Sanctuary Drive, the rising stars of Goulburn’s music scene, take us behind the scenes of their latest single, ‘Ink’
Sanctuary Drive’s gritty anthem tackles the consequences of bad choices, but where did the inspiration come from?
Buckle up as we dive into a nine-song playlist that influenced each member (and Sanctuary Drive as a whole) on their musical journeys and the creation of “Ink.”
We ask Sanctuary Drive how these songs have influenced them individually?
Tynan – Vocals/Bass
Forrest – The Smith Street Band
Blue Train Lines – King Krule & Mount Kimbie
These two songs really pushed me to take music more seriously and start Sanctuary Drive with the boys. The raw emotion that King Krule and Wil Wagner (from The Smith Street Band) put into their lyrics and vocals is something Hogan and I try to do in our songs.
They’re both very honest in their music, and that’s something i really admire. It’s not about being the best singer but about expressing yourself in a way you normally can’t.
For example, the way Wil Wagner tells stories about his life and struggles in his songs makes you feel like you know him. King Krule does the same, but with a unique style that mixes different sounds and emotions.
Listening to these songs made me realize that music can be a powerful way to share your feelings and connect with others.
It inspires us to be more open and honest in our own songwriting, and to focus on creating music that really means something to us and, hopefully, to our listeners too.
Sinan- Drums
Rock bottom – Live ⁃ King Krule
This song had a huge impact on the way that I play the drums, it opened up my eyes to how so many complex and intricate polyrhythms, can be used together in a way that doesn’t overcrowd the track, while still maintaining a steady, underlying beat. This also had a huge impact on my drumming in ‘INK’.
Alrighty Aphrodite ⁃ Peach Pit
I think This track has a lot of similarities to the way we play music. The use of slightly crunchy guitars with interesting strumming patterns and chord progressions, mixed in with all sorts of licks and flourishes, topped off with interesting and meaningful vocals, and a backline to suit.
Hogan guitar/lyrics
Out getting ribs- King Krule
This song has had a massive impact on me both personally and in my development as a musician, it was the song the that sent me down a rabbit hole of learning lots of King Krule songs and was my beginning of learning jazz chords and using them in a way that is still considered an alt rock context, which is something I had never come across before and loved instantly.
It was also the first song I ever learnt in an alternate guitar tuning. King Krule is my favourite lyricist, his ability to convey emotions and tell a story is unmatched.
He also does it in such an interesting way, his knack metaphors and imagery perfectly guide the listener to a feeling or a vivid picture without just outright explaining things.
It feels as though he is really writing poetry rather than a song.
Without discovering this song I’m almost certain that I wouldn’t even be half as invested or proficient in writing music.
No sleep- The Grogans
No Sleep has also been very important for my song writing. For a while I found myself really struggling to write new songs.
I was over complicating things and overthinking every decision, telling myself that my chord progression wasn’t interesting enough or my lyrics too bland.
Anything I came up with was quickly scrapped and rarely even shown to the band.
No Sleep is an extremely simple song, but it is fantastic. I’ve always really liked listening songs with a grunge rock feel but rarely learn to play them.
So when we began performing our cover of No Sleep consistently it had a big impact on me.
The chord progression doesn’t change throughout the whole song and the chorus is a few repeating lines, yet everyone at our gigs absolutely loves it, including me.
That really helped ground me when it came to writing songs. I stopped worrying about how complex my music was and focused on if it sounded good and if I would want to listen to it.
And that’s when I wrote our song “No Eyed Deer” which you will hopefully be able to listen to soon. I’m now very happy with my song writing and think I have a good balance of fun and complexity.
In general No Sleep has really helped me keep an open mind when I sit down to write a song.
Both of these songs helped and influenced the creation of INK. The jazz chords are the same ones I learned from all the King Krule songs I’ve practiced over the years and the lyrics have a fun balance of elusively detailed verses and a chorus that’s fun to shout at the top of your lungs.
INK was a joy to write and I’m very excited for more people to discover and enjoy this song we all spent a long time getting polished.
Cover songs
Ever be – Strawberry Lace/ Her and the sun/ Stay (Like a Version)- Rum Jungle
We love playing these songs live because we really enjoy them as a band. “Her and the Sun” by Rum Jungle has a great vibe that always gets the crowd going.
Rum Jungle’s cover of “Stay” by Rihanna is fun and adds a cool twist to a popular song. “Ever Be” by Strawberry Lace is super catchy and always gets people singing along.
These songs are great for getting the audience’s attention and making the show exciting. We also love how they let us interact with the crowd and have fun together on stage.
It’s all about having a good time and sharing that with our fans.
Check out Ink here and head here for our full interview with Sanctuary Drive.
