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Interviews

Tomatrax interviews New Navy

Tomatrax caught up with the dreamy and chirpy indie pop folks of New Navy, to talk about the inspirations behind their sound and their plans after supporting Andy Bull on tour – headline tour dates below!

new navy

TRAX: You’re about to start your first headline tour this year, what can fans expect from your show?

 NN: This time around fans can expect to hear a whole bunch of new tunes of our upcoming album, and of course the ‘oldies’ thrown in for good time feels.

TRAX: You’re about to release your debut album, how will it compare to your previous releases?

NN: The album is a little more eclectic than what our fans are used to from us, which I think is a good thing. We really wanted to broaden our horizons with the album and prove that we’re not just a ‘one trick pony’. There is still the classic New Navy summer vibes in there, we’ve just toned it back in a few of the tracks and added a few different elements.

TRAX: How does putting an album together compare to doing an EP or single?

NN: Evidently, it takes a lot longer. There’s so much more to think about; dynamics, flow, themes, over-all production, art, release plans for individual songs. But there’s also the freedom in knowing that not all songs are written to be singles, so there’s no need to ‘trim the fat’ for radio.

TRAX: Do you know what the album will be titled?

NN: We have a few ideas kicking around. Our first EP was named after where it was written (Uluwatu), so it would be cool to stick with that theme.

TRAX: What made you pick Heaven as the first single from the album?

NN: That was an interesting decision from us. We knew that Heaven wasn’t a radio song, being 5 minutes long. I’m pretty sure it also has the slowest tempo on the album, not to mention the sonic differences it has to our previous releases. But it was a song that we were all really loving so we wanted to almost leak it out there to our fans, break the ice with something different sounding.

TRAX: What is the music scene like in Ulladulla?

NN: Umm… close to non existent, haha. That’s not to say there aren’t a lot of talented people from down that way, electronic producer Yahtzel is from Ulladulla, I think he still lives there. There just aren’t many venues/opportunities in the town. Bigger bands come through occasionally, not as often as they used to.

TRAX: What was it like touring with Andy Bull?

NN: Good fun. Both him and his band are really great, genuine people. We had never done a support tour, so it was nice to support a band that is friendly and accommodating. The shows were all great, most were close to if not sold out, so hopefully we poached a few of The Bull’s fans.

TRAX: What inspired you to write a song about Zimbabwe?

NN: Strangely enough, the idea for the song came about from an old T-Shirt that I wore to rehearsal one day. A tourist shirt from Zimbabwe, which was my dad’s originally. We had the guitars for the song already, but no lyrics or melody. Then after seeing the shirt we thought “that’s a cool name for a song” and everything else fell in afterwards.

TRAX:  Where did the name New Navy come from?

NN: This sounds pretty dumb, having these two questions in a row, but ‘New Navy’ was the colour of our singer’s T-Shirt. We’re pretty deep with our themes and influences, haha. Way back when we were first starting out we had a bunch of songs written, and were offered some gigs, so we needed a name. ‘New Navy’ had a nice ring to it, and what was originally a temporary name just kind of stuck.

TRAX: Do you ever listen to your own music?

NN: Not once until it’s finished. It’s a weird part of the process, by the time the songs are ready for everyone else to listen to the band have already heard them thousands of times. Me personally, once I sign off on a master I never want to hear it again, unless it’s on the radio ;)

TRAX: What music do you listen to?

NN: That’s a pretty broad question. We all listen to varied stuff. Sometimes I find it hard to listen to music in the same vein as ours, I end up comparing it musically rather than enjoying it, so I end up listening to hip-hop, Jazz or Nat King Cole, something far from NN.

TRAX: What do you plan on doing once the tour is over?

NN: Hopefully sleep. And then I guess it will be time to put the album out and do another lap.

New Navy’s headline tour dates below:

Thursday 13 November- Northcote Social Club, Northcote, VIC

Friday 21 November – Newtown Social Club, Newtown, NSW

Saturday 29 November – Amplifier Bar, Perth, WA

Sunday 30 November – Dunsborough Tavern, Dunsborough, WA

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