Q&A: Radio Free Alice Turn up the Heat Ahead of “What’s In Between”
INTERVIEW
INTERVIEW
☆ BY KIMBERLY KAPELA ☆
Heriberto Gallegos
RADIO FREE ALICE ARE ENTERING A NEW ERA — Australian new wave/post-punk band Radio Free Alice made their Riot Fest debut on Friday, September 18, bringing their sharp, cathartic sound to Chicago as they continue to make their mark on the international post-punk scene. The festival appearance arrives at a pivotal moment for the Melbourne-based band, who are preparing to release their highly anticipated debut album, What’s In Between, on October 30.
Now, with their debut album on the horizon, Radio Free Alice are ready to build on the momentum following their debut Riot Fest performance. What’s In Between offers a deeper look into the sound they have been developing through their releases and strong streak of live performances.
Across their music, Radio Free Alice embrace the cathartic spirit of post-punk while infusing elements of new wave, creating a sound that carries reverence to their influences such as Interpol and The Strokes, yet still remains true to their signature tone.
Following their Riot Fest debut, Luna caught up with Radio Free Alice for an exclusive interview to unpack the momentum surrounding this exciting moment for the band. With their debut album, What’s In Between, the band is standing at the threshold of an exciting new chapter. Radio Free Alice opened up about their Riot Fest experience, what it has meant to bring their sound to an international audience and the energy that continues to fuel their creative fire.
Heriberto Gallegos
LUNA: Thank you for talking to Luna. Our readers would love to get to know you and your music more. For any readers who aren’t familiar with you yet, what inspires your artistic style and sound?
JULES: I think ultimately, we love playing music together. We love spending a lot of our time just jamming and writing. That's ultimately what's inspiring. Just being able to constantly make music, the practice of making music. There's lots of bands that we share love for and are heavily influenced by and literally influence our views like Joy Division, The Strokes and Interpol.
LUNA: Your debut full-length, What’s In Between, is now just a month away from release. After spending so much time writing, recording, and shaping this collection of songs, what does it feel like to finally be on the cusp of sharing the album with the world, and has the reality of its release changed the way you look back on the journey of making it?
NOAH: It's really exciting because we've released three EPs, and we've been around as a band for four years, and we've had a lot of time to develop our songwriting and our confidence. When you release your first album, that's when you almost start as a band, so it's really exciting for us.
LUNA: How do you hope listeners can connect with or find power in this new era of music from you? What do you hope listeners discover about the album after sitting with it for multiple listens?
JULES: It's always an interesting question to ask because we don't want to impose anything. I feel like it's a very personal experience. Obviously, you interpret what you do. You might love the new direction. You might fucking hate it. But I think ultimately, it's a very organic mixture of things we have out and a lot of a new direction for us as well. We really love it, so I think that'll connect with our fans.
NOAH: I feel like in an ideal world, this album would be to some people what my favorite albums are to me, which is like this little secret friend that I have that gets me through life. It's a little friend you come back to, so it'd be amazing if this album is that to some people.
LUNA: Riot Fest has such a distinct energy, both from the stage and across the festival grounds. What is the atmosphere like for you when you’re performing at a festival of this scale, and how does Riot Fest’s audience and overall environment compare with other shows and festivals you’ve played?
JULES: We've been here for a few hours. It's been really great. Everyone's super lovely. We had a couple technical difficulties during the set, but that doesn't tarnish anything. Such a great lineup, and we're really excited to stay today and see some really great acts.
LUNA: When you’re performing live, is there a particular song that always elevates the energy in the room and gets the crowd moving? What makes that song especially exciting for you to play?
JULES: I think for me, a really fun song and always gets the energy going is a song called “I've Got to Fall in Love,” which is funnily enough the first song we ever wrote, and it's very punk-forward. It's always like, oh god, the crowd's a bit dead. Let's give them that.
LUNA: What is fueling your fire right now that’s pushing you into this new era of your career?
NOAH: We just moved to London and that's a huge life change, so that's been really inspiring. But aside from that, I saw this movie the other night called Sex, Lies, and Videotape. That was what was fueling my fire for about three days.
LOCHIE: Same thing. I saw a movie the other night called Everybody Digs Bill Evans, and it's not really out yet. I think it was a pre-screening because one of my friends was involved in the production, and it was so good. It's the best film. It made a big impact on me.
LUNA: How are you feeling in this current era of your career and what does the rest of the year look like that you would like to share with Luna?
JULES: Feeling a little bit jet lagged because we just arrived in America today, so a bit exhausted. A little bit sleepy, but it's good. The rest of the year is pretty intense. We’re going back to Australia, then coming back to America, then going to the UK all before November, so a lot of moving around. We got a headline tour in November in Europe.
Heriberto Gallegos
