I had the amazing opportunity to interview small Australian band, Airline Food, on their journey starting out as a band and what it's like to be successful in the industry.
MIA: I was recommended to listen to your music by a good friend of mine and I wasn’t disappointed when I did. You guys have thousands and thousands of followers, monthly and yearly listeners on Spotify - did you guys ever think you’d reach such numbers?
AIRLINE FOOD: Thanks! We are definitely surprised sometimes by how many people spotify reached, but it has been a long gradual process with different releases and youtube videos so it's nice that people are listening and noticing what we're doing!
M: You’ve been releasing music on Spotify since 2016. Is there anything that became both harder and easier for you all, being in a band?
AF: Yeah when we first released those projects we were just starting out as a band together and still realising what we wanted to make and were never quite happy with it but just put it out anyway. That's something that's constantly evolving and has maybe gotten a bit harder because we put more pressure on ourselves to make something we love. Something that's easier would be gigging in Perth. There is such an amazing music scene here, many have become our closest friends over the years and our music wouldn't be the same without them.
M: out of most of the people I’ve interviewed, you guys’ covers for your singles/eps are by far some of my favourite. They give off a very retro vibe. Would you say that they’re the epitome of your bands aesthetic?
AF: Thanks! When we first discovered Garreth Pearse (the artist behind our latest covers) we instantly knew we had to get him to do some stuff for us. I think his vision really compliments the music well and almost creates a new story to it. He is a creative genius.
M: you guys have only released singles and EPs. Can we look forward to an album anytime soon?
AF: ...hopefully soon ;)
M: Your songs, unlike some other artists, don’t all follow the same theme. What would you say you like to write about most?
AF: I don't think there's something we prefer to write about particularly, a lot of the times we are just looking for an idea we haven't done before or even just a title we like the idea of and base a song around that idea.
M: as a band, do you feel you all write the lyrics equally or do/are some of you more lyrically inclined?
AF: Jack Annear and Jack Seah tend to write most of them. Sometimes it's collaborative or sometimes one person has worked on them by themselves and it just feels right! Whatever needs to be done to make it feel right.
M: When looking upon your Instagram, I noticed one of my favourite musicians (Matthieu from Videoclub) follows you. Is there anyone that follows you guys that made you all freak out?
AF: Yeah there have been a few, one in particular was Sunbeam Sound Machine. They were a band we grew up listening to but not really knowing anything about and we ended up getting to support them when they were on tour in Perth. We were also shocked to have one of our songs feature in a video on Maisie Williams' (Game of Thrones) Youtube channel. That was pretty cool.
M: when it comes to merch, what kind of looks/style inspires you?
AF: We like a lot of stuff! We especially like to collaborate with local freelance artists to create merch (such as Garreth) because their designs and ideas are always so unique and sophisticated.
M: Recently I saw that someone attempted to leak a song of yours. How was that experience?
AF: That was a big eye opener to be honest. We hadn't really had to deal with someone like that, almost like a cyber bully. It was hard at first but managed to make the most of a bad situation.
M: Finally, I like to end on a fun one! What old nostalgic show would you think your music fits best?
AF: Twin peaks!
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