Music Interviews | The Partae

Where are you currently based and what is the music scene like there? Currently in Narrabeen in Sydney, the scene on the beaches isn’t too bad and Sydney overall is really pretty good, The last few years have seen a heap of really good rooms of all different sizes really flourish. How did you first start playing music? I started learning guitar when I was about 12, I’d had piano lessons a few years before that, but I was never really that interested in the piano, wish I’d stuck with that now though. Started playing in bands around 13 or 14 at school, mainly cover bands, which I found a bit boring so started writing some of my own stuff. What's been happening recently? We’ve just been flat out rehearsing for the upcoming Album tour in April / May, as well as starting to sort songs for the next album, can’t wait to start playing this tour though, Hoping the dreaded Covid19 doesn’t stop people heading out to local shows. Your new album 'World Keeps Turning' is out on the 27th of March, what influenced the sound and songwriting for this album? We really wanted to make an album that would be listened to as an album, not just a bunch of songs or a few singles and fillers, we worked pretty hard to pick the 10 tracks that we thought fit together best and also kept interest throughout the whole LP, Influences for this one have come from all over the place, we’re 90’s kids at heart, bands like Dinosaur Jr, Sugar, melodic pop punk had a big influence on a lot of the guitar sounds, I would like to think that we have found our own sound by now too and the album also sounds pretty unique to the Tshitaki sound. How did you go about writing the music? I’ll usually get a riff or melody stuck in my head and we are pretty luck these days with things like iPhones that we can just put the idea straight down into a voice memo and then work it out later, I find lots of songs come along while travelling or walking, I guess it’s a repetitive rhythm sort of thing, once I have the riff and melody down it’s a matter of demoing at home then bringing the idea in to jam it after that, lyrics usually come after for me, I find it’s easier once the song has a feel to write about a particular subject or theme. Where and when did you record and who with? Early last year we built a studio in my factory where we rehearse, I have the control room there as well, the 2 rooms are separated by about 30 meters of multicore that runs across a driveway through a pvc pipe, we did all the tracking there between August and September, We had heaps of fun trying out different mics, different amps, different direction set ups, took us a couple of months to finish tracking, then we sent to Lachlan Mitchell to mix, I’ve worked with Lachlan before and really like the mixes he’s done, from there it went to Joe Carra’ at Crystal Mastering down in Melbourne for a fine polish in mastering. How did you approach the songwriting process? We took our time with this bunch, I’d bring a riff or an idea in and we’d jam it for a bit and see if it worked, if it did I’d start trying different melodies over the top of it and then we’d feel it out and structure it from there, there were a bunch of songs that didn’t make it on, not because they weren’t good songs, more because they didn’t feel right with the rest. How did the concept come about for the ‘Inside Out' film clip? We wanted it to be create a raw, pretty live feeling clip, the original idea was to have ½ the clip inside and then the other half outside, unfortunately our Aussie summer served us up about 2 weeks of straight rain in the window we had to shoot the clip, so change of plans and location, we ended up at an amazing property in North Western Sydney that Mullo’s (bass) had been working on throughout the summer installing a bushfire sprinkler system, It kind of turned out really well because if it wasn’t for the rain, we probably wouldn’t have gotten to use this awesome space. The song is about the internal battle we go through of what we want and what we really need, We’re pretty stoked to get this one out there! Where and when did you film and who with? North West Sydney in an amazing recycled timber barn, this place was really quite amazing in the middle of the bush with no houses for miles, We pulled our old mate ‘Fox’ Damien Foxton up to direct and edit the clip and Ash Brennan was behind the camera, these guys are awesome, Shelly, who’s Ash’s partner was assisting for the shoot as well, Heaps of fun! How was the filming/editing experience? It was heaps of fun; we left most of that to Fox. You have an Australian tour kicking off In April, how do you prepare for live shows and what do you have planned for this tour? It’ll be loud, full of melodic fuzz and the drums will literally beat whatever is left of this Corona Virus within 100km to a pulp, we’ve had a pretty hectic rehearsal schedule leading up to these shows, I think we’ve been in the rehearsal room for about 15hours a week for the last month, Going hard. Any show that you are really looking forward to playing? All of them really, It’s our first time in Melbourne and QLD so we’re really looking forward to those legs, And we always love playing in our hometown Sydney, We’re just really keen to play these songs into of a whole bunch of new ears and hope to make a bunch of new friends along the way. What do you like to do away from music? Surfing, love just being in the water, Camping and going on adventures with my dogs, I have a cattle x and a dingo, we love tracking into the bush and getting in touch with nature, besides that, work, but we all gotta eat ;-), works not so bad, I run a screen printing company, so it’s a lot of fun too. Who are you listening to at the moment? Tropical Fuck Storm, Amyl and the Sniffers, Plants from Wollongong, Don’t Praise the Machine, Major Arcana have all been getting a regular spin lately, but during the recording, especially while I was writing the lyrics, I was going back to old favorites like Paul Kelly, Gareth Liddiard, the Drones and Steve Poltz gave me a lot of a good kick in the pants to write better songs lyrically. What's planned for 2020? Cure for COVID-19 hopefully!!, then we can get back on the road, we’ll start working on the new album around August, until then we are on the road around Australia, (virus permitting), we had plans to head to Japan and Indonesia in June/July but it looks like the world may be in a total shutdown now ;-(( Favorite food and place to hangout? The Beach and the Mountains, I did a 2 week road trip in February and found some awesome spots on the mid north coast of NSW, such a magical part of the world, favorite food, how can I pick, Chocolate, Humus and Mexican, Love a Taco salad with a nice Pale Ale! Yes!

