A Quick Chat with Local the Neighbour

Welcome back! It’s great to chat to you again, and congrats on the release of your debut EP. Can you tell us a bit about HUME31 pt.1, what it’s about and what you hope to share through it?

Thanks for having me, stoked to be back:)

HUME31 pt.1 is a collection of songs written between 2020-2022. These are actually some of the first songs I ever wrote! Being a drummer first, songwriting was never something I had had to do for bands, but I had a deep appreciation for the craft. I like to think of these songs as a time stamp for what I was feeling at the time and the different things I was going through in life. Each song touches on themes like gratitude and joy, frustration, anger, and anxiety about the future. During that period of my life I was between rural VIC and Melbourne, so I spent a lot of time on the Hume freeway, always listening to mixes of my music trying to make them better. That’s when Local the Neighbour came into existence, so I wanted to find a way to document that period of my life by calling it HUME31 pt.1. Hopefully it will be nice to look back on!

Ultimately, I just wanted the EP to reflect life. There’s a lot of emotions out there and we experience them all, so why not try and write about a variety of feelings!

What was it like transitioning from jazz to a more shoegaze/indie sound?

Honestly, very easy! The indie/rock/shoegaze/pop sound is where I’ve always felt most comfortable. Even my favourite jazz musicians have worked with more ‘indie’ songwriters as well. Studying jazz as a discipline really shaped my perspective on music, but I think you always come back to your roots, and mine are definitely more in this indie/shoegaze/rock world.

Were there any artists that inspired you along the way?

That whole indie-pop world is a big influence. Jay Som, Alex G, Hovvdy, Lomelda, Beach Bunny, Wallows. I love it all! Recently I’ve been enjoying a lot of that 90’s grunge revival. My dad would listen to that stuff when I was a kid, so I’m always excited for anything with that aesthetic. 

When it comes to inspiration while making music, I usually try hard to block out external influences because I can get sidetracked comparing myself to an artist I admire. Because I do all the production and engineering, I can fall into a rabbit hole trying to chase a certain sound I think is similar to my favourite recordings. I prefer to try and keep my sanity if I can haha! So avoiding listening to heaps of my favourite artists while producing seems to help. I’m usually always listening to music out of habit though, so my favourite songs are always floating around my head whether I like it or not!

What records can you not stop listening to at the moment?

I really love the latest Wallows album. It came out a year ago and I still LOVE it. I could rave about it all day! I’ve also been smashing MJ Lenderman. He’s the guitarist in one of my favourite bands ‘Wednesday’. I love the country twang and the story telling. His songs are also very funny - humour in music is something I enjoy a lot! Which is why I LOVE 100 Gecs too. 10,000 Gecs is incredible. I got my Tooth Removed is my current fave off that album haha. 

Is there anything about you that people might be surprised to know?

I really want to say what my day to day casual job is, but I’m worried I might get fired if I tell everyone what I do. It’s pretty funny to see people’s reactions when I tell them though. If you come to a show and ask, I might tell you (it’s nothing illegal or anything). I’m gonna leave it as a mystery here.

And lastly, what’s coming up for Local the Neighbour for the rest of the year?

I’m currently working on my second EP. I had a good chunk of it done earlier this year, but my laptop blew up (literally) and I lost a tonne of stuff! I’ve now got a new computer and am back in action! So hopefully that’ll be done soon. 

I’ll be heading over to the US later this year to work on some music, which I’m super excited about. Lots of music, lots of dog walks, and hopefully lots of good memories!