Skies Collide // BEHIND THE BAND

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Big new from Skies Collide this week, getting signed with UAC Management! They also dropped their debut album this year and it fucking rocks! Anyway i got to talk to Britt and Liam about everything you'd wanna know SC!

Can you give us a brief history of the band and releases?

In its earliest form Skies Collide started in mid 2012 when Liam and I met playing in another band. We went on a hunt for members then released our first EP later that year, a second one in September 2015 and our debut album “The Dream & the Lie” on July 21 this year.

How did the band originate?

Liam and I met when the band I used to be in were looking for a guitarist. I found his advert on Gumtree and we met up and became friends. We quickly realised our music tastes were really similar and decided to start our own side project, which ended up being Skies Collide. We eventually quit the initial band and gave our full attention to Skies Collide. What's the first band who made you love music?

Linkin Park would definitely be one of the first bands for all of us.

Who inspires you to make music now?

Lately we’re really inspired by bands like Pvris, Don Broco, Hands Like Houses and Architects. These bands are all pretty unique in the scene, they stand out on their own and we’re really inspired by that and the fact they’re all insanely talented musicians.

What are some of the most important things you have learnt while being together?

Focus on our songwriting, don’t forget your gear, be accommodating and kind to everyone, when you’re given an opportunity hustle as hard as you can and it will lead to more opportunities down the track. How do you view your band now as opposed to when you started?

Sometimes when you’re in the thick of it, it can be difficult to see progress and things can feel like they’re moving frustratingly slowly but when you step back and look back on everything, we can see we’ve actually achieved a lot of what we set out to and we’ve kicked a lot of goals. We’ve improved so much from when we first started out and matured a lot as people. What's your favourite venue to play?

We’ve been so lucky to have the opportunity to play Eatons Hill Hotel twice now. It’s amazing! Such a beautiful venue and incredible sound - it’s definitely the highlight venue so far.

Can you explain what goes on during the writing process? Writing is happening pretty much all the time for us. Liam is constantly writing ideas and full songs. He tabs his ideas out in Guitar Pro, with guitar, bass, synth and even drums then if we want to experiment more with the song or get a better feel for it he’ll record the whole thing in Reaper.

Can you explain the recording process you go through?

The album recording process was pretty interesting for us, we went into the studio with a lot of half finished songs and some that didn’t even have lyrics/melodies! We had to do a lot of writing and rewriting on the spot. It was so full on and we really pushed ourselves to the limit. We’re really proud of what came out but we don’t think we’ll do it that way again!

What does this release mean to you?

It really means a lot to us, being our first album and our biggest collection of work to date. It’s kind of a window into our collective souls in terms of the lyrics and feel of the songs. It will definitely be something we can always look back on and be proud of.

What does the scene mean to you?

In a general sense it feels like a place for people who love alternative music and don’t quite fit into the mainstream agenda to come together in a safe place and just hang out and be free to enjoy what they want.

If you could change one thing about the scene, what would it be?

It would be amazing to see more women in bands in the scene.

What song means the most to you?

Britt: Disconnect is the most meaningful one to me. It’s probably my favourite musically because it’s the kind of song I’ve always wanted us to write but the lyrics are really important to me as well. I’ve always been interested in the state of the world and politics and I wrote this song about the appalling way the Australian Government is treating refugees in detention camps on Manus and Nauru.

Liam: Be Enough is the most meaningful one for me because the lyrics are a constant reminder that we need to keep working hard to achieve our goals and we have to keep believing in ourselves. I’m also really proud of it because it’s nothing like anything else we’ve written and we had to hustle really hard to get it together in the studio.

What's your favourite song to play live? We’ve actually only played it once so far but Underwater is a lot of fun live. It’s a really groovy song and super easy to jump to!

Why do you play music?

It just comes naturally to us, it’s always on our minds, we’re always jamming in one way or another. It’s a great escape from busy lives and a good way to release pent up frustrations.

Would you encourage people watching this to start bands?

We would encourage anyone who is passionate about something to give it a try. Sometimes being in a band is not all it’s cracked up to be and it can be so challenging at times. You’ll probably hit a lot of walls along the way but being able to kick goals with your friends and make art that you’re proud of that other people enjoy helps make it all worth it.

What advice do you have for new bands?

We would really just pass on what we’ve learnt, so pretty much the same as what we answered before, really focus on your songwriting, it’s more important than image but those two things in combination are very powerful. Be easy to work with and hustle as hard as you can when given opportunities because that is how you will progress to the next step.

How important is it to network with other bands? It’s really important to network and make friends, you can ask each other for advice and you’ll always have other bands for show. Also people in other bands act as influencers/tastemakers within the community so if they like your band and spread the word it’s a good way to grow.