$Where are you currently based and what is the music scene like? We're based in Canberra, ACT. The music scene is great. There's always good bands to see at Smiths Alternative, The Transit Bar - and we love The Basement. There's some great bands and artists here. We're big fans of Citizen Kay and Witchskull :-) How did you first start playing music? Imitating and playing along to our favourite bands, then later on jamming with friends. We all started playing music very young and we’ve all come from diverse musical backgrounds. How did Glitoris form? It was magic. Witches were involved, obviously. What's been happening recently? We've been busy preparing for our tour! It's really exciting to be going all over the country. Slut Power is the last single to be taken from our album ‘The Policy’. It’s our live anthem and the song we feel has resonated at our live shows the most. So we decided to give it the single, video and tour treatment. How did you go about writing Slut Power? / Your new single 'Slut Power' is out on the 14th of February, what influenced the sound and songwriting for this single? Musically, it began as a laid back riff - Malcolm started it off with the bass line. It's a slower than average tempo by design. We wanted it to sound ominous and sparse at the beginning and build. It was designed to reflect violence against women and how it starts with the language people use to describe women; it's a completely different, and far more negative, lexicon than words used to describe the same behaviours in men. These words are common, everyday vernacular, which reflects how deeply embedded prejudices against women are. The second verse gets more intense and the chorus has a sludge-metal feel to it. We had the hook from the get go and just built it up over the course of song with the drums getting heavier and the vocals starting a bit bratty and ending in rage. Lyrically, it's obviously coming from a dark place. There are parts of that song that are very pointed and very personal, which is why it can be delivered the way it is. The 3rd verse is how the media and society generally blames women for the violence committed against them and its insidious. Look at what happen after Eurydice Dixon was murdered in Melbourne in 2018. Superintendent David Clayton stood there and told women: “So just make sure you have situational awareness, that you’re aware of your surroundings. If you’ve got a mobile phone carry it and if you’ve got any concerns, call police.” Fuck off, Clayton. Tell men to stop raping and murdering us. We have the right to walk home at night and not think about this shit. The fact is, we are burdened by this constant feeling of “how can I operate today and go about my business without getting raped or murdered?” We make these calculations every time we want to go for a jog, every time we leave a venue or club late at night. We're monitoring what's going on with the Harvey Weinstein trial at the moment and a newspaper published a story on it with a headline about the dress one of the women was wearing when he sexually assaulted her. When women are abused and raped and murdered, the media and society blames them. Another thing: when this stuff happens to us we’re forced into silence. Jim DeRogatis’s book on R Kelly evidences the dozens of occasions Kelly paid off his victims and got them to sign NDA’s. Criminal acts are committed against women all the time – some physically violent, others more psychologically violent like online trolling, gaslighting and defamation – and most of the time we have to stay silent because we’re either paid to stay silent, blackmailed or shamed into it. So there’s a subtext of vengeance in Slut Power that comes through in both the song and video. Let’s just say we’re pretty experienced in the topics that Slut Power addresses. Where and when did you record/produce? We recorded Slut Power in 2018 when we recorded all the songs for our debut album 'The Policy'. It was recorded by Jay Whalley at The Pet Food Factory in Marrickville, Sydney. The studio session for Slut Power was great - we put a triangle all the way through it, sometimes it comes it a bit muted and percussive and by the third verse, it's in the background and sounds like an alarm. The album was mixed by Clem Bennett, who is a genius mix engineer, and mastered by Mandy Parnell - another genius mastering engineer from London. Glitoris is known for having strong views on confronting subjects, please tell us a little about what you think of the current state of politics, gender issues and equality at that this present time: The whole system is fucked: we are facing the biggest environmental, economic and social issues humanity has ever faced. The harrowing summer we’ve just lived through has shown the result of denial, arrogance, mass apathy and inaction in dealing with climate change. Second to that, the wealth gap is hideous - and it’s growing. The world is being run by billionaire corporations that are focused on growth and individualisation, and it’s unsustainable. The fact that Jeff Bezos can buy a mansion in Beverley Hills for $165mUS off the back of modern-day slavery is one example of how extreme this gap has become. There could be a Billionaire Vs. Billionaire US election this year. The erosion of democracy and human rights is happening before our very eyes in many ways: surveillance, the policing of women’s bodies, the silencing of media organisations and the gross miscarriages of justice we see at all levels in the treatment of Aboriginal people. Unless we take the power back and start to create an inclusive accessible society for everyone, that values the wisdom of Indigenous peoples, scientists and scholars (that currently seem to have no voice and influence in our policies) we have no future. On one level, these issues are now so huge that it’s not surprising we’re in existential crisis. On another level, we’re hardly going to sit back with some popcorn and watch it all play out on TV. The fact that so many have taken that attitude in the past is exactly what’s got us into this mess. Equality? We are nowhere, not even remotely, near achieving this for Indigenous people and PoC, for women, for those who are LGBTQI+. In fact, we’re going backwards as human rights generally are being eroded. It’s all fucked. But fuck it, we’re not going down without a fight. You have a big Australian tour coming up with some first shows in NT, what can we expect from a Glitoris live show? Politics, humour, passion, fun, brutal honesty, musicianship, banter, protest – but to leave feeling like you had a great night out \*/ How do you prepare for shows? Scotty likes to do a bit of yoga and flex out the rhythm sticks on her drum pad. Malcolm likes to air pump and dance. Andrew likes to run through her guitar parts and deface things. Keven 007 likes to be amazing, which she does amazingly. Our band ritual includes warming up our voices up with the lady, warming our fingers up, running through some harmonies and, of course, transform ourselves into fierce glittery warriors. What do find most challenging and rewarding whilst on tour? Most rewarding: playing the shows, meeting our fans - The Gliterati, hanging with other bands and making friends, listening to fan stories, the moments mid-performance where we see The Gliterati singing the words and punching the air or yelling out for their favourite song - that's just the best. We also like finding a good bar and drinking gin, and just generally hanging out. We love touring. It feels like a holiday to us. There’s a point where it descends into a delirious stage and every single thing is funny and we laugh so much it hurts \*/ Most challenging: Sleep deprivation. Who are you listening to at the moment? Babymachine, Thelma Plum, Moju Juju, Rage Against the Machine What do you like to do away from music? Sleep. What's planned for 2020? A massive tour of the country. After that we'll have a break and then start work on the next album. We'd love to play some festivals later in the year. Favourite food and place to hangout? We love vegan food and Au Lac in Dickson, Canberra, is our favourite! We also love Tudo Vietnamese in O'Connor and Andrew and Scott also love Sweet Bones vegan in Braddon.$

