Hi, thanks for taking the time to chat with Hear 2 Zen, what have you been up to today?

Today we’ve been in the studio (as we are most of the time!) working on both new music and some ideas we’ve had for a while. Sometimes we like to revisit old ideas and see if  we can view them in a different light and create something cool that we might not have thought of the first time around!

Tell us about yourself, how long have you been performing/creating music for?  

When I was growing up my family would put on talent shows. I think I started performing and falling in love with music then. So really most of my life. 

Who are your greatest inspirations?  Why?

Frank Ocean, Tame Impala, John Mayer. I get inspired by artists that are willing to grow and change rather than continue to do what everyone loves. 

How do you create music?  Are you lyrics/story driven, or does the music/melody come first?  Explain your process. 

Usually music comes first. If I can’t get my groove on to the instrumental it’s not right. Then drive to it, put it on while I make dinner, see how it feels when I show people and usually melodies start to show up for me. Lyrics most of the time come together at the end or during the melody writing. Then it’s up to Matt to make it sound incredible. He glues it all together and sometimes reimagines the whole thing and makes it into something beautiful. 

What has been your greatest challenge so far in performing/creating music?

Sometimes getting support from the industry can be tricky. There are so many incredible artists out there doing great work. So to expect love and support from everyone is a ridiculous assumption. But sometimes you just hit dead ends because of one fat cat that says no. We aren’t frustrated about it as we understand the reality of the situation. We just want to keep creating and be proud of the art we make. If it catches on and goes then we are ready for that ride. 

Tell us about your new release, how did it come about?

Matt had toured and played drums with Jarryd for quite some time and that’s how we became friends. We knew we’d love to work with him on a track someday. I had the beat and rhythmic synth pattern for Boxing and we knew it was the perfect song to finally collab on. I invited Jarryd over and we spent the day working on lyrics and melodies and at the end of it Boxing Underwater was created! We then took the skeleton of the song to Matt and called in our good friend Ian Peres (bassist/keys) to add the final touches.

What advice do you have to artists who are just starting out?

Create like no one is listening. Don’t be afraid to do something that isn’t correct or perfect. Embrace your strange. The world wants to hear something new and different. Borrow from your favourite artist but get weird with it. 

Tell us your favourite Zen practice.

Writing and creating music is absolutely our Zen practice. I also love surfing as it’s another hobby to keep me in the present for a few hours.