They’re a bunch of mates hailing from Adelaide playing some soulful psych rock sounds. With a massive love affair with Motown and funk, they introduced brass into their lineup and are now performing as a 7-9 piece with horns, extra percussion and a whole lot of sass. We chat to the Adelaide Psych band following the release of their celestial banger ‘Run From The Ruins’ and tour announce.
Hey thanks for chatting to Forte. You guys have had a busy 2017, already releasing singles ‘Telescopes’ and ‘Reflections’ plus a swag of major supports for The Belligerents, Ecca Vandal and Miami Horror, what’s been the highlight?
Without a doubt, playing with idols like those was really exciting. Six months after our first release, we were sharing cold ones with some of Australia’s premiere acts and began realising we had something going on that people enjoyed. Being able to work on creative projects with other local artists has been a big reward for us. It’s led to our mate Hebe Sayce being a finalist in the SA Music Awards for her cover art.
Having just released ‘Run From The Ruins’, you’ve received some killer reviews. What’s the story behind the song?
This track is a type of farewell to some heavier psych elements that the original lineup had been experimenting with for a while. We recorded at our primitive studio in the side of Black Hill, getting some nice vintage rock tones. It was a real rudimentary microphone set up on the drums, focussing on the colours of Oscar’s cymbals to accent hooks in the track. It’s a lot of fun to play live and groove out to.
Unearthed described it as sounding like ‘The Beatles kicking it in 2017 with Tame Impala’ – what were your influences for the track?
When we were writing the music there was a lot of stuff happening in the news aimed to make people unsettled. We had been digging ‘The Weather’ by POND and ‘Ti Amo’ by Phoenix at the time and after going a little mellower on ‘Reflections’, we wanted to bring back some distortion and grittiness on ‘RFTR’ before releasing a disco rock EP next year.
If you could show one of your musical heroes your stuff, who would it be?
The upcoming soul EP would be right at home on Marvin Gaye’s radiogram. ‘Ain’t No Mountain High Enough’ was enormous inspiration for that project.
Thanks for chatting, any last words or hints about upcoming tracks?
This year will signify a new heading for Neon Tetra toward soul-inspired rock and disco elements within the band. Including more saxophones, brass and groove elements to motivate bodies to action. The state of world affairs is a little uncertain and we like to write music that reminds people to enjoy life’s pleasures.
When & Where: In store appearance @ Vinyl Revival Melbourne – January 6 & The Gasometer Hotel, Melbourne – January 6. Tickets via www.weareneontetra.com