Glitoris

Where are you currently based and what is the music scene like there? I'm Currently Based in Brisbane! The Music Scene here I feel is divided and nobody really works outside of their cliques. How did you first start playing music? I started getting into it when I was 12-14 and started recording properly when I was 16 What's been happening since the release of your album last year? Since then I've been putting in work for a Music Video that I had just released, putting in work for other artists Music Videos, I started a Band called Trashmouth and we're opening for Crazy Town (Butterfly) on the 22nd of Feb. Your new video for single 'Heard About Me' is out now, what influenced the sound and songwriting for this track? I didn't have a direct influence, I was wanting to do a song with Say TrueGod? as our first collab together was done over 7 years ago, I heard this beat and it fit what I felt needed to be done. How did you go about writing Heard About Me? As above, I then wrote the hook out of inspiration through hearing the beat, I then wrote a Verse to match and hit up Say TrueGod? to come into the studio to record his part. Where and when did you record/produce and who with? This song and even my entire album was produced by Brandon James (Mixedbybrandon) at our Studio - Black Ace Studios. How did you approach the recording process? At first I wasn't even sure how I was going to complete the song, I had started working on the video concept with the third verse empty, Freewyo I had been working with previously for his own Music Videos and we gained a friendship through that, I then realised that he was the missing puzzle to this track. How did the concept for the video come about? I had sat down with Neil Noble and worked out this concept over a few months, trialing ideas back and fourth until we decided on this one. Where and when did you film? We filmed this in June of 2019 and we filmed this on the Gold Coast. How did the editing process take place? After everyone had been paid the editing process began over 1-2 months with Neil Noble with a few drafts and then I threw in my own colour grade/transitions to complete it. Is the end result as you expected it to be? It turned out well! After a few back and fourths with the draft and then adding my own final touches. Who are you listening to at the moment? Blessed, Anfa Rose, G-Eazy, Eminem, Joynar Lucas, Ursa 13, NF, Stormzy, The Weeknd, Post Malone, Yelawolf, Horrorshow, Mike Shinoda (From Linkin Park) and the list goes on. What do you like to do away from music? Aside from Music I've got my hands involved with producing Music Videos or Photography for people, I enjoy that aspect of things also! What's planned for 2020? More Music, More Videos, More shows. Favourite food and place to hangout? Nothing like hanging out at home with the homies with a few beers/smoke acompanied by some good munchies that I prefer to cook myself.

CKING

Where are you currently based and what is the music scene like there? I'm currently in Perth Australia and I have to say I am proud of the music scene right now. I really feel like 2020 is our time, a lot of great talent over this way and it's starting to slowly get recognised on a much bigger scale outside of our city. How did you first start playing music/DJing? A few years ago I started throwing these huge house parties and didn't want other people fucking the vibe with their selections. So I thought, I'll just DJ them myself. Someone happened to see me play and offered me my first club gig. I remember him saying "You've played in clubs before, right?!" and I was like "yeah of course bro!" hahaha.. I took that confidence to the gig and from there my resume speaks for itself. How was your 2019? Man last year was crazy. I spent a lot of time in LA, networking and working on the vision. Did a lot of huge gigs, here and internationally. Started having some real success with the label. 2019 was good. So, what's been happening recently? A lot man! We've recently expanded the team at Dough Related, and we've been pushing hard. One of our artists, REGI FLIH, has started to make some heavy waves in the Australian/NZ scene, and we're now pushing into the US. Just hit 100k US streams on one of his tracks last week actually! But collectively we are at almost 2 million streams across all of his singles/platforms which is great. You've just headlined Cake Festival in Perth, how was the show? How did the headline come about? It was insane, man. The energy at CAKE is always wild. Everyone is there to turn up and have a good time. Easily one of my favourite gigs to play at, I also played the main set at the Official After Party and the energy just carried all the way through. I've had a residency at CAKE since the first one back in 2018, and each show is bigger and better than the last. I had some local artists come up and perform one of their tracks during my set this time, it was vibes, bro. Please tell us about any new music that you've been working on: 2020 is going to be a big year for us. We have been going really hard in the studio recently building a backlog of tracks to dribble out throughout the year. I'm really excited to get it going. You're the founder/CEO of record label 'Dough Related' how and why did you decide to start your own record label? To be honest I didn't plan it haha. Dough Related was set up organically to help out a friend of mine but I soon fell in love with the game and realised the music business is my thing. It started as my little baby that I nurtured and now seeing it grow is even more inspirational, man. How has the experience with running your own label been so far and what have you found most rewarding and challenging? I think the most rewarding thing about owning a label is working with creatives from start to finish to literally turn dreams and thoughts into reality. I've had a lot of great experiences too, I don't like to name drop but boy do I have some stories haha. And yeah, of course, there are plenty of "challenges" but I see them more as goals to overcome. I don't like being told I can't achieve something, so I will work even harder to make sure I prove them wrong haha. What do you like to do away from music? It sounds cliche but I feel like away from music I am still working. I'm either learning about the industry or how to work smarter and better. Always pushing! Who are you listening to at the moment? There's a lot of Artists out there on my radar. A lot of dope music coming out of my city too. Anything I'm listening to goes into my 'Present' playlist on Spotify though so get around it! [Link] What's planned for 2020? I've recently started a local musician showcase called Platform so that will get bigger this year, I want to also do at least one interstate version of it. A lot of travel. A lot of releases. A lot of shows. Pushing harder with my Artists, already got a few dope collabs in the works which will be fun to drop. It's going to be one hell of a year boy. Favourite food and place to hangout? Nando's in Australia. Taco Bell in US. Damn, I love food, man. @doughrelated

