Q & A: Almond Soy

Reverb with a sunny disposition has a new name: Almond Soy. Besides the enjoyable addition to your morning coffee, Almond Soy is also a terrific five-piece from Perth who triumph in breezy indie-rock. Happy Ever After is their latest and if you’re anything of a fan of Slowcoaching or Backyard, Almond Soy will get you bouncing thanks to their floating guitar riffs and lucid vocal cues. We had a chat to the band, who’s currently on tour, about their upcoming EP, touring antics and the Big Bash.

Thanks for taking the time to talk to AAA Backstage, congrats on the new EP!

Thanks, stoked to be having a chat.

The video for ‘Happy Ever After’ looks like is was a fun one to make, did you guys do that in one take? And how did you get those streets to yourself?

We ended up getting the filming done after a gig we played in Northbridge. We invited some supporters who came down to the show to jump into the videos as extras. The video was done bright and early on a Sunday morning in one consistent shot. Our videographer, Matt Loucas, ended up doing two takes after the first time he backed into a tree.

The EP has a classic Australian indie summer feel to it. Who have you guys been most influenced by to produce this sound? Or does this style just flow straight out of you?

We take influence from all styles of music that we listen to, we get into a lot of postpunk, alt pop and surf rock. The sound we have is a natural amalgamation of all six member’s music tastes.

Where was the EP mainly written and recorded?

The EP was written over about a 6-month period in the inner city Northern Suburbs of Perth. The recording was done with Dylan Ollivierre at his intimate home studio, where we hung out and laid down the tracks in a handful of days.

I read that James and Brandon lead up the band, is it a case of these two writing most of the content and taking it to studio? Or does everyone have a piece of the writing to add?

Brandon is the primary song writer and does most of the writing of initial writing. After the songs are demoed, they are then taken to the band where the sound is explored and fleshed out. James is the man that pulls the strings.

You guys are midway through a great tour! What’s it like to play on the east coast, so far from home?

The East Coast has had some major differences to the Perth scene just on the basis of size. The boys have been enjoying themselves and been excited to play our energetic live set on the other side of Australia. We all miss our Mummys, with a bit of a lack of vegetables hehe. Our bodies are hurting a little bit from the lack of sleep and late night feeds.

Anything crazy happened on tour yet?

We lost our synth man, Zacco, after our gig at the Grace Darling. He’s a cricket connoisseur of sorts and ended up at the MCG for the big bash at the wrong 7 o’clock the next day.

What should we expect from Almond Soy as the year progresses? Any more tours, singles or EPs?

We are looking to get into the studio as soon as possible to churn out some fresh tunes. We’re planning an EP towards the end of the year. The boys are also planning to hit the road again, with a couple of surprises in store.

Almond Soy Live Dates

FRI 5 JAN
Grace Darling Hotel, Melbourne
TUES 9 JAN
Rad Bar, Wollongong
THURS 11 JAN
Vic On The Park, Sydney
FRI 12 JAN
Heya Bar, Brisbane
SAT 13 JAN
Jack Rabbit Slims, Perth