OLIVE RUSH OF EGOISM

Hi Olive and thanks for taking the time out to speak with us at Musicology. Firstly congratulations on the latest single Here’s The Thing. Every tune tells a tale and what is this track saying to the world?

Thank you so much! Here’s The Thing is very much an “almost break-up” song, describing that moment where you’re really not sure whether you should continue the relationship you’re currently in or start over again. There doesn’t seem to be many songs about that feeling; I think because people either choose to write about an actual break up or they figure shit out and let the past be the past. I just managed to write this song in the exact moment it was happening, leaving a weird painful snapshot of that time forever.

You have a new EP coming out soon called On Our Minds. An EP can be a lifetimes worth of experiences concentrated and refined into a body of work that encompasses many years and phases in life. Other times it is a snap shot, a brief period in time crystallized into a record covering a specific epoch. Was it a case of either / or for On Our Minds?

‘On Our Minds’ is quite distinctly about where we were in the last year. Every song was written in the last 12 months and together they just sum up our experiences so perfectly.

In terms of the writing and lyrical content, was there an overarching narrative tying the EP together or an assortment of topics and inspirations that zig zag throughout the record?

Nothing deliberate, we just followed our instincts without a deliberate goal. I wish we had more of a preconceived concept but sometimes you don’t see how well things fit together until they’re already finished!

What were some of the challenges in putting this EP together and conversely what were some of the greatest surprises you experienced through the writing / recording process for On Our Minds?

I mean realistically, one of the biggest hurdles was just finding the money to get it out! Not just in terms of paying for mixing, videos etc. but also just being able to take the time off work to actually finish things. It’s a little embarrassing to say but I think one of the biggest surprises for us was just the fact that so many people actually believe in us and our music. We have a truly amazing team working with us now, something we couldn’t say a year ago!

Would you say that this EP is a straight-line evolution from your previous releases or a completely separate beast that doesn’t share much in common with its predecessors?

That’s so difficult for us to determine, I feel like we notice even the slightest changes in our work. All in all though, I can’t say it’s too different to anything we’ve done in the history of Egoism. We definitely think a lot more about our lyrics now, it’s our main focus; that wasn’t always the case in the past. When we were teenagers especially, it was so much more about the total sound, the vocals were of equal importance to the instruments (especially the guitars).

You have been on the rise for some time now and given the clarity that hindsight affords, can you pinpoint a few select moments, decisions, outcomes that have occurred during your career that have proved to be pivotal?

Looking back, I simultaneously wish we took more time, but also hurried up! Our work ethic is so much stronger than it used to be, and it really is the key to gaining any success at all in music (not that we know much about that haha). We’ve been very very careful with who we work with, what contracts we’re signing, and what songs we’re releasing. It’s meant that things have progressed comparatively slower than some of our peers, but we have zero regrets and feel very in control of our path ahead.

As a duo can you explain your creative processes and how the dynamism between you both intersects and diverges?

It can be complicated. We both share the belief that the greatest moments of creative inspiration come when one is alone, so we’re constantly having to present work to each other and then negotiate on how to work on it together. Luckily we’re quite good at writing lyrics together, which we do almost exclusively in the same room.

Having performed with so many amazing artists over the years, has there been any words of wisdom spoken to you that really resonated with you and in-turn altered the way you approach your craft?

I feel like a lot of the best advice we’ve gotten from other artists has been quite specific! Advice on songwriting; recording; who to trust/work with. We all love to gossip haha.

As global touring will resume soon, can you share with us one of your most remarkable concerts and what made it so memorable?

As amazing as playing festivals and supporting some of our favourite artists can be, I still always hold our high school gigs to the highest regard. Packed warehouses, house parties, shop fronts; we were terrible, but the energy at those shows is, as of yet, unparalleled.

Lastly, on a philosophical level, what does music give you that nothing else does?

I love that music is one of the most effective tools of creating emotion out of nothing. We all love to listen to music for our own enjoyment, but I get blown away thinking about how much of a stranglehold it has over our brains. Music is so neurologically powerful yet it serves no specific purpose; we don’t need to eat or drink it to stay alive, we’re just all totally obsessed with it, consciously and subconsciously.