JAYSNBRWN

Where are you currently based and what is the music scene like there? I am currently based in between Brisbane and Byron Bay, my family home is in Byron and often go home to see my parents who own a farm there and help out. Both places for me have a unique place in music. There are some really good promoters who throw some spectacular parties at the moment - Sub Rosa in Brisbane has been a highlight recently bringing some really tasteful international acts like Patrice Baumel, Jeremy Olander, Pig & Dan, Undercatt just to name a few. How did you first start playing music? When I was 13 I had gone to Canada on a family trip and was heavily influenced by my cousins who at the time were holding events and listening to Tiesto, Paul Oakenfold, Armin Van Buuran and most of the big trance Dj’s back then. I came back from that trip a bit inspired and very interested by dance music as it was all very new to me. I saved some money and bought some CDJ’s when I was about 14, I was still in high school but me and a few friends started all djing at these house parties which really shaped my sound, it was a great time as we would be all searching on blogs and sharing music with each other…we all have a few release’s under our belts now which is funny too. After about 2 years I became friends with some of the local promoters in Byron Bay and managed to sneak into some gigs in town in-which they put me on the line up and opened up the door so very thankful to those guys – Webber, Deegs & Dobbie thanks!. Please tell us a little about where you grew up and how this impacted your music? I grew up in 10 minute’s from Byron Bay so there wasn’t naturally a lot to do with friends as we were always so spaced away and not being able to drive then was an issue. I would spend most of my teen years just listening & collecting music but I guess living away from friends was also a blessing as I had a lot of spare time trying to learning to use music software after school. What's been happening recently? I’ve been working in studio and finishing some more music, a bit darker and a more peak time techno so pretty keen to get that out and begin to play it out at gigs. I’m also beginning to lock in some shows locally which im looking forward to showcase a lot of unreleased material. Your new 3 track EP 'Sour Minds' is out now, what influenced the sound and writing for this EP? Fusions of sounds that I really like I guess. Most of the tracks have a progressive vibe and a nice groove underneath with a few afro percussive elements also. i really wanted to have some sort of vocal in every track to just use as an element and carry the track through which really tied the whole EP together. You can hear a bit of everything and I guess that’s me just listening to a bit of everything at the moment. How did you go about writing Sour Minds? Sour Minds I wrote over 2 days, I started with a simple drum rhythm and added in some atmospheric elements to get the main atmosphere going which is that main saw synth that you hear in the intro. I had recently just bought the Mini V synth plugin and was playing around with that a fair bit so tweaked some patches and came up with the main arpeggio/lead with a vocading LFO on it to give it a bit of movement. After that I found some vocals that fitted the right vibe which I actually found on splice, yes Splice! Its an awesome platform and go to when I need to find an element just to get the idea’s flowing. The next day I kind of just refined the song structure and a quick mix down to get it ready to send away as a demo. It was the actually the last track I wrote and became the 1st on the EP Where and when did you record/produce? In my studio room at my 2 bedroom flat in Brisbane. I often find myself up in the mornings or late afternoons in the studio, its almost a routine for me to hop on in the early mornings for an hour or 3. I wrote the Sour Minds EP over the course of about 2 months early last year, although I had produced ‘The Thoughts, The Fears” about 2 years ago now I revisited that and changed it quite a bit. What programs/equipment did you use to record/produce? I wrote the whole EP on Ableton and used a range of VST plugins, I had actually used some old speakers from Pioneer to write & mix down roughly at the beginning of the year. I have recently just purchased some ADAM Audio S2V’s which are freaking awesome and really pin pointed the flaws in my 1st mix down for all three tracks. Please tell us about your current recording/production setup, what you have in the arsenal and how you came about finding the equipment: As mentioned I have a pretty simple space as im mostly in the box with Ableton, although I have just purchased some ADAM S2V’s which were an expensive purchase but 100% worth it, they have really given me a bit more depth/clarity and helped me refine my mix down’s at the pre-mastering stage. I have been really loving the V Collection which has some awesome plugins modelled off some great vintage & modern synthesizers -They sound really organic even though they are digital thanks to the TAE modelling process. Besides that I have a Minilogue which I use often for random sounds like effects and background sounds in tracks. I’m looking to purchase a DeepMind 12 & ASM Hydrasynth. I luckily have a really good friend who has just built a dream studio of his (little street studios). He has a lot gear which I am able to play with and I guess pick the synths that cater to my taste which is a bonus!. Its good to have his knowledge and bring that back into my studio which is always refreshing for creativity. What do you have planned for Sour Minds? I’ve got some shows coming up so I’m am really keen to play it out and see the reaction from people as I haven’t actually played it loud yet. I’ve had some really good feedback from other DJ’s who have played it out loud and they said it works really well, I guess all 3 tracks bring a different vibe to the floor. What do you like to do away from music? I play a lot of soccer and often am at the family farm which is kind of therapeutic for me to get away from the city. I also work for JBL in their consumer electronics side of the business as a rep which is awesome. It gives me great insight into fresh products, music, events and how that all correlates into business which is interesting to see. Who are you listening to at the moment? Listening to a range of everything really. I have been liking Henrik Schwarz, Guy J, Patrice Baumel, Adriatique & Tiefscwarz. Besides that everything on the Innervisions label has been really inspiring. You've been receiving a lot of support from big names in the dance music scene like Eric Prydyz and the likes, how has the whole experience with these big artists been so far? Eric Prydz has really been a inspiration to me from the beginning, just his simplicity with production in his music always astonishes me. For him to play one of my tracks in his BBC essential mix a couple of years back was a huge thing for me, I just wrote that track sitting in my bedroom studio and totally forgot about it until I heard it randomly. This for me gave me a bit of confidence to try new things in the studio and really dig deep into production. What's in store for 2020? More music and more shows, I have been working on a lot of new material!. Favourite food and place to hangout? Kimchi Pork fried rice . Its always good to just hang out anywhere with friends really, personally my favourite is the lounge room when I have nothing on haha! Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/maniandyou Soundcloud: http://www.soundcloud.com/manian Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/maniandyou

