Six years ago we were gifted with the ultimate combination of fun, vitality, and just the right amount of cowbell in the form of Northeast Party House.
The band were born with a triple J Unearthed victory asserting their place in the Australian music scene. Since then they’ve graced us with a barrage delicious tunes, taken their adrenaline-charged live show all over the world, and dropped their debut record Any Given Weekend to critical acclaim. However, a relatively quiet two years has left fans and listeners alike craving more…
Northeast Party House are back with a new album under their belt. Just before they take it on the road we caught up with the band to talk producing their own records, being an adult and Dare.
…Well crave no more. Back in July the six-piece announced their sophomore record Dare and a month-long tour in support. If what we’ve heard so far is anything to go by, the album will be more than enough to satisfy the ears of those playing the waiting game. Plus coming off the back of their US/UK/EURO tour, the group are sure to bring an explosive live show to stages all over the country.
Before getting lost in the mosh pit of their full-fledged national tour, we caught up with Northeast Party House to talk producing their own records, being an adult and Dare.
HAPPY: Hey Oli, congrats on the big triple announcement a few weeks back! How did that come about? Was it always gonna be a 3-in-1 thing?
OLI: Ha, well I guess it’s just how things turned out. When you got an album you’ve got a single and you’re gonna be touring that music around, so why not have it all go together?
HAPPY: Out of the tour, the release of the lead single and the album announcement, which were you guys most pumped to let the world know about?
OLI: Definitely would have to be the album announcement. Tours come and go, and there will always be more singles, but this new album we are all really excited to get out there and have people listen to it, so 100% that.
HAPPY: How has the response been from songs you’ve released from Dare so far?
OLI: Pretty great so far, we’ve had great numbers come up from For You and on the couple of times we’ve played it live now people really groove to it. Dare is harder to gauge as it hasn’t been released yet, but from the feedback we’ve been getting people seem to be loving its vibe.
HAPPY: Are there particular tracks from the album that you’re just been aching to get out there?
OLI: I want to answer with ‘all of them’ but I feel like that’s a bit unfair. If I had to choose I would say that I can’t wait to hear what people think of Love Machine, it’s a pretty unique track with an epic outro and has been a favourite of mine from the start. We played it live for the first time last night and it went off.
HAPPY: How was the recording process, and did it feel much different to when you guys did Any Given Weekend?
OLI: Any Given Weekend was testing ground for a lot of stuff. As it was our first album, we were learning a lot about the process as we went. As such, there were a bunch of things which we realised that we have done much better. The process for Dare gained so much from this experience. We are all much better writers and able to communicate with each other and articulate our aims and goals much better.
HAPPY: You boys self-produced it, right? Did that stretch your studio time out much?
OLI: Yeah, as a process we did go overtime a bit. But ultimately it was the right choice. While it can be extremely beneficial, it is difficult to find the right person who’s opinion you trust and who would be able to push the album to new heights. Ultimately we were confident in ourselves and even thought it took a bit longer than we had anticipated, we rose up to the challenge and are really proud of what we achieved.
HAPPY: I know that For You was written intentionally to translate to live audiences. Do you think the rest of the album will translate well too?
OLI: Definitely. In some respects For You is one of our more mellow tracks. We’ve got some real bangers that kick the crowd in to gear and get them singing along at full voice after they’ve only heard the chorus once.
HAPPY: Speaking of live audiences, you guys spent a decent chunk of time performing abroad last year. How was that?
OLI: Such an amazing experience. Touring is one of my favourite things to do just in general, and when you combine the ability to travel overseas, meet new people and fans it’s just such a wonderful opportunity. We made heaps of connections, played some sick shows and are looking forward to heading back ASAP.
HAPPY: Are you excited to play on home turf again with Twinsy and Polish Club? Have you played with those guys before?
OLI: God, I can not wait to start this tour. I’ve been on placement studying to be a high school teacher for the last month. This means acting like an adult and role model for teenagers all day, it’s so hard. Not to mention 12-hour work and study days, with the added stress of tour and album prep. I’ve got so much pent up energy I think I’m gonna burst. Not having played Australia for a while has made us all so thirsty to show them what we’ve got and experience the new tracks with them, it’s going to be real special.
We played with Polish Club in Sydney a year ago or so, they really impressed me, great vibe and amazing stage presence, I’m really looking forward to actually getting to know them and seeing their show.
HAPPY: Looks like you’re covering a lot of Australia on the tour route. Where are you most looking forward to playing?
OLI: The most obvious answer would be Melbourne, there is nothing like a home-crowd and we just know it’s going to be an amazing show. But also I’m pretty keen for the Hobart show, we’ve only been there once before and it was an awesome time with friendly people and great hospitality, hopefully it will be more of the same.
HAPPY: The album drops the same day as your first Melbourne show, are you planning anything extra special for that performance?
OLI: As always we’ve got a sick light show that should get those mosh dogs frothing. It’s only the second show of the tour so I think we are going to come out full of energy and vibe, Melbourne always gives us an extra special reception so I can’t wait to ride that wave.
HAPPY: Where to from here once the tour comes to an end. Anything in the pipeline we can know about?
OLI: Well after the tour we’ll be focusing on writing the next album. We’ve become much more competent and confident as a team and we want to ride the creative wave we’re on right now cause it’s a big one. Otherwise, we’ll always be looking to play shows and there is always going to be another tour coming up around the corner at some point.
You can catch Northeast Party House tearing up the following venues in October.
Friday 9 September – 170 RUSSELL, MELBOURNE, VIC
Saturday 10 September – REPUBLIC BAR, HOBART, TAS
Thursday 15 September – ANU BAR , CANBERRA, ACT
Friday 16 September – THE METRO THEATRE, SYDNEY, NSW
Saturday 17 September – SMALL BALL ROOM, NEWCASTLE, NSW
Friday 23 September – THE TRIFFID, BRISBANE, QLD
Saturday 24 September – SOL BAR, MAROOCHYDORE, QLD
Friday 30 September – JACK RABBIT SLIMS, PERTH, WA
Saturday 1 October – THE GOV, ADELAIDE, SA
Friday 7 October – KAROVA LOUNGE, BALLARAT, VIC
Their new album Dare is out now! Get it here.
