A Quick Chat With Arabella and The Heist

Introducing Arabella and The Heist, Naarm’s fierce femme-punk ensemble, renowned for their raw energy and unapologetic attitude. Since their 2021 debut, they've captivated audiences with singles and their debut EP 'The Back Woods', sharing stages with notable acts like Vermantics and The Ugly Kings. Their latest single '1769', is raw, unrelenting punk-rock. With Arabella's commanding vocals leading a whirlwind of fuzzed-out guitars and driving bass, '1769' embodies the chaos of a wild Melbourne night out. As they gear up for a Sydney show at the Duke Of Enmore on March 28th, we caught up with them to find out more about the track, their creative process and more.

Can you tell us what this track means to you and what you want people to take away from it?

1769 to us embodies a feeling of adrenaline, of walking into a dive bar where the music's loud and you're surrounded by chaos. With this track we're inviting you into our 2AM mania, into a space where the only time that matters to us is the pounding in your chest.

Who are some of your influences and why?

Our influences for this track sonically came from the chaotic rock from bands like IDLES and Yeah Yeah Yeahs, tracks we’ve been spinning on the road together. The way that those bands are able to create fevered distillation of utter chaos within a 2-3 minute track really inspired us. Lyrically for me, I grew up with a lot of femme-rock on my turntable, the Suzi Quatro, Joan Jett, Chrissie Hynde etc. I’ve always felt a really strong calling towards that power in their performance.

What's the creative process for you, from writing through to recording?

Our creative process is ever evolving, some days some things work, and other days, they don't. Writing this track was one of those days where it all just - worked. I was hot off the back of a nocturnal weekend, coming down off the high of being out, the excitement of it. Then this bass line came about at practice and that was it, the song wrote itself.

We took it to Michael Badger, who we really looked up to and we’re so excited to have collaborated with on this track, and the word that kept being thrown around was energy. The main aim in the recording of this track was to maintain that energy. That came down to small production decisions such as deciding not to record the drums to a clicktrack, to maintain the livelihood and intensity of the performance. We didn't want to make sacrifices that would interfere with the feverish human element of the track.

What do you think makes a great song?

To me, a great song is one that can transport you. If you’re sitting on the bus and you put your headphones on, and suddenly you’re there with your friends on a night out or you’re getting heartbroken for the first time. Whatever it is, there is nothing more powerful than that to me. Which is why it was so at the forefront of our minds when creating the visual and sonic world for this track.

If you could collaborate with any artist, who would it be and why?

I would love to get into the minds of the artists I grew up listening to, I think a ride or die for me would be The Damned. To get a taste of the type of writing and production that made my favorite album, Machine Gun Etiquette, would be an absolute dream come true.

When not working on music, what other creative outlet/s do you have?

I’ve recently found a lot of interest in fashion, learning about different era’s of clothing and style. I find the way that designers put together runway shows very similar to how musicians work with different themes and different feelings being displayed through something as minute as a change in shoe. I’m definitely still not the most fashionable person ever but hey, Anna Wintor I’d love to be mates.

Who are some local bands we should check out?

Absolutely loving on The Refuge, The Miffs, Super American Eagle and The Stripp. We’re way too spoiled for choice in this city.

Winter or summer and why?

Winter for fashion, summer for living.

What else do you have planned for 2024?

We hope to continue building our world we’ve created with this track with an album towards the end of the year.

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