. It describes the moment when you finally begin to lower your guard; letting this person take the emotional driver’s seat when you feel like it’s not safe for you to drive.
It’s as desperate-making as it is cathartic to realise that someone else has taken the responsibility for your own wellbeing onto their shoulders. While it is an incredibly unfair and ultimately unsustainable expectation to put on someone, there is still something beautiful about feeling safe enough to let it happen, even if only for a fleeting moment.
Where and when did you record/produce/master and who with?
The song was mostly recorded between Tim’s bedroom and The Parliament Studios a little over a year ago. It was mixed by Phan Sjarif at Parliament in the first half of this year, and mastered by Darren Ziesing in July. That dude’s elusive, no one actually knows where he is.
How did you approach the recording process?
We really approached the recording process like we’re starting with a blank canvas, letting everyone throw everything they’ve got at it until we peel it back and let the song reveal what it wants to be.
What influenced the video concept?
We wanted the video to convey the warmth that comes with having such pure adoration for others and the closeness that can be found in the darkest of moments. The idea for telling a story about a mother and daughter embarking on a journey through grief and heartbreak came as a bit of a lightbulb moment and felt like a poignant way to explore the complexities of love and loss.
Where and when did you film the video and who with?
The video was filmed back on a super cold weekend in April this year. We shot in Leichhardt in Sydney’s inner west, as well as Munmorah State Conservation Area and at Snapper Point up on the Central Coast. We’d like to acknowledge the Darkinjung people of the Kuringgai Nation and the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation as the traditional custodians of the land on which we filmed. This land always was and always will be Aboriginal land.
The video was shot by collective member Jay Wennington, who’s got such an amazing ability to tell visual stories with immediate emotional depth and nuance. It stars actors Lauren Clarke and Isla Wilson, who brought the story to life so beautifully.
What do you like to do away from music?
Mostly you’ll find us drinking tea, having baths and baking.
Who are you listening to at the moment?
Charli Adams
Black Country, New Road
BLESSED
What’s planned for the remainder of 2021 going into 2022?
We’re gearing up to start releasing a body of work next year and spending a bunch of time making our next batch of songs. Otherwise, just taking a lot of baths.
Favourite food and place to hangout?
Favourite food is chilli and lime soy crisps, and favourite place to hang out is, as established, in the bath.
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube
