Bobby Uncle Shares Inspiration Playlist Behind His EP, ‘Mimes Miss The Beach’

Continuing to delight with his own brand of indie-pop sounds, Sydney songwriter and performer Bobby Uncle has returned with his debut EP ‘Mimes Miss The Beach’. With singles including ‘Coffee’, ‘Tragedy Delight’ and ‘The Way You Stand’ – Bobby Uncle has made a significant impression with his latest release, finding praise from media and DSPs alike.

Today he shares with us a few of the  songs that inspired his latest EP, with an inspiration playlist for ‘Mimes Miss The Beach’.

Oysters In My Pocket – Royel Otis

‘Oysters In My Pocket’ is one of Australian Indie’s finer tracks. The simplicity of the groove and guitar riff gives the song its catchiness and memorability. Many tracks on the EP, specifically ‘The Way You Stand’ and ‘Summertime (Make It Happen)’, I focused on having a groove that would encourage folks to get up and move their body a little.

Hold The Line – TOTO

This song I believe was ahead of its time. The track, released in 1978, driven by the tracks keyboard melody, blend the 1970s rock n roll guitar tone with what would be the iconic 1980s synth sound. This inspired me to choose the electric guitar and keyboard blend with many of my songs in the EP, to give it that upbeat, synth driven energy. This was especially prominent in the tracks ‘The Way You Stand’, ‘Coffee’ and ‘Pendulum’.

Kickstart My Heart – Mötley Crüe

I always loved how the band claimed that they wrote the song to resemble the heart being shot up with adrenaline. I wanted the track ‘Coffee’ and ‘The Way You Stand’ to feel the same way. High BPM, high energy and high danceability where it feels like you have just taken a shot of caffeine.

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HOT TO GO! – Chappell Roan

Having first heard of Chappell in March 2024, her charismatic vocals in HOT TO GO, where it sounds like she is playing a bratty character on Broadway inspired the vocal style I put on for ‘The Way You Stand’. This was a significant change to how the track previously sounded giving it a whole different personality and vibe to the song’s lyrics.

Stayin’ Alive – Bee Gees

Tracks like ‘Tragedy Delight’ and ‘The Way You Stand’ required prominent head voice for the chorus vocals. The Bee Gees ‘Stayin’ Alive’, though I had heard it plenty of times before, blew up on TikTok in the latter half of 2023. This inspired me to try that vocal style and despite not being everyone’s cup of tea, I bloody loved the way it sounded in the tracks. It felt like I had an edge on other artists whereby the tracks sounded nothing like what had been produced or has been released in the last few years.

As It Was – Harry Styles

The track sits around 170 bpm and is introduced by the bright synth motif that drags audiences into a euphoric state that can only be cured through dancing. I wanted to replicate that same energy in ‘Coffee’, which too has a repetitive synth motif throughout the track. The song too sits around 170 bpm and encourages audiences to get up and dance. The vocals in the bridge of ‘As It Was’ inspired the first verse of ‘The Way You Stand’ with the earworm of those monotonic, rhythmic vocal lines, with each word easily slipping off the tongue after the other.

Yo Voy – Daddy Yankee and Zion and Lennox

This was the first reggaeton song that I was exposed to when I was younger from the Peruvian side of my family. Despite the inappropriateness of the lyrics, the repetition of ‘Yo Voy’ and the drive of the infamous Reggaeton drums, these elements had always been my favourites of the song. This in particular, inspired the drums for ‘Tragedy Delight’ to drive the verses in preparation for the more pop driven chorus of the song.

Take on Me – a-ha

Take on Me is up there for me as the most iconic track of the 1980s. The famous synth motif that introduces the track and concludes the song’s bridge makes it easily recognisable almost anywhere around the world. Though it is a near impossible feat to achieve, I wanted many of my songs to have the same recognisability. This is why for tracks like ‘Coffee’, ‘Pendulum’, ‘Tragedy Delight’ and somewhat ‘The Way You Stand’, I try to create an earworm through the synth melody of the track.

Hymn for the Weekend – Coldplay

The massive chorus and the beautiful blending of Beyonce’s vocals with Chris Martin’s in this song was what inspired the chorus of ‘Tragedy Delight’ in the EP. The pre-chorus of the song with the gritty hi-hats moving left and right I tried to replicate in the pre-chorus of ‘Tragedy Delight’. It created a feeling of pressure building up, ready to be released and the chorus of ‘Hymn for the Weekend’ makes no error in helping the audience do that. This was what I wanted in ‘Tragedy Delight’, the chorus builds on the listeners emotions, creating excitement and anticipation which can be expressed freely through singing or moving around once the chorus hits. ‘Tragedy Delights’ chorus was purposefully masked after this track to be as wide and feel as big as possible for listeners to get lost in.

Feel the Way I Do – The Jungle Giants

This was the first song I was exposed to by the band from a young age playing FIFA 14 while living in Singapore. It helped take me back to my hometown, Manly, in the Northern Beaches of Sydney, where I would reminisce on the waves, the dry wind and the blue skies during the summer. This track was a big inspiration in the writing style and production of ‘Summertime (Make It Happen)’ and ‘Mimes Miss The Beach’ in the EP. They were written to replicate the mood of being at the beach with friends, enjoying the sun and kicking your feet through the sand.