Sydney jazz fusion junkies Papaya Tree dropped their long-awaited debut single Bamboo Schooner last week and oh boy, it was worth the wait. Tonight, they’re set to launch said single at the World Bar in Sydney.
As a six-piece brimming with sonic diversity, Papaya Tree’s pre-show listening rituals cover a musical ocean far and wide. Before they head to the stage tonight, we asked them to share with us but a drop of that wetness.
Read on for their go-to walk on song, and each band member’s numero uno hype track. Take it away, PT.
What kinda noise gets the randy boys of Papaya Tree in the mood? Before you head to their single launch, hype yourself up with these righteous tunes.
Walk-On Song: King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard – Nuclear Fusion
We were playing one of our first real big gigs, where the sound guy wanted to know what song we’d like to walk on to. We were gobsmacked that we could request a song so we picked Nuclear Fusion because it got us all riled up at the time.
We haven’t changed songs and probably won’t.
Jordan: D’Angelo – Soultronic (live)
The track is super energetic and rhythmic, which gets me in the mood to move on stage. The crispy horn hits get my head in the zone to play our set.
Jack: Chic – Everybody Dance
I’ve listened to the Chic discography before gigs to feel a bit jivey! The more I listen the looser I’ll get. Hmm disco disco!
Lee: The Black Keys – Girl Is On My Mind
My sound check music, my hype music, just overall soundtrack to my life. It’s just this grimey cowboy strolling/bank robbing/baby making music that makes you want to strut on stage.
Honourable mention to Bring It All Back by S Club 7, didn’t make the cut but it was tight.
Joe: Oasis – Supersonic
The opening lyrics “I need to be myself, I can’t be no one else, I’m feeling supersonic, give me gin and tonic, you can have it all but how much do you want it” coupled with the opening guitar riff and hard hitting drums put a rhythm in your stride before that make you feel on top of the world!
Zac: Jeff Buckley – Grace
So real. The change in dynamic textures from soft to overdriven choruses mixed with passionate lyrics and Jeff’s perfect voice and range just pump me up so hard.
The last chorus where the chords are all tense and Jeff belts out high notes gets me so pumped.
Ali: Thundercat – Them Changes
I like it because it’s a perfect meld of jazz and other styles and I like to try and mix genres in a similar way in when writing tunes. It also has a sick groove. In. The. Pocket.
Catch Papaya tree tonight at the launch of their dynamo debut single Bamboo Schooner:
Fri 8 Dec – The World Bar – Details
