In preparedness for the weekend, we catch up with Melbourne outfit The Do Yo Thangs, who have just dropped their dreamy debut single ‘One Plus One’, and ask them our series of 14 pressing questions in our latest Get To Know feature.
01. Band name : The Do Yo Thangs.
02. Where are you based? Melbourne, Australia.
03. How did you choose your band name? I was heading to a show and trying to recall the name of the support. The support were actually called The Putbacks, and most definitely not called The Do Yo Thangs. However, I decided to make use of the additional band name as I felt it represented a sense of fun and freedom in my music writing.
04. Give us five words to best describe you as a band. Sensual, Intimate, Raw, Soulful, Lush.
05. What’s your biggest claim to fame so far? We’ve recently been picked up by Australia’s premier soul record label, HopeStreet Recordings and our debut single and music video, ‘One Plus One’, have just been premiered and featured on Bandcamp.
06. Who are your members? Audrey Powne – lead vocals, Tiaryn Griggs – backing vocals, Maddie Otto – backing vocals, James Bowers – keyboards, David Thor – guitar/vocals, Tom Pettit – bass, Hugh Rabinovici – drums/vocals/song writing.
07. How was the band formed? The band is the result of many years of soul searching for our songwriter/drummer/singer Hugh Rabinovici and right-hand-lady, vocalist Audrey Powne (Au Dré). Hugh and Audrey met some years ago in the drab corridors of jazz school and bonded over a shared love of Erykah Badu and a desire to spread their creative wings. The combination of Hugh’s writing and Audrey’s vocals immediately gelled and before graduating they’d assembled a cohort of neo-soul brethren that went on to become The Do Yo Thangs.
08. In what ways has the band changed from when it was formed to today? The band’s sound has evolved from our sweet soul roots to include more R&B, hip-hop and electro influences. The song writing is simpler, more spacious. We’ve farewelled a few band members on their journey toward world domination, however have continued to surround ourselves with a bunch of die-hard soul enthusiast dead set musical legendaries.
09. Tell us a little bit about your sound. We draw on influences from early 2000s neo-soul such as D’Angelo and Erykah Badu as well as our contemporary Australian buddies like The Harpoons, Hiatus Kaiyote and Laneous and The Family Yah. The band features lush vocal harmonies and a lyrical intimacy and reflection.
10. What are your members’ favourite songs of all time? ‘No Love’ – Little Dragon, ‘Use Me’ – Bill Withers, ‘Till It’s Done’ – D’Angelo, ‘Kayoing Wura’ – Oumou Sangare, ‘Rimshot’ – Erykah Badu, ‘Tezeta’ – Mulatu Astatke, ‘Chained Do’ – The Pointer Sisters, ‘They Won’t Go When I Go’ – Stevie Wonder, ‘Be Thankful for What You Got’ – William DeVaughn.
11. What’s your strangest experience as a band? Probably filming the music video for our single ‘One Plus One’. The clip is directed by visual sorcerer Kathleen Mary Lee and features dance floor superstar Tony Curnick. It was shot in one day in some of the most drab and derelict locations of Brunswick West. The day involved Tony dancing his heart out to cranking tunes through shopping malls, freeways and sewers in the pouring rain. It was quite something.
12. Tell us about your latest release. ‘One Plus One’ is the debut single from our upcoming EP, a collection of sensual slow jams and bumping future soul dominated by rich, four-voice harmonies. ‘One Plus One’ is equal parts performance and programming, drawing from a broad palette of live instruments and electronic sounds. The more you listen, the more intricacy is discovered. The writing uses jazz elements and odd rhythmic devices, but it’s all tucked away – there’s nothing that
intrudes into the foreground or interferes with the song.
The full five track EP, released on HopeStreet Recordings, will be available on Spotify/Apple Music, Bandcamp and CD alongside a limited edition vinyl 7 inch. In stores September 9.
13. What do your future plans involve? We can’t hardly wait to launch our debut EP into the ether but this is just the beginning. We’ve got a bunch more music we’re still recording and writing and are super excited about creating our first full length album.
14. Where can our audience catch you live? We’ll be launching our debut EP, ‘One Plus One’, at The Gasometer Hotel on Thursday September 8 alongside silky soulstress WILSN, syth/pop poster boy Dx Heaven and banger aficionado DJ Big Rig (The Harpoons).
WEBSITE : http://www.thedoyothangs.com
FACEBOOK : https://www.facebook.com/thedoyothangs/
TWITTER : https://twitter.com/thedoyothangs
INSTAGRAM : https://www.instagram.com/thedoyothangs/
SOUNDCLOUD : https://soundcloud.com/hopestreet-recordings/1-the-do-yo-thangs-one-plus-one
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