New Zealand have, let’s face it, got a lot over us at the moment. Prime Ministers and isolation stages excluded, they’ve got Summer Thieves. Wielding that irresistible blend of reggae, hip-hop, and pop-rock they’ve just released another hooky single, Ocean Baby. They took some time to chat us through this new one and give us the tea on their favourite kiwi artists.
Kiwi gems Summer Thieves sat down with us post-surf to chat about their latest anthem of chill ‘Ocean Baby’ and an Aussie tour.
HAPPY: Hey, how’s it going? What are you up to at the moment?
SUMMER THIEVES: Just got out of the surf in Raglan, NZ. Now just sitting here on my mate’s deck looking over Whale Bay.
HAPPY: We’re loving the new single Ocean Baby! How does it feel having out there in the world?
SUMMER THIEVES: It’s good to have it out for sure. The song was actually written ages ago and just sat there so it’s always good to bring those ones you left behind to life.
HAPPY: Could you tell us a bit about the song?
SUMMER THIEVES: It’s all about that feeling you get when you realise you gave your trust to the wrong person.
HAPPY: There are so many different genres incorporated in your music… do you feel like your sound is always evolving? Or do you feel like you’ve settled on something concrete?
SUMMER THIEVES: We definitely have our own “live” sound but when it comes to the studio and releasing music we like to play with different things and evolve. We’ve all got a really wide rage of influences to draw from so things could take any direction, we’re not set on any concrete sound.
HAPPY: You’ve released a few singles over the past year… did you approach the writing/recording of these tracks differently at all to past material?
SUMMER THIEVES: Some of the tracks we wrote and recorded in the studio and some we did it our old way (Warped) which is Johnny and I bring material to rehearsals and develop them with the band.
HAPPY: Are these singles a taste of something bigger to come? An album perhaps?
SUMMER THIEVES: Yeah, these song’s are all off an upcoming EP. We’ll have the full body of work out very soon and I’m already tracking demos for our next full album.
HAPPY: Are there any other artists that you’re really digging at the moment?
SUMMER THIEVES: Having the time over lock-downs been really good to listen to heaps of music. Mellowdownz, L.A.B, The Vanns, Troy Kingi, Big Sima, Connan Mockasin. Tonnes of good Kiwi stuff.
HAPPY: What’s next for Summer Thieves? Any other exciting plans in the works?
SUMMER THIEVES: We were supposed to be in the middle of an NZ Tour at the moment and booking shows for our debut Australian tour – before the whole Covid-19 scenario. So that will be back on the cards once we have the all clear. So the main focus right now is the next album.
HAPPY: Cheers for the chat!
Have a listen to Ocean Baby below:
