Sunny Coast fraternal duo SAMETIME have been making waves with their latest release Maybe We Should Get High? Their groovy indie-pop style mixes elements of phat dancey bass and crisp, infectious vocals to light up your ear holes with sweltering tunes you’ll be singing in the shower for months. Plug in your best headphones and strut the streets with Maybe We Should Get High? The EP features tracks like the bopping new single 'Moving On,' before moving into more soulful ditties like 'Something To Feel,' with bright dance-ready tracks in between.
The EP guides us through the ups and downs of youthful exuberance, ending on the 100% certified banger 'Til Yr Not OK.' We were lucky enough to grab some hot takes from the two brothers and pick their brains on their latest release and upcoming tour:
Tell us about the inspiration behind the EP?
The theme for the EP is youth hedonism. We’re both young adults and both enjoy going out and having fun. All of the songs are inspired by experiences we’ve had. We wanted to make a record that makes you dance but also sit and think about the lyrics.
You’re touring in October with dates announced for the Sunshine Coast, Brisbane & the Gold Coast. What can audiences expect from your live performances, and where would you like to go next?
Since Covid cancelled a lot of our shows last year and then this year, it’s given us time to continue to develop the show into something big and fun. We’ve always wanted our live show to be packed full of energy from start to finish and we’ve finally got it to that point. We’re so lucky to be able to go out and play some shows in QLD but we cannot wait to take it around the rest of Australia.
You guys have been honing your skills for more than ten years now, building a reputation through busking and doing gigs around the Sunshine Coast. This led to you working Sony in 2017 at ages 14 & 16. What was it like being signed to a major record label at such a young age, and how did you get that opportunity?
We signed with Sony Music Publishing, which is mainly focused on the songwriting. The team at Sony Pub are great and are one of the reasons we’ve developed the sound we have today. The team heard our songs back in 2016 when we were still writing big sad ballads but they liked the songs, a few weeks later we were signed.
It must be a big opportunity to be managed by Dicko from Australian Idol. How did you come to be managed by him, and what is it like working with him?
Ha! Funnily enough, we were contacted by a couple of the reality music shows every year for about 4 years when we were younger and encouraged to apply but we always saw them as a bit naff and were committed to staying independent and carving our own path.
We were managed by our Dad for years and it was a chance meeting on a golf course with Dicko that changed everything. They became great mates and ended up in business together and the rest is history! He loved that we wanted to back ourselves.
Most people still know Dicko from his judging days but the reality is he was a major record company executive long before we all met him on the TV. He also loves Punk music! Who figures? He has such an amazing wealth of knowledge and is passionate about independent artists. He absolutely knows more about whats happening on JJJ and the Australian indie music scene than anyone we know!
The pandemic has affected each artist differently. What were your experiences like as musicians during this time?
At first it gave us time to sit back and reflect on what it is we're trying to do...have hit songs and blow up. It gave us time to write more than we ever have before because there was nothing else to do. We developed all aspects of our project till we felt it was ready. The bad thing is even though we were ready, the world still wasn't so it became sitting back and waiting, which sucked.
I myself am in a band with my brother. Do you think it helps you bounce off each other, musically? Are there any pros and cons to working with a sibling?
We bounce off each other musically mainly from the fact that we’ve been performing together since we were 12 and 9 years old. We know each other's patterns and behaviours musically to be able to communicate without even talking. We’ve both had very different tastes in music over the years and that would sometimes affect our own music with us both wanting to explore different genres.
What advice would you give to aspiring young musicians who are up-and-coming or just starting out?
We met Passenger at his show in Brisbane a couple of years ago and he told us that it took him 10 years of hard work to become an overnight success. That’s something that has stuck with us. It’s very easy to look at the spotify analytics or the triplejunearthed page and get deflated by the numbers. It’s very easy to give up on being an artist when you can physically see nobody engaging with your work. Whenever we feel like giving up, we remember what Passenger told us and it keeps us going. Long story short, work hard and be patient….we can not stress how important it is to be patient.
This hot and trotting EP is available to stream HERE and the brothers are touring throughout October, on the Sunshine Coast, Gold Coast & Brisbane. Be sure to grab tickets or come along to their FREE gig on the 14:
SAMETIME 2021 TOUR DATES
Friday, October 1, Caloundra Music Festival, QLD Tickets
Thursday October 14, The Zoo, Brisbane, QLD Free entry
Friday, October 15, Solbar, Sunshine Coast, QLD Tickets
Sunday, October 17, Mo’s Desert Clubhouse, Gold Coast, QLD Tickets
Saturday, October 30, Valley Fiesta Festival – The Wickham, Brisbane