By: Lisa Steinberg
Q) How would you describe your sound?
Jackson: We don’t really have one distinct sound or stick to just one genre – we all come from very different musical backgrounds and listen to a really wide array of music. Our sound is so diverse – we have songs that are super funky, classic pop songs, angry piano ballads and everything in between. What keeps it cohesive is the fact that it’s the four of us doing it, we play all our instruments and write all the songs, and we create what we want – that way it’s authentically us.
Q) Who are some of your musical influences?
Matt: Some of our collective favs include Coldplay, Fleetwood Mac, Lenny Kravitz, Prince, Tom Misch, Michael Jackson and more. The list really goes on!
Q) Talk about the story behind your new song “Breakdown.”
Matthew: “Breakdown” is a super funky upbeat song that we wrote with a good friend of ours Pierre Beasley from the band Balu Brigada. The song came together relatively quickly over two sessions a couple months apart. The first session we wrote the bulk of the song, but couldn’t quite get some of the sections just right, so we came back a couple months later and finished it off. It was super fun and it’s a favorite in our live set.
Q) What do you think it is about the song that fans connect to?
Jackson: The song makes you wanna dance. It’s really exciting to listen to and makes you feel good. Sometimes that’s all you need – a song to pick you up when you’re feeling down, and I think this song serves that purpose.
Q) How does the video for the track play into the message behind it?
Ben: To dive into our wonderful director Tom Grut’s brain briefly, I think he wanted to put us in full performance mode, focusing on showing how much fun we have playing Breakdown live.
Q) What is your song writing process? Do you need music before you can create lyrics?
Ben: Our process varies quite a lot from song to song. Generally, we build off of a small idea that excites us or sparks some inspiration. The lyrics a lot of the time can come from the feeling the music invokes but it is not a strict process.
Q) What are some themes you explore on your new EP Chrysalis?
Matthew: This project explores themes of growth and developing both as musicians but also as people. We made the EP over the last two years, which have been super pivotal in our lives. We all quit school to pursue the band full time, so this EP talks about that period of growth and also acts as a bit of a time capsule for the past couple years.
Q) How much of a hand do you all tend to have in the production of your music?
Matthew: We all have a fair bit of input with the production. Especially during the writing phase, we mostly record the demos ourselves and build a rough production around the song, a fair bit of which is either kept or recreated in the final recording. We love to be very hands-on in all aspects of the song’s creation, including production, writing and the visual elements.
Q) Each of these songs are so funky and worth putting on repeat (my favs are “New Romance” and “When It’s Raining!” Which track(s) hold a special significance for you and why is it so close to your heart?
Ben: I think I can speak for all of us in that “When It’s Raining” holds a special place in our hearts. Something about its wide soundscape and emotive vibe had us super proud of what we had made after we wrote it. And it’s still one of, if not our favorite song to play live.
Q) Is there a song from the EP that you’re most excited to begin performing live?
Max: “Breakdown” for us is a favorite in the live set. It’s super groovy and a great vibe. We’ve been playing tracks from the EP for a bit now and it has been such a great reception at the shows.
Q) What message or emotion do you hope fans take away from exploring Chrysalis?
Ben: We really hope people find a way to interpret our songs in a way that feels meaningful or resonates with them. We try to make our music not only for ourselves but we want to keep it ambiguous and digestible enough so that everyone can enjoy it in their own way.
Q) You guys are currently out on tour. Where are some of your favorite places to perform?
Max: We always love playing a home show, but so far places like Sydney and Brighton have been fantastic. It is so awesome to see the music scene vibe in different parts of the world. (Sydney gets extra points for its coffee.)
Q) Who would you most like to collaborate with on a song in the future?
Max: There are so many amazing artists we would love to work with, hard to choose one but Anderson Paak is a long time favourite of ours.
Q) What artist/musician are you currently listening to and why do you dig them?
Max: We all listen to such a variety of genres and artists, but recently we’ve been digging Tame Impala and Wunderhorse. The new Tame Impala tracks are incredible, can’t wait for the new album.
Q) What would you like to say to everyone who is a fan and supporter of you and your work?
Ben: We can’t really express our gratitude enough, fans are the reason we are able to do what we enjoy and make it our jobs. I think everybody’s dream is to do what they love for a living and we’re so grateful we are able to make music that people enjoy and support.