New Wave: The local musicians we’re adding to our summer playlists

“It gives you a sense of purpose.”

There’s nothing quite like the feeling of discovering a new artist who just speaks to you. It can be rare, so when it happens you go all in, spending the afternoon bingeing their entire catalogue and taking control of the AUX any chance you get. Locally, there’s no shortage of incredible new music if (like us) you’ve been looking for your next fixation.

Discover more about Australia’s musical talent in FJ’s Music section.

Take Loose Content, the three-piece indie rock band from Byron Bay whose powerful new single, ‘Where the Hollow People Sleep’ will win you over from the first listen. If hip-hop and R&B are more your thing, Squid the Kid’s debut EP, Kozy Tape, is the experimental, feel-good soundtrack to carry you into summer. Then there’s Juice Webster, the Melbourne-based singer-songwriter who blurs the line between folk and pop. Fresh off the back of her album, Julia, her sound is immersive, dreamlike and constantly evolving.

Loose Content

How do you approach songwriting as a band? Does everyone have separate roles or is it a collaborative process?

MiLLa (vocalist and bassist): It takes various forms… One of us will come up with a riff or a chord progression, or just a general idea, and then we’ll take it to the rest of the band and we’ll build it from the ground up together. Then lyrics will be added following that process. Or it might [be] the other way around, where it starts with a poem or some kind of thematic inspiration.

Sam Sanders (guitarist): It’s always finished together, but sometimes it starts out more separate.

What’s your favourite thing about performing live?

S: Sometimes it’s the feeling that it could all fall apart. Obviously, we know we can play these songs, but how much [can] we push it until it goes wrong? But also, when it goes wrong… that’s the best part of playing live.

M: It’s one thing to go and record songs. It’s another thing to be on stage and to all be experiencing that together – not just the people who wrote the song, but strangers, people you’ve never met before, all being in that experience together. We have big goals of touring with an orchestra or a choir – to have more people with us on stage, and having brass, and really amplifying the sound and bringing it to a new level.

What do you want people to feel after hearing ‘Where the Hollow People Sleep’?

M: A curiosity. Or a compulsion to wonder about the different parts of their own mind, the different parts of their psyche.

Follow along with Loose Content here. To listen to their music, head here.

Squid the Kid

What genres do you draw inspiration from?

Probably R&B and soul, mixed with a bit of funk and disco. That’s definitely my home base and what I’m known for. In terms of making [Kozy Tape], I really wanted to challenge myself and see what I could do with my songwriting abilities. That’s why you hear the different genres, variations and sounds throughout.

What music did you listen to growing up?

I’m not going to lie, I was raised on the radio. My parents didn’t really play music throughout the house, so [I listened to] mainly pop records. That influenced my music in terms of the way I arrange sound and how I put things together.

How is Kozy Tape different from your previous work?

Up until this point, I’ve only released singles. So this being an EP with multiple songs was a big thing for me because I’m not much of a multitasker. It’s a different sort of grind, a different mode you have to get into when you start a project. Also, the different genres on it. Apart from ‘Moves’, which is track number one, everything else is different. You’ve got ‘Speed’, which is drill-inspired, and you’ve got ‘Stay’, which is UKG-inspired. So it’s very different to what I’m used to making, or what I’m known for making.

What was your favourite part of making the EP?

Honestly, just staying locked in. It gave me a routine, it gave me a bit of discipline. I put a lot of pressure on myself, which is not a bad thing. Being able to go into the studio pretty much every day and setting a time limit and working from, like, 12 to six, it gives you something to work for. It gives you a sense of purpose.

Keep up with Squid the Kid here. For his music catalogue, head here.

Juice Webster

Who do you create music for?

Anyone who wants to listen to it. What I look for in music is when someone explains something that I haven’t been able to put into words before. I guess, ideally, my audience might be in that same boat.

What’s your favourite song that you’ve written?

I would say ‘Returning’. Lyrically, it makes me feel something every time I play it. It’s one of those songs that fell out of me. It sounds cheesy but it’s taken me a while to figure out exactly what it’s about because I think it’s about so many things. The lyrics in that song are abstract but also mundane, “I like my hair the best when it’s wet.” [There’s] something about that line – there’s a real imagery to that – and it’s also just true.

Are there any key ingredients you have for songwriting?

I haven’t figured that out yet. Sometimes it’s the hardest thing in the world, in a way that feels really rewarding when we get to the other side. But sometimes, you’re in this space where something rolls out. I find [when that happens] it’s usually because there’s a feeling brewing, or there’s something that I can’t work out, or that’s been on my mind a lot and I need to get off my chest.

Find Juice Webster here. To discover her music, head here.

This article was originally published in Fashion Journal issue 195.