It’s been a couple of weeks now since we first laid ears on Ivy Trip’s latest single Get Out, but for that entire time, we haven’t stopped listening.
The Melbourne three-piece ooze out an irresistible blend of electro-psych goodness, so fresh off the new single’s release, we asked the band to look back at five of their singles to discuss the inspiration and meanings behind their music.
Fresh off the release of their irresistible new single Get Out, we caught up with Melbourne trio Ivy Trip for a run-down of five of their tracks.
Disquietude
RICKY: I wrote this song in a period of my life when I was feeling very anxious about quite a lot of things that were happening. I’m sure everyone can relate, but there are times where it takes hours to sleep because your brain is wired, you are on edge constantly because of the anxiety that plagues you. I tried to reflect that in the structure and the beat of the song. The drumbeat was cut from five different samples I had created and perfectly captured that scattered anxious feeling I was going for; that uneasy tension but still rhythmic and in time. I wanted the ending to be bittersweet or have a very subtle resolution to capture that anxious vibe.
Blossom
RICKY: A friend of mine gave me this string sample and asked me to do something with it. It was great because I was going through a bit of a writer’s block at the time, so I sat down on Ableton and got really inspired by it. I reversed the string section and created a drone going through the whole song which made it sound kind of eerie, then the harp section was a melody I had stuck in my head for a while and it worked perfectly. I sang into the mic for about an hour and took pieces out of that to create the vocal samples you hear in the song. I sat down with Emily and together we bounced ideas off of each other and completed the song’s structure quite quickly—probably the chillest song we’ve created!
Get Out
EMILY: Get Out can have multiple interpretations depending on the listener, which is an aspect that I really love about it. Ricky had the first two lines ready to go from another track (When I leave you stay in my veins/Can you swim a little slower for me?) and to me, it was obvious that the lyrics were about drug use – until Ricky explained that he wrote it about being in an unhealthy relationship. We wanted to continue writing a piece that could play on both interpretations (and more), and it eventually formed into a song about being dependent and comfortable within any addiction, whilst simultaneously being aware of its negative consequences and the feeling of desperation to escape it. It’s definitely the most psychedelic track we’ve written to date but also has some groove factor to it that you can dance along to.
Feed
RICKY: The song Feed is about how the act of vengeance on someone feels very satisfying, but ultimately leads to your own demise, because in the fit of rage it took you to act out these feelings, you forget about all the consequences involved after the action takes place. I wanted the beat to be really in your face and give it an emotional chorus to break up the song. I’d just come back from Rainbow festival when I wrote this and I had heard quite a lot of music there with very creative rhythmic ideas that I incorporated into this song.
Mirrors
EMILY: This song initially started out as someone talking to their partner in a problematic relationship but then slowly morphed into a song about someone who is trying to cope with the negative, self-defeating side of themselves. I always had this vision of a woman driving alone down a dirt road at night, constantly looking into the rear-view mirror and almost pleading with her own reflection to save her from herself. I like that the upbeat music of this track can fool you into thinking that this song is a happy one, much like the subject in Mirrors, who attempts to hide her inner turmoil behind a happier exterior. (It’s also just a fun song to sing haha).
