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Interview with
IVEY

(13th September 2024)

Interview with Dave Bruce

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Photo credit- Natasha Leisakowska – Esme Dyer

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Praise for IVEY

“… making waves with their shimmering, intoxicating brand of indie.”  The Music

‘… can move their sound from anthemic, synth-bound indie-pop right through to music at its most subtle and stripped-back.” Pilerats

“The group’s colour-soaked sound has a real vibrancy, honed at their outstanding, exuberant live shows.” Clash

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How did the band come together? Where did it all begin?
Wow, we have some lore. So – Lachlan and Matthew are brothers. So there’s blood!! And Dante became their best friend and next door neighbour at the age of 5. When the three boys were around age 11-12, they formed a band together, as they had all been taking music lessons. Fast forward to 2013. A 15 year old Lachie was at a house party hosted by none other than Millie’s parents. Sometime towards the end of the evening Millie’s parents begged her to bring out the guitar and sing for everyone. Keep in mind, Millie was only 12! Somehow or another, Lachie ended up finding another guitar, and together they performed a rendition of Maroon 5’s Sunday Morning. Lachie was so blown away by Millie’s singing, that he asked her to join the band there and then….and the rest is history.

Briefly describe your journey to date.
Best friends, no, we are family. Making music together in the garage. Start to gig underage, have to be escorted everywhere with a parental guardian.  Started releasing music and got hype via the Triple J Unearthed High Competition. The band grew, we released a bunch of music and all of sudden we were selling out shows which was crazy. We released three EP’s in Australia, went on national tours and played a bunch of festivals. Then all of sudden covid came and you know that was kinda crazy. So once that was ending we had a sudden thirst for a new adventure. So we said fuck it, let’s move to London.
And here we are. We recently sold out our first headline London show and we’re releasing this EP and it’s crazy.

How would you describe your sound? Why do you think fans resonate with your music?
Nostalgic, indie, guitar, dance, moody, sad, pop.
We are super honest with our lyrics, and we like to have fun.

Which artist’s music and/or performance, past or present, inspires you today? 
We have loads of love for both older artists like The Rolling Stones and The Beatles and David Bowie and newer artists like The 1975, Beabadobee, Holly Humberstone and Baker. Anyone who is authentic and kinda running in their own lane is really cool.

Your latest single ‘Pessimism’ has just been released. Tell us what a bit about this song?
Funnily enough, it’s about being pessimistic. You know when you’re just fucking hating everything and it’s tough. It’s a song that showcases that. Because people often try and spin a positive light on a situation, or even life, even when things suck. This song is just saying sometimes I’m pessimistic and I don’t like it and that’s okay.

You have a new EP ‘Silver Linings’ out . Describe it’s origin and evolution. 
Our EP Silver Linings, serves as a poignant reflection of the experiences we’ve all shared by over the past two years, delving into themes of grief, loss, and love.
In May 2022, we faced a devastating loss with the passing of Matt and Lachie’s father, Adam, to suicide. Adam was the heart of Ivey, initially stepping in as their legal guardian during shows when the band were young teenagers, this role quickly turned into that of a crucial supporter, tour manager, and best friend.
Putting together this EP has been both heartbreaking and healing. It is a coin, with two sides: one deals with confusion, suffering, anger, anguish, and sorrow, while the other reflects hope, love, friendship, discovery, support, and healing.

What is/are the signature track/s on the EP, and which is/are your favorite/s to play live?
Silver Linings is definitely the signature track and is where the EP gets its name from. It’s also on of our favourites to play live. It talks directly about the events of Adam’s death so holds a lot of weight for us.

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What tours and events are coming up? What are you looking forward to, and what can the fans expect?
We are playing our first ever show in Brighton in October and are currently planning a UK EP tour…so stay tuned!
Look forward to lots of fun, love and togetherness. That’s what we try to bring to our shows.

If you could perform with any music artist, alive or dead, who would you choose? And why? 
Mozart.

What are your long-term aspirations as a music artist and how are you progressing towards them?
Our long-term aspirations as music artists is to make a sustainable career out of music. This industry is fucking crazy, but we’re hoping with enough grit, determination and hard work we will be able to do music for life.

With that in mind, what piece of advice would you give to an artist starting out? 
Music first. The music you make will always precede anything else. Forgot what anyone else says about shows, content, PR, videos etc
If the music isn’t good, the rest really doesn’t matter.
Take the love and passion you have for music and make the best shit you can possibly make.

What is the best thing about performing to a live audience? What’s been the career highlight so far?
Just connecting with strangers is so cool. Imagine a random stranger singing words you wrote in your bedroom back to you, that’s incredible.
Our highlights would probably be either our heading London show. Or performing our Ivey End Of Year Party in 2019 to 600 people. Massive, massive shows for us.

