Interview: Delta Riggs Talk Up Their Brand New Single, ‘The Real Electric’ and Upcoming Tour
One of Australia’s most endearing indie-rock artists The Delta Riggs return today with their mesmerising new single ‘The Real Electric‘ – co-produced by Reuben Styles (Peking Duk) and the band themselves, mixed by Oscar Dawson (Holy Holy, Alex Lahey), with mastering by Brian Lucey at Magic Garden Mastering. We had a chat with Monte to find out about the writing process, touring life and more!
Loving the vibes on the new track ‘The Real Electric’! Can you tell us a bit about the story behind the track?
During the first round of the dreaded COVID lock downs, I started messing around at the home studio and learning how to record some songs. I wrote this drone-y influenced Vines track and sent it around to the fellas. From there I had an idea to take it in an Empire Of The Sun style upbeat banger and flew down to Melbourne to rework it with Alex (guitarist). We transformed the song close to how it ended up and happened to be meeting Reuben from Peking Duk for a drink. We played him the demo and her loved it so suggested he produce it with us. It all came together, and we ended up with the first single!
You’ve supported some incredible bands in your career! What’s been some of the most notable performances to date?
Definitely the first big arena tour we did with KASABIAN really kick started our journey as a band into a larger audience. Then landing the Foo Fighters tour the year after, that was surreal. Playing in football stadiums across the country and having to pinch ourselves along the way as we couldn’t believe how we ended up there. Ended up making great friends with Chris Shiflett from FF and we still stay in touch today.
What bands/artists do would you compare your sound too?
Our sound has always evolved, and we are always pushing it into new territories so it’s hard for us to pinpoint a comparative. We love British rock n Roll (Oasis, Primal Scream) and leant into some more hip-hop grooves taking inspiration from Pharrell Williams and The Beastie Boys Yet, we still sound like The Delta Riggs.
When you aren’t performing or writing, what are some things you get up to in your spare time?
We work with a lot of other musicians when we aren’t doing Riggs things. I (Monte) play with Hayley Mary a lot and have started playing shows with Dan Sultan which has been fun. Elliott has a solo project called Drac Hammond and has just come back from being on the road with Dope Lemon in Europe. Alex/Rudi has been producing loads of rad stuff out of his studio in Melbourne too. So, it’s a lot of music on the side!
What can fans expect from The Delta Riggs in 2023?
The Real Electric is the first from a batch of songs from an upcoming album we will release next year. We really focussed on cutting the noise and just writing songs that hit you with a more up-tempo vibe. So, we are pumped top release more songs and bring them to life on stage and hopefully take the tour overseas again.
THE DELTA RIGGS
‘THE REAL ELECTRIC’ TOUR
Tickets available from thedeltariggs.com.au
FRI 21 OCT | HOWLER, NAARM/MELBOURNE VIC
SAT 22 OCT | MARY’S UNDERGROUND, EORA/SYDNEY NSW
FRI 28 OCT | WOOLLY MAMMOTH, MEANJIN/BRISBANE QLD
FRI 4 NOV | JACK RABBIT SLIMS, BOORLOO/PERTH WA
SAT 3 DEC | VANFEST, WIRADJURI/BATHURST NSW
