A Quick Chat With TYDE

Meanjin’s genre-bending fem-led outfit, TYDE, have just dropped a groove infused single ‘Latte Partay’. For the unacquainted, they’ve been checking off milestones like playing Byron Bay Blues Fest, going on heaps of tours and even collaborating on their own coffee bean - ‘Latte Partay’ with Ground Control Coffee Roasters. This new dance-ready single has big festival stage energy, punchy horns, rockin’ solos and more, as it laughs at late-stage capitalism. We caught up with the band to find out more. 

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

Latte Partay was a brain-dump into my notes app about being overwhelmed by the conundrums of my generation. It’s easy to feel defeated about the rising living costs, inaction on world issues like climate change from our leaders etc., but sometimes it’s helpful to take a step back and have a laugh at the absurdity of it all. The plot is hilarious, with a little distance. The news stories blaming our struggles on smashed avo toast - you can’t make that sh*t up. And there’s a sense of camaraderie when we talk about these issues and have a giggle. That raised-eyebrow-look we share when we hear about yet another natural disaster, and go “Oop another one. Nah, climate change isn’t real...” 

What I want people to take away from the song is the message to lean into your community in the face of difficulty, and have a laugh about the absurdity of the state of the world. We’re in this together and we’re going to enjoy our damn lattes too. 

Who are some of the band's influences, and why?

Some of our influences are The Cat Empire, Hiatus Kaiyote, Nubiyan Twist, Franz Ferdinand, Dodie, Noga Erez… many more too. Most of the band have studied jazz but grew up listening to all sorts of different things. I (Ella) listened to a lot of folk music and Australian 90s rock, but The Cat Empire is my all-time favourite band. Some of the band are into funk, metal, prog - theres a lot of different things coming through! I think we all share a love of fusion music that breaks genre barriers, and music that pushes boundaries technically too. We love tunes that give us the stank face, and we aim to give our listeners the stank face. 

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

So far the process has been Ella bringing a demo to the band with outlines for all the parts, and then the song evolves and grows through jamming and adding ideas over time. Each band member brings a different vibe and they all shine through in the end arrangements! And then when recording, we might edit/refine the individual lines as we hear them back in a studio context, and Ella will tend to throw a bunch more harmony ideas at each band member. From there we try to incorporate those into our live performances onwards from there too. 

What do you think makes a great song?

I think a great song needs to take you on a journey topically and/or musically, or show an evolution of some kind, or it needs to ask a question (and potentially answer it). A catchy bass or horn line never hurts too. 

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

It’s so hard to pick just one - Hiatus Kaiyote, Dodie, Jacob Collier or Nubiyan Twist would all be a dream for collaborate with! Probably all for similar reasons - they make unexpected musical choices while still staying true to telling a story or capturing a feeling. They all have amazing chops too.  

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

Mae is very particular about curating her fashion and general aesthetic, Alyssa is into fashion and a little bit of everything really (she made the cake and the car in our upcoming music video!), Sharon likes to make digital art graphics as cute keepsakes from gigs/important moments by tracing photos and making the outlines into a little artwork, Ella likes to watercolour paint and draws, Liv also dabbles in various bits of art, and Mika loves to dye her bangs all sorts of colours and go bouldering (does that count? Haha). 

Who are some local bands we should check out?

HRBRT, The Steele Syndicate, Rosa Mack, SAIK, Cigany Weaver, Sixth Of The Sun, Moths To A Flame, Kodiak Empire, Blue Stockings

Winter or summer and why?

Both! A day at the beach with your mates is the BEST, but so is not sweating (and we do love hitting the slopes for a slide in winter). 

What else do you have planned for 2024?

We have another single on the way, and a live EP too! So excited for both of these - the next single is one of our favourite more prog-y tunes, and I think we do our best work as a band when playing live. We have so much fun together performing and jamming, the vibes are immaculate. 

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