Here are three general questions your fans will find interesting about you:
What is the craziest thing you’ve ever done? We once drove to play a show in Woollongong, straight after attending Splendour, for like $200. We were all so sick, so delusional, we stayed halfway in a camping ground, and Lachie forgot a guitar part completely in one of our songs because he was so drugged up on cold and flu.
What is the one topic you can talk about for hours? Music, or Mario kart
What is the thing you like most about yourself? How we are a family, it’s very cute.

Finally, just a few questions for some quick answers –
FAVOURITE:
Album –  The 1975 – The 1975
Artist – The Beatles
Movie – Surf’s Up
Place to visit – Paris
Venue to play – Elsewhere
Food – Tacos
Drink – Coke
Person in History –  Zues
Tattoo – we literally have so many. Spider, Mum, Stick Man, Panther, Dragon.

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Your latest single “Silver Linings” has just been released which is the lead song on the new EP of the same title. Tell us a bit about this song?  
Dad passed away in April 2022, and we went on tour in June/July. This song, Silver Linings, was written around August 2022. It was also the first time we sat down to write music since he’d passed.  It was a beautiful winter day in mid-August, and Millie, Matt, and I were working out of my bedroom on the Gold Coast. On clear days, there’s a gorgeous, golden afternoon light from the sun setting in the west over the mountains.  Matt was working at the desk, while Millie and I sat on the bed with our guitars, and we workshopped this song into existence quite quickly—maybe in one or two hours. The song is very literal. The first verse is sung from the present, expressing how we felt disconnected from reality after the tour but still incredibly torn apart. The pre-chorus is about the day he took his life. The second verse is about the funeral. The chorus sums up the often ugly side of suicide: the questions, the shame, the guilt, the anger, the frustration. The bridge is about trying to find silver linings amidst all the despair, grief, and heartbreak.  The original demo carries a lot of what you hear in the final product. Matt has this way of creating sonic worlds for our songs, something that’s distinctly Ivey. He uses a lot of vocal chop techniques and has an ear for chords, pads, melodies, and moments that create this beautiful bed for the song to sit on.  We re-recorded some guitars, vocals, and bass in our home studio set up in London in September last year, but the general feeling of the song has remained the same since the day it was written.

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IVEY
LIVE SHOW DATES
Friday October 4
Patterns – Brighton, UK

For all ticket and touring updates
go HERE

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OUT NOW ON ISLAND RECORDS AUSTRALIA/UNIVERSAL MUSIC
LISTEN + STREAM HERE

IVEY
‘SILVER LININGS’ EP
Track List

1. Silver Linings
2. Life Goes On
3. Counting Sheep
4. Pessimism
5. Angel Numbers
6. Perfect Mess

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Follow IVEY
Website – Instagram – Facebook – Spotify

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About IVEY

Hailing from the sun-kissed Gold Coast of Australia, Ivey is a dynamic indie pop band led by the captivating vocalist, Millie Perks. Founded by brothers Lachlan and Matthew McGuffie alongside their neighbour Dante Martin in their childhood garage, Ivey commenced honing their distinctive sound at the tender age of 12.

Releasing a series of singles and three EPs between 2016 and 2022, Ivey swiftly endeared themselves to both their peers and a burgeoning fanbase. Ivey’s music has resonated, amassing over 12 million streams. Their unique blend of alternative guitar pop coupled with poignant lyricism began to garner attention within Australia’s vibrant music scene. Subsequently, the band found themselves selling out venues nationwide, receiving support from esteemed national broadcaster triple j and gracing local festival stages like Falls Music & Arts Festival, Jungle Love Festival, Springtime Festival, The Drop Music + Surf Festival, BIGSOUND + the Commonwealth Games Gold Coast.

Internationally, the band have had support from the BBC, NME + performed at Beyond The Music Festival inManchester + supported Vacations, Last Dinosaurs, Delights + The Grogans, Isle Of Wight and Ones To Watch Weekender Festivals in the UK.

With a strong fanbase in the UK, in April 2023, Ivey embarked on a bold new chapter by relocating from Australia to London. Their debut performance in the British capital at the esteemed ‘School Night’ club night left an indelible mark on their new locale. Since their inaugural show, Ivey’s presence and reputation have steadily flourished in London, earning them invitations to support acts and perform at festivals throughout the UK.

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Press Release 13th September 2024 (below) HERE

release new EP
“SILVER LININGS”

Out Now

LISTEN + STREAM HERE

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MUSIC

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AMNPLIFY – DB