Project Description
Interview with
SUNSET CITY
Interviewer – Dave Bruce
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How did it all begin? Where did you develop your interest in performing music to an audience?
Well we all met up in the studio working on our own projects at different times. We started to jam together and one of us just said, ‘let’s make this thing a band.” That’s the short story. The interest comes naturally from watching our favourite artists perform and wanting to share our music with everyone in the same way.
You have been together almost 5 years now. What have you discovered about each other in that time and how does it affect you as a group, good or bad?
We’re discovering new things about each other all the time. Parker’s always dropping something new on us every week… “oh yeah, I used to be a pro basketball player”, “oh yeah, I used to live in Hong Kong.”
Aside from that though, we’d say the most important things discovered are how to talk to each other, what you wait until next week to discuss, etc.
With your new single “Take My Hours”, can you describe its origins and evolution?
Well we were having a conversation about song writing and how interesting that whole process is. Parker had the idea of writing a song about writing songs, which of course is what we love to do as songwriters and musicians, so that’s where it came from. It really is about doing what you love most.
You made the Spotify New Music Friday Playlists. That must have felt cool?
That felt really great, we were all together at midnight for the release of the song and literally the first thing we checked was New Music Friday. We got to the bottom of the list, thinking we missed out and then checked it again and there it was. We’re so happy.
I know how challenging the creative and production process can be. How good does it feel to complete?
Amazing! I think the song took a couple of hours to write but the production took us about 6 months to complete. Finally finishing a song that took us so long to complete is a fantastic feeling.
The single deals with “Chasing the highs and lows in life”, which gets many people into trouble. In this Industry of chasing numbers, how do you guys keep balanced and “present”?
The song is really a reflection of that. Writing for ourselves is really important and is the best way to stay grounded. We’re writing what we like and when people connect and relate to our music that is what it’s all about. It is really cool though, especially as an independent artist, to watch everything grow and the numbers change.
The last video, ‘Pockets”, was well received. The new one looks and sounds great? Are you happy with the outcome? Also, are you guys writing backwards, or is that an illusion?
Thanks so much! Pockets was such a fun video to make. With ‘Take My Hours’ we wanted to go a different direction and share our journey so far. It’s a collection of different clips from the last 5 years, that show more of who we are and what we get up to behind the scenes. Then we made it fancy with a glass pane and a paint pen… and yes, we had to write everything backwards.
!DRAH YLLAER SAW TI (IT WAS REALLY HARD)
Also, while I am asking about new material, is there an Album on the drawing board?
There’s been discussions about it. We aren’t sure whether it’s going to be two EP’s or a full album, but I think we’ll know for sure by the end of the year.
Talking about creating new music, how do you find the Songwriting process? Is there always a big appetite to write more songs or is it a “right time, right place” process?
There’s always an appetite to write more songs. I don’t know if there’s a right place or a right time, I think the more you write, the more chance you have of writing something special.
What is it like collaborating with the likes of Ryan Rlback and Samantha Jade? What did you learn from those experiences, and are there some more collaborations coming up you can tell us about?
They’re both super talented and so great to work with. We learnt so much about the industry from both of those experiences. No collaborations on the horizon at the moment, however we’re always interested in working with more great artists and producers.
Any big shows or tours on the horizon?
We have been talking about getting over to the UK. At the moment though we’re focusing on building our catalogue.
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Talking about shows, you played the Ipswich Festival recently and did I see an image of you at a Stadium as well? Was that to play? How do you like playing the big stages?
Yeah, supporting Sneaky Sound System at the Ipswich Festival was a really great experience. And Suncorp Stadium was an incredible moment for us as a band! We played mid-field, pre-game show for the Brisbane Broncos for 20,000 people. Amazing experience.
What are your major goals or milestones for the future?
More releases, touring, albums. There are so many things we’re looking forward to, we’re just enjoying it all right now.
FAVORITE:
Album:
Parker – A fever you can’t sweat out – Panic! at the Disco.
Matt – The Wall – Pink Floyd
Rob – What’s the story morning glory – OasisBrendan – I just can’t choose a favourite, there are way too many!
Artist:
Parker – Cxloe
Matt – Halsey
Rob – The 1975
Brendan – Stevie Wonder
Movie:
Parker – Catch me if you can
Matt – Life Of Pi
Rob – Pursuit of Happiness
Brendan – One Piece
Place to visit:
Parker – Vancouver
Matt – Hawaii
Rob – Queenstown
Brendan – South Korea
Show to play:
Parker – Surfers Paradise Live
Matt – Suncorp Stadium
Rob – Commonwealth Games
Brendan – Anywhere the crowd is having fun!
Food:
Parker – Pizza, specifically supreme with chilli.
Matt – Barramundi Burritos
Rob – Lasagne
Brendan – I can’t isolate one thing… actually, I love cookies!
Rob – I change my answer to cookies.
Drink:
Parker – Red Wine, Scotch, Brorange juice… (that’s not a typo)
Matt – Long Black (Coffee)
Rob – Chocolate Almond Milk
Brendan – Reverse Osmosis Filtered Water.
Person in History:
Parker – Warren Buffett
Matt – Tesla
Rob – Paul McCartney and John Lennon.
Brendan – My Dad.
Tattoo: (if you don’t have one, one you would get?)
Parker – Guitar, on the inside of my arm.
Matt – Pink Rose on my left buttock.
Rob – The alphabet… so I can just circle whatever I want.
Brendan – Prison Break whole body tattoo
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Check out SUNSET CITY below
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BIO
Blending alternative and electronic with a pop sensibility, Sunset City are quickly becoming known for their infectious energy, and talent for delivering a charismatic tune time and time again.
Consisting of Parker Rose, Rob Johnson, Matt Scully and Brendan Ramnath, Sunset City kick-started their 2019 with the release of their second single, ‘Forget It All’ feat. Samantha Jade – an upbeat summer tune that is guaranteed to get you dancing. The remainder of the year is set to be a busy one with the release of their third single ‘Take My Hours’ in June.
The foursome first debuted in 2018 with a feature on Bombs’s Away single, ‘Let You Down’, before releasing their inaugural single ‘Pockets’, which has been streamed over 100,000 times throughout the US, Europe, Asia, New Zealand and Australia. The band finished off their 2018 with a collaboration on ‘Papercuts’, a single by Ryan Riback, the famed produced behind Starley’s 4x platinum hit ‘Call On Me’.
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