Mani

Where are you currently based and what is the music scene like there? Currently based out of Toronto! My heart will always have a soft spot for our music scene. There is a real sense of community and people supporting other people that I really love. It makes navigating this crazy industry feel a lot less lonely when you do it together. How did you first start playing music? My little 7 year old self in piano and voice lessons! Music and art were the biggest part of my childhood. Fun fact: I played trombone in highschool! What's been happening recently? I find winter, especially post January there’s this surge of change and it sparks a lot of feelings that get put down onto paper. I’ve also been tapping into other creative aspects of the project, creating some cool visuals for live shows, videos, etc. trying to make the Bedhead experience a little more multi-media which is something I’ve always envisioned. Basically it’s a lot of fabric shopping, I love me some new fabrics. Your new single 'Fight No More' is out now, what influenced the sound and songwriting for this single? The songwriting just flowed from this heavy emotional space I was in. I started writing the song when I found myself feeling overwhelmed and frustrated with my depression, after years of getting help and feeling like I hadn’t made any progress. The song was born from that moment of “enough’s enough”. For the production, artists like Robyn, Lorde and the Naked and Famous were big influences on the sound for this song. How did you go about writing Fight No More? I started writing Fight No More about 2 years ago in the summer at this park near where I live. It started with a few melodies and the main lyric in the chorus. The baseline intro was the next thing written. From there I usually noodle around with a piano or guitar to start putting the pieces of the puzzle together. Although the songwriting process changes every song, I usually start with chords and melodies, and the lyrics sprinkled in between. Where and when did you record/produce and who did you work with? I first recorded the song with Feurd Moore, who I’ve worked with before on an earlier project. It started as just a basement recording, but we knew we had something special. There were so many things that Feurd added in that I can’t imagine the song without now, like the guitar licks and bright synths. Later on, we brought on Derek Hoffman of Fox Sounds (who also mixed the track) who really just took what we had to the next level, giving it that extra kick (literally) How did you approach the recording process? With this track I really grasped the importance of emotion when delivering a vocal performance, which is a very vulnerable place to be away from the park by yourself to a booth with other people. Having Derek and Feurd there made the process a lot more comfortable, and they are wonderful friends and mentors. What programs/equipment did you use to record? We’re all about ProTools!! What do you like to do away from music? I love being creative and crafty! I paint a lot, and love taking photos of pretty much everything, but especially nature and animals. My favourite things are going on nature walks, and exploring new places with my friends. Who are you listening to at the moment? Tame Impala’s new record The Slow Rush!! What's planned for 2020? I have a Sugar Beach session with 102.1 The Edge AND a show at the Rivoli on Feb 27th! More shows to come throughout the year, and the release of my EP. I have a few other surprises up my sleeve, stay tuned! Favourite food and place to hangout? Wow I love so many foods, I will never say no to pizza or pasta (please don’t make me choose haha!) As much as I love going out to see shows at the Horseshoe Tavern, there’s nothing like going over to my friends’ place, staying in and playing some board games. Socials: @heyitsbedhead Website: bedheadmusic.com

Bedhead

Where are you currently based and what is the music scene like there? I live in Vancouver, BC. The music scene has a ton of brilliant and diverse artists, but many from here leave for opportunities in Montreal and Toronto, where I lived for a few years. There are financial and socio-political challenges that this city poses, which make it tough for artists to stick around. I do miss that side of the country, but the west coast has always been home. How did you first start playing music? I started when I was 6 and saw a piano for the first time at my school. I was immediately obsessed. How did Noble Oak start? The project came about after I received a Rhodes piano from a very close friend, and I became lost in its sound. I had been writing songs on and off since I was a kid, but it was the arrival of this new instrument that really drove the creation of Noble Oak. What's been happening recently? Lots of preparation for new songs, shows and the release of my next record, Horizon on Last Gang Records. Your new single 'Morning' is out now, what influenced the sound and songwriting for this track? The sound is very much an extension of the sound I’ve been working to create over the last 8 years. I can’t put my finger on any one single influence for the piece. How did you go about writing Morning and what is the meaning behind the song? It took a very long time to complete Morning, over 5 months in fact. I was stuck on the direction of the piece after composing the initial opening and piano melody. It was a few months later that the song came to completion once I figured out the vocal melody. I was in a deeply confused and uncertain place, which ended up being the exact place I needed. The song reflects on the depths of entrapment we feel in our lives, and what we can do to survive it and change it. Where and when did you record and who with? Morning was written during the first half of 2017 and recorded and engineered alone in my home studio. What programs/equipment did you use? I used Ableton Live, which has been the foundation for my production across the Noble Oak project. I’ve begun to use Logic for some songs, since it has some terrific sounds and processing. Other equipment used include my Nord Stage for piano layers, my upright piano, a Telecaster for the guitar parts, OP-1 and MicroKorg for some of the synth parts, and a collection of drum samples. How did you approach the recording and production for Morning? The same way I approach every song I make- by letting the ideas spill out as naturally as they can. Nothing is ever forced, if an idea comes and is good, it remains. Please tell us about how the concept for the Morning video came about: I wanted to work with my friend and creative visionary Nancy Lee to devise a world that best represented the feeling of the song. Nancy has been experimenting and studying VR and volumetric video production for several years and was graciously happy to put their skills to use on this video. With a bit of programming help from some friends, the result turned out fantastically. Where did you film and who with? It was all filmed at their studio, with only myself, Nancy and a small team of assistants providing graphical textures and programming advice for Unity, the software where all the depth/image data and graphics were realized together. What did you find most challenging and rewarding during the filming and editing process? Most challenging was making sure all of the shots aligned perfectly with the words, since it was sometimes tough to tell which part was being sung based on the moving volumetric image. Most rewarding was seeing all the various components layered together so nicely in the final edit. You have an upcoming album 'Horizon' label release coming up soon, what can we expect? Expect a ton of new sounds and energies! I’m quite proud of this record so hopefully this will be your new favourite too. What do you like to do away from music? I like spending time with my loved ones, walking by the ocean and skiing/hiking in the mountains as much as I can. Who are you listening to at the moment? Some old and some new stuff, ranging from Joni Mitchell to Bruce Hornsby, The Japanese House and Tame Impala. What's planned for 2020? More music, the long-awaited release of Horizon, and hopefully a tour or two! Favourite food and place to hangout? Sushi is my favourite food of all time, and if I’m not hanging with friends at someone’s home, or working on music, you can probably find me outside by the beach. http://nobleoak.net/ https://www.instagram.com/nobleoaksongs/ https://www.facebook.com/nobleoak https://twitter.com/nobleoaksongs https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDx4MGijFzpe9_6KnVbvZXQ

