Itās not often you hear of a band with a debut single on high rotation on national radio, and an EP released to instantaneous internet buzz, before theyād even played a live show. Twinsy are one of those exceptions; birthed from a Ballarat studio during a cold, dull winter, the opportunely titled Twinsy reveal two friends joining forces to create a new breed of feel-good dance floor tunes that has already set Australian music scene tongues wagging. With these achievements effortlessly tucked away under their belt, it comes as no surprise to learn that Twinsy is in fact Yacht Club DJsā Guy Chappell as the brainchild of the project, alongside Michael Belsar of Hunting Grounds fame. Add a touch more DJ royalty to the mix with Ajax of Bang Gang DJs at the production helm, and you get one of the most highly anticipated new acts for the summer and beyond.
Taking a break from writing new material to catch an episode of The Bachelor amidst prime daytime TV scheduling, Twinsy have been building momentum after the release of their electric debut single Water Bombs in February this year. A four track EP followed, showcasing a varied range of shoegazey balladry and calypso-driven beats, and a full-length album is already on the horizon, with the band having only just celebrated the popping of their proverbial live show cherry last month. It sees the boys behind live instruments, with Belsar on guitar and vocals, and Chappell on drums.
āI think people were kind of expecting a Potbelleez kind of vibe, like just a DJ and a singer,ā Chappell laughs. āItās great. Itās so different with me playing drums rather than DJing, itās a really different feeling when I get off stage. I think Michaelās been enjoying having a bit of room to roam around, because heās in a band with six people, so youāre fighting for space on stage with five other people. We had the best timeā.
Having shared their first experience with Brisbane natives Last Dinosaurs and quickly being added to other show bills across summer, Twinsy are fast making friends within the broader music circuit outside of their respective bands. With early collaborations with bands such as Gold Fields and Bleeding Knees Club and of course, Ajax, itās no wonder that their music fell upon pricked-up ears from the get-go. Theyāve even been touted as Australiaās very own āD-list supergroupā.
āI think if you have a good product, itās going to get out there. Flume is a really good example of that ā heās number one in iTunes at the moment, and there hasnāt really been all that much press on him, it sort of snuck up on people and now they canāt believe how popular he is. But heās had a pretty steady build, and if you have a good product like he obviously does, you can get it out there through the internet nowadays and word of mouth. But it does help that Michael and I are also in established bands.ā
Itās not the first foray into the production of original material for Chappell, who writes all the music for Twinsy. After incorporating little bits of original work within his Yacht Club sets, the idea to try something completely new transpired, leaving us with sounds of steel drums and tropicana dreams. āI just had this idea to try and do this kind of tropical and upbeat style dance music. It sort of started with me not really knowing what I was doing. I was putting like 30 or 40 tracks of audio in, and when we mixed in Sydney we were just pulling stuff out that we didnāt need, or just hiding it in the mix so it was still interesting to listen to at times. Thereās a fair bit going on in the tracks thatās not so immediate when you first listen to them. I thought the more tracks I added, the more exciting and crazy the music was going to be but Iām finding now thatās not actually the case. The less, the betterā.
This āless is moreā mantra is something that the band are taking on board in the recording process for their full-length album, even after summer has become a distant memory. āI think those sounds will still be there, although I donāt think theyāll be quite so ferociously tropical! Upbeat is more our thing more than anything ā good feeling songs. I was trying to kind of do a mix of Armand Van Helden and The Beach Boys when I first started, and I remember reading a great interview with Damon Albarn when he first started doing Gorillaz ā he wrote the type of music that he couldnāt tie a genre to straight away. I was like, āWhat an amazing idea, I wonder if I could pull that off'."
With plans to embark on both a national and international tour in the new year, Chappell is firm that the bandās original projects of Hunting Grounds and Yacht Club DJs will remain their first priority, but there are no plans for the project to fall by the wayside either. āI donāt think Iāll ever have to give it away, and Michael is the same. Itās funny with bands ā youāre really only on for a couple of months and then you usually get some time off where you have nothing on. But now Iāve got another avenue that I can focus on with my down time, and I can keep on touring which is what I really love doing.ā
Written for Beat Magazine, November 2012http://www.beat.com.au/music/twinsy
