Project Description
Q&A With
JOSH STEWART
of HIGH TROPICS
Interviewer: Jemma Bird
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Birthed by the fuzz-filled glory years that were the 2000s, High Tropics is the moniker of Queensland-based Josh Stewart. What was intended as a means to put out music outside of his duties of fronting indie rockers The Ninjas, Stewart’s DIY home recordings quickly caught the attention of esteemed U.S. label, Roll Call Records, who released the project’s first two singles in 2017.
Coming in hot off last year’s buzz, High Tropics’ deliver the goods once again with their latest fuzzy anthem “You Never Made it Easy”. Sonically reminiscent of early Strokes and Interpol with the DIY elements of FIDLAR and Wavves. Check out our chat with the band below!
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Before we get into your new releases and upcoming shows I just wanted to delve into your background a bit. Can you tell me how High Tropics came about?
High Tropics sort of started out of the ashes of previous project I used to play in (The Ninjas). I had been stock piling songs I’d been recording at home and wanted an outlet to release them without having to get approval from anyone else… High Tropics became the moniker.
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You’ve previously been described as ‘retro-fresh’ and I’m not even quite sure that I know what it means but nonetheless I feel as though it’s very appropriate. How would you describe yourself?
I’m not entirely sure what ‘retro-fresh’ means either but I like it and I’ll take it. To me I think it’s referring to early 2000’s bands like The Vines, The Strokes, The Killers etc, I guess maybe people find it refreshing because the vast majority of pop music today is electronic.
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I get major The Strokes/ The Killers vibes from you guys. My dad introduced me to these bands and I introduced him to High Tropics – he made me download ‘You Never Made it Easy’ onto his iTunes. He’s 63. Who has your biggest musical influences been?
Your dad has great taste. I was definitely heavily inspired by said bands, I fell into the 2000’s indie hype when I was younger and never really grew out of it. Just like a lot of my older friends are still wearing their favourite pop punk band t-shirts. That said, I’m more inspired by good songs than any genre or band in particular…
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Do you think they are reflective of your music?
I’m certainly aware of the comparisons, that said I never set out to sound like a certain band, I’m well aware there’s never going to be another Killers or Strokes. I think as complimentary as the comparisons are, they’re a double edged sword because as much as people love nostalgia it’s easy to get pigeonholed as derivative… I’m more into just serving the song, ‘You Never Made It Easy’ sounds how it does because that’s how it needed to be, clean guitars didn’t work, reverbed guitars didn’t work. I think with each new release we’ll start carving our own identity.
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Can you tell me a bit about the story behind ‘You Never Made it Easy’?
Without going into too much detail, I was kind of singing the chorus phrase to 2017 which was a shitty year for me with quite a few set backs. Glad I got a good song out of it though!
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Tell me a bit about your artwork for your previous singles and how they came about.
All my artwork is done by the same dude, shout out to Jayden Osborne. I send him the tunes, sometimes with an idea and he works his magic. You Never Made It Easy is a good example, there’s that dude running from Dominos, I thought it captured how I felt inside pretty well.
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Do you have any plans of releasing new music in the near future? Maybe an Album?
We’re dropping another song REAL soon, which I can’t wait for. Planning an EP soon but no album just yet – I think singles are the way to go for now. I’m all for an album but I think we need to connect a few more dots before hand.
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What’s your favourite lyric you’ve ever written?
Umm I honestly don’t know… maybe the chorus in a song called Morphine that I put out under the Ninjas. It’s one of the more deeper/personal songs I’ve ever written.
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What’s your favourite lyrics that anyone else has ever written?
Ooh this is so hard because there’s so many… I think Kendrick is probably the best lyricist kicking about planet earth right now. He’s a master story teller.
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Do you have any headline shows coming up? Would love to see you guys in Melbourne.
We’re going to announce some dates soon!
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Your current discography is comprised of 3 singles, which are all completely brilliant. I’m interested in what your setlist looks like at a live show.
Our set is generally 9/10 songs long (all originals and one cover if it feels warranted) depending on how much stage banter is happening, usually like to smash ’em out one after the other though.
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What song would you recommend for someone listening to High Tropics for the first time?
You Never Made It Easy – latest and greatest, but we’ll have a better one out SOON.
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You guys are based in Queensland. Do you think your location has affected your introduction to the industry?
I think it definitely slows down face to face networking, but for the most part the internet makes up for it. Gig wise, there’s definitely a deficit when compared to somewhere like Melbourne.
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There is so many great Australian artists releasing music at the moment, including yourselves. In your opinion, what Aussie artists should we be listening to right now?
Pop Cult, Geowulf (they’re in the UK now but are from here), Edward R, Hatchie… So much rad music coming from here I could go on and on.
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Is there anyone in particular producer or artist that you would like to collaborate with?
There’s a lot of rad producers here, I’m lucky enough to have a real good mate who is a wizard behind the desk (shout out to Elliot Heinrich), that said I’d love to with Dave Sardy some day, he’s pretty hexy though so if anyone wants pitch in let us know haha
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Lastly just for fun, if High Tropics was a meal or beverage what would it be and why?
Maybe like an acai bowl (I live on ‘em) but replace coconut water with Crabbies ginger beer (probably won’t go together at all but yolo)… Nah honestly I have no clue I’d have to let the rest of the band fight out this question.
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