Noble Oak

How did you first start playing music? All of us have played music from young, in high school bands and for school. It was sort of a natural progression for us to continue playing music with people going on from this, however we only met each other years later as complete strangers in a new band around 2010. How did WAWAWOW form? A couple of us originally started in a previous band, called Lenox, playing a more contemporary style of easy listening music with a good singer friend of ours who was keen to play gigs with some of his originals. I think eventually he got tired of us jamming for too long and ruining his music, and we parted ways. Within a couple of weeks we had caught up again as instrumentalists just to play around with all manners of instruments, including stand up drums and a drum sampler/sequencer. Eventually we found a sound with the bass synth and we played our first gig with a set of janky party music as a three-piece at the Marly Bar, to a questionable but generally positive reception. What's been happening recently? We’ve just released our debut album, Pink Elephant, which has been a huge project for us and a massive relief that it’s finally out. Alongside this we’ve taken on two new members, Duncan Bell who plays the baritone guitar and Adam Pilcher our new lead guitarist. They have been absolutely amazing at dealing with our unusual approach to music, and it’s been surprising how well they’ve picked up the nuances of each song. Since they’ve joined we’ve played around 10 gigs and they’ve been a great success - looking forward to a packed year of playing our music now that we’re back. Your new album 'Pink Elephant is out on the 14th of February, what influenced the sound and songwriting? Honestly we never have good answers to this question. I think we wrote all of our music without much thought as to how it would appeal or what sound we were trying to emulate. We combined our impossible array of contrasting tastes in music, from hip-hop and electronic to indie rock and psychadelic blues music, which ended up being quite evident in the mish-mash of styles you can hear on our album. We like to call it Psych-junk, but really it’s all over the place. I think the main thing that united us at the start was a passion for creating ‘fun music’ that we could imagine getting into as punters at a gig. How did you go about writing/conceptualise the music for Pink Elephant? Our writing process was generally fed by collective hours of jam sessions and obsessively recording everything we played. Eventually we could isolate parts or riffs from each jam that we liked and start to build songs from there. Shaun (our drummer) was integral in the structuring process, coming to us each week with rough mixes, structures and suggestions for song concepts, that we would then vote on and discuss. Pink Elephant started as a continuous live set, that eventually we stuffed into a digestible album format with a few extra frills, but our main focus was re-creating the feeling of a live show and really testing the limits for what kind of strange sounds and effects we could get away with showcasing. Please tell about the experimental process that you took to record/produce this album: After recording 3 singles over a couple of years prior, we came to the conclusion that recording in a studio over a few days would never work for us. The jam style of our music never lent itself well to getting a good take when put on the spot in a studio, and the recordings always lacked some of the live energy we had been getting from the recorded jams. Our guitarist at the time, Hayden, was a bit of a mad scientist on the guitar, and his inspired moments happened so sporadically that capturing them on a quality recording was almost impossible. We decided that tracking everything ourselves, from the comfortable confines of Shaun’s homemade studio/garage was our best shot at getting the most organic sound from our recordings. We recorded every rehearsal, effect and sample we could get our hands on throughout a 12 month period, filling up terrabytes worth of hard drives - sometimes using the original jam recording in the final track and sometimes re-recording parts 20 times before getting something we liked. It was a huge task but we ended up really squeezing out what we wanted, and we’re very satisfied with the final result. Where and when did you record and who with? We recorded everything at Shaun Allen’s house in Stanmore throughout 2018 and 2019, starting to submit our stems to Dane Burge for mixing in late 2018, and eventually getting the album mastered by Streaky in December 2019 in London. What programs/instruments did you use? We started recording through Garage Band (which was surprisingly effective for a free software) and eventually graduated to using Logic. This was a great way to get into the DAW world, as it is quite intuitive and visual, while providing a heap of inbuilt effects and samples to get us started. We recorded using all of our usual live instruments, including Shaun’s Tama Star Classic drum kit, various Fender Strat/Teles, a Squier Jazzmaster baritone, a Nord Lead A1, Novation Bass Station, Moog Sub Phatty and a wealth of pedals and effects units (honourable mention to the Earthquaker Devices ‘Data Corrupter’ pedal). What did you find most rewarding and challenging through the songwriting and recording process? One of the most challenging parts of songwriting and recording was that we didn’t have a dedicated songwriter/vocalist to bring formed ideas to the table. We wrote everything instrumentally while rehearsing together - adding vocals last, often written by both Shaun and Wade, our main vocalist. We used a stern democratic process involving voting and janky versions of lobbying and insider trading to bring our own favourite ideas into the music. Essentially it worked great, as we all felt our creative voices were being expressed fairly, but it means things took a while to iron out, and a lot of debate was had over the quality and appeal of countless parts of the album. What made it all the more rewarding was that once it was finished, we had settled every disagreement and included as much as possible of each of our visions, that we can all proudly say that this is our best work to date. What do you have planned for Pink Elephant? We have just had vinyls pressed and delivered, which is hugely exciting for us and marks one of the big milestones we’ve been aiming for. We’ll be selling these, alongside our ‘TAWAWOWELS’ at most of our gigs coming up! Other than that, a healthy amount of gigging and enjoying a well-deserved period of time outside of the studio, and hopefully a small festival or two! What do you like to do away from music? Away from music, we all have jobs and generally separate lives, our guitarist adam is a Nurse, while our other guitarist Duncan is a Science Educator at primary schools. Wade is a commercial photographer and Shaun runs admin at Macquarie university while also producing multiple podcasts (one of them his own - ‘In Brackets’ which contains a healthy amount of WAWAWOW’s outtakes). We all treat the band as a creative escape from our daily lives, and something fun to liven up our weekends, which I think has helped us not to burn out over the past few years. Who are you listening to at the moment? Pretty much anyone and everything! We’ve always appreciated a healthy dose of local music, including Pyjama Sundayz, Wartt Gun, Light Entertainment, Lord Dodongo, NARLA, Turtle Skull and Psychadelic Porn Crumpets, but outside of that we all have very different music tastes - Wade is mostly into Hip Hop including J Cole, Childish Gambino and Eminem, while Shaun loves a dose of band music including Supergrass, Regurgitator, Devo and Cog. What's planned for 2020? 2020 should be full of gigs for us - we are really hoping for some small festival slots after playing Psyfari and the King Street Crawl a couple of times in previous years. Ultimately we’re looking forward to playing some fun shows and getting involved in the live music scene again after an 18 month hiatus. Favourite food and place to hangout? I mean, not sure how to answer this. We hangout together at Zen rehearsal studios in St Peters, and bars like The Townie, Botany View Hotel, Brighton Up Bar and The Bank where we play a lot of gigs. I’d hazard a guess that we all enjoy pizza, hopefully WITHOUT pineapple but this remains unconfirmed. https://www.facebook.com/wawawowband/

