CREATIVE CONVERSATIONS 159: BEFORE THE KING ON THEIR FIRST RELEASE IN TWO YEARS
Interview by AJ Maher.
Sydney-based indie rock band Before the King are releasing a new, explosive single Down Down Down on April 5th 2024 - their first release in two years! This will be the first single from their upcoming 3D Feelings EP, out July 12.
FMM: I've been listening to the new track, Down Down Down, and it is a real head bop. It seems like you're going to some slightly rawer and heavier sounds than before. Is this sort of from road testing your material on the a live circuit or just from music you've been listening to?
Before The King: Yeah, it's definitely from road testing. Well, I guess that's kind of how the song became what it is. We kind of just played it the way we wanted to play it and it has come out that way. I feel like another thing is all of our previously recorded music, we kind of built up layer by layer, and it was recording this song where it was actually attached on the end of the previous studio session, where we were like, actually, we're not going to do this calculated. We're actually just going to play like a live band because we've been doing so many shows at the time. So, I think it is our first recorded studio song where it's like, no, no, no. This is all of us at the same time as you get us live, which is naturally a bit more of a, you know, raw energy.
FMM: Yeah, of course, of course, because it definitely does have a slight old school quality to it. I almost felt like it was kind of a pub rock song, you know, in a slight way,. Not the whole song, but just a bit of that old-school pub feel to it, which explains coming from the way you've gone about recording it. Is this indicative of the sound of the rest of the upcoming EP? Did you record all the songs like this?
Before The King: Kind of. I think. I'm hesitant to say it's indicative of the sound of the rest of the EP, because this track is quite, I would almost say bluesy and garage-y. None of the other tracks on the EP are like that, but I would say it's darker than our previous material and the other tracks are like that.
FMM: Obviously, this is another collaboration with Chloe Dadd, again, on the producing duties. How did she go adapting to this new approach with the new song? At least recording live as a band, as opposed to separately?
Before The King: I think Oscar kind of summed it up best. We recorded our EP, which was, you know, definitely, as you said layer by layer, it was a lot tighter. It was a lot cleaner. At the end of that week with Chloe, we had the time, and we felt like demoing something else. We just all hopped down to the control room, to the library, and just went for it. I'm not sure she would have expected it to turn out the way that it did or for us to keep that as the finished product. That's certainly how that came about.
FMM: Just everyone embracing a bit of continuity, sort of.
Before The King: Yeah, always. That's always fun. Always brings out the classics. Since you've played SXSW in Sydney last year, do you feel like you've gotten on a bit more of a role as a band creatively and professionally?
Before The King: What do you mean by role?
FMM: Do you feel like it sort of inspired you to get you feeling more focused and energised than before on your music, or is it just kind of just another gig?
Before The King: I don't know if we were feeling not focused and energised beforehand. I think we've kind of been very focused and very energised, and maybe that just felt, like, culminate. Like, we got that gig because of us being focused and energised, and it's, like, great. Now you see that we're doing that. We're still here. We're still focused and energised, you know? Like obviously, playing a festival, any festival, and playing SXSW in particular feels like a huge milestone to us. It feels like a huge achievement. I guess it felt like that was a taste of what we're striving for, what we're working for, and it has given us the inspiration work out, Okay, what's next? How do we get more of that? How do we get back to a place where that's not just, that's what we do?
FMM: One of the things you say you promote as a band is positive masculinity. You know, obviously guitar-based music maybe has a bit of a history of toxic masculinity. So, do you think positive masculinity is something that's still maybe lacking in the modern scene?
Before The King: I reckon it's something that's lacking within the world, and then that just extends to the scene, and I think the way that we interact with each other and then with the world and just off as a band of people and friends, I think stands at some point in a contrast to the broader culture of masculinity, if that makes any sense. It's like rather than embody that history of toxic masculinity that definitely rock has and music in general, we can stand aside and be something different and something that we feel more comfortable in.
FMM: With the music video, it looks like, it looks like a lot of fun. It almost seems like just a simple idea that got thrown at the wall. Had a million ideas. How did it all sort of come together?
Before The King: Well, the music video was kind of my brainchild. We have been playing the song live for quite a while and it just, over time has become essentially like the crowning jewel moment of our livestream. It's the moment that I feel like always leaves the jaws on the floor. I wanted to just take that moment and give that moment to everybody who's never had the chance to see us live. The concept was to capture that and then we all got together. We also wanted to sort of embody this. I like to call it op shop classiness because I feel like there's a very sort of DIY-ness to our band and I just wanted it to be this true piece of here the fuck we are. That didn't make sense, but you know what I'm trying to say, like, this is who Before The King is. On the day, there was just a great energy, a great spirit of collaboration and we were just like, everyone was throwing out ideas and trying to make the video as engaging as possible. It just turned out really well because of all of those things.
FMM: Yeah, it's definitely the sort of video that you want to see on RAGE when you get home from a night out at like four in the morning. Like this is just making those moments, surely. Do you have any plans to tour any of your upcoming releases?
Before The King: I guess the way our release cycle is looking, next couple of months, the EP will be out around about the middle of July. And before then we'll be releasing Down Down Down and two other singles and planners. We're going to space those around a month apart and off the back beach release play maybe four or five tour dates both within Sydney and around New South Wales more generally. I guess get back into a bit of a touring rhythm and pick up a bit more momentum as we have done in the past, which is constantly playing shows, constantly touring, constantly moving.
FMM: Well, based off the new single and accompanying video, I am very, very interested, hoping that I get to be in the same place as you are when you're playing because it looks like a lot of fun being at one of your live shows.