Conics – A Sound That We Froth On

Music Feeds couldn’t resist picking the brains of Conics for a classic Q&A ahead of their exclusive single release. The Sydney five-piece have spent a year between releases developing their sound, leading up to the sounds you will be hearing from new single Far Away. The indie dance punk outfit have been smashing their way around town with a number of impressive supports already under their belt, and are set to unleash their sound on Australia with this release. Proving their up-to-datedness with technology and what not (floppy disks are still in, people) Angus and Angus – yes, there are two in the band and it’s confusing as hell – attempt to give you more of an idea of the musical bombshell that is Conics. Read on!

MF: Whilst listening to Far Away, I get this instant craving to be sitting on a beach somewhere deserted, enjoying a beautiful sunset. There is this real feeling of escaping the daily grind to find a better place. Is this a part of the song’s concept? If not, what’s the real story behind Far Away?

Conics: It’s all about the things that happen in life that are out of your control. There are always consequences for your actions and people change, but that’s cricket.

MF: Every artist has a way of getting away to write and let the creative juices flow, and I understand Conics have their own unique place. What can you tell us of this place and why is it such a creative haven for you guys?

Conics: We tend to get fairly creative on our annual koala hunt, where we pack all our gear up and take it to the country – ie the middle of nowhere. We’ve done it a few times and it’s a blast! Playing through the whole day and night allows us to both come up with new ideas and work on parts that we think need improving. It’s really good that we are five best mates when writing; there are no grudges held about what we like and don’t like as we are all in this for the same reason.

MF: It has almost been a year gap in between releases for Conics. What’s been happening in this time lapse to prolong the process?

Conics: We’ve basically been travelling around and buying some fancy new gear. We’ve spent a lot of time working out where we want to go with our music and setting ourselves goals. We also took some time to concentrate on our sound: getting away from our influences that we’ve always had and always will, but developing a sound that is true to us; a sound that we froth on. We’d love to be able to put out our first EP early next year and do a national tour so that we can spread the Conics seed across ‘Straya.

MF: Conics sound often delves into electronics with intelligent synth work and samples. What drew you guys to integrate electronic elements into your music?

Conics: When Vodz upgraded from windows 95 to 98 and it came with this mad floppy disk of synth loops. We’ve also been into synths for a while and we’ve only recently found out how to make them work live and sound good. A lot of our newer material is a lot more synth-heavy: we’ve been trialing a whole bunch of electronic drums, samples and pads, and incorporating them into guitar-driven music is a fun challenge.

MF: You’ve supported a lot of great new Australian artists such as Flume, Gold Fields and Rufus. Does seeing these artists break out in such a big way this past year make you crave the same success?



Conics: We’ve been really lucky with the amount of great bands we’ve played with. When you chat and play with them, you actually realise how passionate they are for their craft and how much work they put into it. It’s really inspiring.

MF: You have a big show coming up to launch the new single. What big things have you in store to get the party started?

Conics: It’s all happening December 14 at Oxford Art Factory’s Gallery Bar and it’s going to be loose. Sons. Et Al and Colonies are supporting and they’re super good. We also have a new live set-up, which we are pretty psyched on, and we may be supplying confetti, balloons, and blow-up toys. Mum’s even bringing some egg mayo sandwiches, hopefully with the crusts cut off this time. Oh, and not to mention – it’s free entry!

MF: If we delve into Conics’ history a little, you guys met and formed in high school. Could you provide some insight into how the band was conceived?

Conics: We all started out in a couple of Blink 182/Parkway Drive cover bands. Then we moved on and did some other music with some other people – including a super hot chick drummer, bought some better equipment and ended up as Coneheads (later changed to Conics).

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