WAWAWOW

guccihighwaters unveils his new track “candy” featuring soundcloud artist and producer, Lund. “My vision for ‘candy’ came to me when my friend Jay Vee and I were at the studio. He played a really somber yet comforting chord progression on his guitar and I instantly thought of something bittersweet,” explains guccihighwaters. “Sometimes you have to end a relationship that feels so good but is bad for you and won't end well. I felt like a bouncy uplifting drum pattern would complement the ambient melodies and Jay Vee laid those down real quick. After the track was done I had an open verse and was thinking about who it would sound great with — one of the first artists that popped into my head was Lund. We spoke a few times in the past about making some music together and at that time we just set up a tour together so I felt like it was the perfect timing and the perfect song for him to be a part of.” LISTEN TO “CANDY” FT LUND NOW guccihighwaters is the creative persona of singer and producer Morgan Murphy. guccihighwaters blends hip hop and emo genres seamlessly with his melodic tunes and lyrics that are vulnerable and intimately confessional. Growing up in Ireland, before moving to New York at the age of fifteen, his isolated beginnings gave him his work ethic and laid the groundwork for his succinct home recording process. Despite having only been on the scene since 2017, with his first EP Post Death, guccihighwaters has established himself as a force to be reckoned with garnering nearly 850,000 monthly Spotify listeners. He has since released two EPs November & Not Around Here and a series of singles.

GUCCIHIGHWATERS SHARES “CANDY” FT. LUND

Where are you currently based and what is the music scene like there? To be honest, I’m a little bit in limbo as to where I’m currently based, but Melbourne is always home. The Melbourne music scene is the perfect place to cut your teeth as an artist or a band. There are SO many places to play and learn how to gig and the community that experience builds around you stays with you for life. How did you first start playing music? I told my mum that I wanted to play the saxophone when I could barely walk and started playing the recorder soon after. Fuzzed out guitars and production felt like a natural progression. What's been happening recently? I’ve just come back to Melbourne after a summer up north and am throwing myself back into writing and getting ready to go on the road again while trying to win back my cats’ love. Your new single 'Sucker For Punishment' is out now, what influenced the sound and songwriting for this track? The song is probably my most political song to date. Ultimately, it’s about self delusion and catching yourself out for perpetuating the problems that we frown upon. The idea came to me when I found that I was way more affected by Instagram shutting off the ability to few likes that I thought I would be. How did you go about writing Sucker For Punishment? I was really, really lucky to write this tune with Isom Innis who is a member of Foster The People. We put it together between a small studio and his living room in LA mid last year. He was so enthusiastic and positive about the song from the get go, which is why I think it has the energy that it has. Sometimes it’s really easy to overthink and get entrenched in relatively superfluous parts of writing a song, but Isom’s vibe made the process really free and uninhibited. Where and when did you record/produce and who with? Isom got behind the knobs for this one. We basically wrote and recorded the song in two days. Sean Cimino, also from Foster, came in and recorded all the lead guitar parts, but other than that, it was myself and Isom who played everything - lucky Isom is a shit hot drummer! How did you approach the recording process? I don’t think anyone knew we were going to release the song - we just got into the studio, had a bunch of fun and came out of it with something that I could wait to put out. What programs/instruments did you use? It was a pretty basic set up - we ran Logic, recorded the drums in a vocal booth, I recorded the vocals sitting on the couch with a SM7, Sean had some gnarly delay pedals that we ran straight into a SSL strip, there was a jangly upright piano, a couple of teles and a hell of a vibe. How did the concept for the 'Lyric' video come about? I had always envisaged the song alongside a slasher movie vibe, so the font for the lyric vid really reflects that along with all the footage of I suppose real life slasher situations, like bomb drills and risk filled inebriation. You have a huge Australian/UK/USA tour coming up, what do you have in store for these shows? Sucker will get its first run on the road, which will be great! I have some of the best people I’ve ever met from around the world playing in my band and that makes for a huge vibe onstage - I’m a very lucky gal. How do you prepare for live shows? I try to strike a balance of being calm and relaxed while remaining super present and not letting the set pass me by. What do you most enjoy about touring/playing live and what do you find most challenging? Nothing beats a killer show - it reminds you why you do it. It’s hard being away from friends and family, of course. Also not being able to cook and do your own laundry as it suits you. What do you like to do away from music? Read, cook, go for drives and I’m trying to go to the cinema more Who are you listening to at the moment? RAT BOY, Jess Day, Your Smith, Haroumi Hosono and oso oso What's planned for 2020? A fuckload of touring, writing, some sneaky releases and taking it all in. Favourite food and place to hangout? The kangaroo parma at the Napier Hotel.

