Slumberjack are about to pierce the Australian dance music scene from a dizzying height. Before they even had a chance to drop a proper debut release, they’d already gained respect from the likes of Diplo, Ta-ku and Skrillex and received approval from dancefloors, Majestic Casual and Triple J. Now, that anticipated self-titled debut EP is on its way and ACCLAIM got its mitts on it for an exclusive listen a couple of days before its release. Give it a spin below or pre-order it here and read what Slumberjack members Morgan Then and Fletcher Ehlers had to say for themselves.
EAVESDROPPING ON SLUMBERJACK
Who are you?
SLUMBERJACK.
Where are you from?
We’re currently based in Perth, Western Australia.
What is unique about your local music scene?
We’ve found that Perth is really supportive of the new wave of artists coming out of Australia at the moment and there is super strong bass music following here which is perfect for us! There’s also a bunch of collectives such as Labsix and DIE HIGH who are only helping to build the scene.
Describe your sound in three words. Go!
World music influenced.
What makes you unique as an artist?
We love to experiment with really exotic sounds which are estranged from the electronic dance music genre. The textures we get from using those instruments is part of what forms our palette and keeps us inspired to push the boundaries and make ‘different’ tracks.
Have you heard any new music lately? Got any recommendations?
We’re loving the sounds of Losco, a four piece electronic outfit from Belgium who constantly leave us in awe with their crazy sound processing which goes so against the book but somehow works every time.
Tell us a little about this release.
This release is our chance to show everyone the many sides to the music we like to write. It ranges from the eclectic, industrial and beat oriented sounds of Felon to the poppier, more melodic focused tracks like Body Cry and The Others. We actually wrote a most of the music almost a year ago but never released anything and in the last couple of months completely reworked it all to the point that the tracks were completely unrecognizable from their original form. It was a big call to make but we wanted to incorporate all the new production techniques we’d picked up over the year.
What else are you working on at the moment?
Apart from the edits and bootlegs which we’re constantly working on to play in our sets, we’re focusing on more club based music for the next release. We’re going for stripped back, really driving records which reflects what we both are vibing on at the moment and what we’ve found works best in our sets.
Do you have any shows coming up?
We’ve got a heap of summer shows planned for December, including a run of Stereosonic dates, but then will be taking a little time out to hide in the air-conditioned studio when it really starts to heat up.
More Slumberjack
Keep up with Eavesdrop here.
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