Alex Lahey

What is your name and role within the band? Aaron Ikin - Main songwriter, lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Where are you currently based and what is the music scene like there? We're based in Sydney. The scene has taken a hit lately due to the lock out laws, but now they have been lifted it should start to snowball! The reopening of the Lansdowne a couple of years back has been amazing for the scene. Such great music there. Frankie’s is a definite hotspot for all sorts of shows and you can really feel the Sydney music scene alive and well when you’re down there. How did you first start playing music? I had always had an inclination for poetry growing up and an ear for good music but it wasn’t until I lost my dad at 21 to Motor Neuron Disease I taught myself guitar, singing and songwriting. I decided at that point music is twofold – great for self-expression but also a gift to someone else. How did Love Drunk Hearts form? Out of a warehouse party!! I was living there at the time and attempting to write as much as I could. It was a real hub for musicians on the Northern Beaches and a great practise space. Our lead guitarist had tried out for Benny’s (bass player) old band Bec and Ben but didn't make the cut. This was probably a good thing as we got along straight off the bat and started writing together. I sent him a memo of our first recorded and released song and luckily he didn’t run. When we got good enough, Benny jumped on board as a bass player and in house producer and bought tonnes of experience with him on that. Brownie, our drummer, had worked with Bec and Ben and another band called Clubfeet. We are very lucky because we all get on great, although sometimes I can act like a bit of a diva. Your new single 'Park The Cars' is out now, what influenced the sound and songwriting for this track? I'd like to say it's a combination of listening to Angus Stone's Broken Bright’s album and Noel Gallagher's solo work. I always like the feel of both their stuff, particularly Noel's vocals. I've always loved the shoe gazey / driving stuff - you get lost in it for a while. It was a real welcome change of direction for us. Oscar Dawson’s expertise on this track - he really polished the track and brought it to another level, particularly in the arrangement and soundscapes. How did you go about writing Park The Cars? I was literally strumming in the bedroom of an old unit in Manly and started singing the line 'where they park the cars' and although it’s a bit of a funny lyric, it fit the vibe of the music really well. In regional areas all along the coast, the carpark acts as a bit of a meeting ground; an access point to the great outdoors and the beach. As Australians, I think we all love a good road trip with friends and family. What is the purpose/meaning of the song? It's a song about escapism – I think as humans it’s vital to explore and experience. The song aims to conjure pictures in the listener of their paradise, the destinations which give a feeling of freedom far from circumstance and instil a yearning for something different and something more. Where and when did you record/produce? We recorded in Melbourne at Aviary Studios in Abbotsford last April. We road tripped down from Sydney and listened to Paul Kelly's A to Z the whole way. What a trip! What programs/ instruments did you use? Oscar used ProTools on his end and we used a bunch of different guitars, amps and pedals. A mixture of our own gear and stuff that was in the studio. The main guitar sound comes from a couple of different Fenders; the smoothness of a Strat mixed with the bite of a Tele. How did you approach the recording process? We came at it from a live feel. We all got in the room and tracked live. After 3 or 4 takes we would escape to the NASA control room and pick the best parts. Once the bed of the track was done we recorded the vocals and worked on extra guitar parts in Oscar’s studio. Holy Holy took care of the production, how was this experience and how did you come to work with Holy Holy? Amazing. Oscar was great. I felt like as a band we got on with him really well. His a real wizard at production and guitar and an all round great guy. I've been a fan of Holy Holy's stuff and love the sonic textures that they explore on their records. Some of the best modern rock in Oz. I always think as a band you need that 5th member to really get the best of a song and Oscar filled that so well. We were lucky enough to meet with Oscar's management for a band audit and during this audit Oscar was suggested for production - I reached out immediately and we were so lucky Oscar liked the tracks. What do you like to do away from music? Surf and exercise. I'm always learning too. My partner and I are always having a laugh and a great time too. I’m also pretty fond of a good beer. Who are you listening to at the moment? I've been hammering Dope Lemon lately. Great vibes. HOLY HOLY's last album was epic too. Liam Gallagher’s latest solo work has some bangers. DMA’s track ‘Silver’ is a gem. There’s also a local band called 100 releasing some good tunes. What's planned for 2020? We have another song Oscar produced to release in April! And another self-produced track after that. We also want to jump on some solid supports and start working with a manager – it’s all been in house so far. Favourite food and place to hangout? I'd have to say a burrito with chips. California style. The best every time. I love hanging out in Manly by the beach. Nothing better. Home in Freshwater isn’t too bad either. FACEBOOK INSTAGRAM SPOTIFY TWITTER WEBSITE

Love Drunk Hearts

Where are you currently based and what is the music scene like there? I've been based in Perth for nearly a decade now and there is so much amazing music here. Being quite an isolated part of the country, and indeed the world, I think it makes for quite a unique scene and artistry. How did you first start playing music? I was about 8 years old and my Aunty gave me an old acoustic guitar with only a few strings on it. I got hooked pretty quick and started trying to learn by myself in my bedroom. I think I first started writing music when I was around 13. What's been happening recently? I've recently returned from my third tour of New Zealand, which was wonderful. I love playing shows over there. And I've just put out a new release, which is always an exciting time. Your new single 'Run' is out now, what influenced the sound and songwriting for this track? Running, aswell as music, is probably my longest-standing love, so I thought it was time I wrote a song about it. I wanted the lyrics to be a bit poetic and ambigious, and the sound to be uplifting. How did you go about writing Run? I started writing it when I was up in Exmouth for a show and a friend of mine had his guitar in a different tuning. I started playing around with a riff in that tuning, then while I was on tour in the UK, I was sat in my bedroom in the town I grew up in and it just came pouring out. Then I went for a run with a big smile on my face. Where and when did you record and who with? I recorded it back in October with Andy Lawson at his wonderful studio (Debasser Studio) out in the Perth hills. He is so great to work with and the natural surroundings up in them there hills are so nice to be around while you're creating music. How did you approach the recording/production process? I'd road-tested the song at a few UK festivals, which was helpful. I just wanted the track to have a really driving, energetic feeling to it - to try resemble what I feel when I go out for a run. I played the song acoustically to Andy and then we experimented with a few sounds. I had a fair idea of how I wanted things to sound, but I love the spontaneous nature of how the recording process can completely change how you imagined your music would turn out. What programs/instruments did you use to record? I do believe Andy uses Pro Tools. I used only my acoustic guitar, but we included a few drum elements and some bass synth to add some weight and atmosphere. What do you like to do away from music? Well I like to run a lot, mainly so I can feel less guilty about having plenty beers with mates! I also love some rock climbing, getting away on roadtrips and to new countries, good food and plenty of ocean time. Who are you listening to at the moment? Cowboys From Hell by Pantera just came on my Spotify radio there, haha. Bit of a blast from the past. But today I've been mainly listening to Tycho. I adore the atmospheres that man creates with blends of instruments and electronic elements. You have a tour coming up, where are you headed and when will you be hitting the road? Next show is in Margaret River on Friday Feb 21 at The River. It's a co-headline show with my good mate Michael Dunstan. If you haven't heard his music already, you should absolutely do yourself that favour. And then I hav a Fremantle show at The Aardvark on Saturday Feb 22. How do you prepare for live shows? I try to do vocal warm-ups, but sometimes I'm too lazy. I usually just have a beer, chill and chat to people. What's planned for 2020? I've been back in the studio starting on some new music. My old electric guitar has made an appearance for the first time in many years. I'm excited! And I'm looking at more Australia shows and a UK festival run again in August. Favourite food and place to hangout? All the food - super healthy goodness, pizza and all things spicy are definitely favourites. And hanging anywhere by the ocean or in nature.

Ben Catley

Tanya Ryan

Ava Kaydo