Sydney rock group The Preatures have a hectic few months upcoming.
They’ll be on the road as part of a national tour that includes a date at Splendour In The Grass promoting their latest single, ‘Two Tone Melody’. “We’re going to continue what we've been doing, connecting to people through songs and enlightening people to what they have look forward to on the album,” says Preatures guitarist/ vocalist, Gideon Benson.
“I think the single is another side to the band that people probably haven’t heard. It showcases what we're about as a band and as a group that writes different sorts of songs and takes different influences. It'll help give an indication to where we're going sonically and what kind of sound we're trying to create, both using electronics and live instruments.”
The Preatures are set to play Splendour In The Grass next month, and Gideon can’t wait. “I think it's just a really prestigious festival on the Australian calendar and it's a real honour to be able to get out there and play and just have a ball and enjoy it. I'm looking forward to hanging out with all the other bands. A lot of our friends are on the bill and we rarely get to see them, so it'll be really nice to spend time with them and other people. We’ll be incorporating electronics and we're hoping we can bring that to the stage.”
Gideon says the band are putting the final touches on their new album. “People can expect to see us as a band grow. There will be a few people who will go ‘oh I want to hear the way it was before’, but for us we want to keep evolving and keep moving. We want to put what we're listening to, what's going on around us musically and culturally and all these sorts of things into the music.”
The Preatures’ clip for their debut single, ‘Is This How You Feel’, won the Best Music Video at last year’s Rolling Stone Australia Awards, which came as a surprise for the humble five-piece. “That was pretty cool to know that Rolling Stone got what the band was about. People got to see that and get to know what were about as a band. I think we were up against a couple of other big acts.”
The award-winning clip has racked up over one million views on YouTube since its release in May last year, a feat that The Preatures are incredibly proud of. “Yeah, it's a real shock but it's nice to see that after all the hard work and all the things that have gone into putting that song together and getting down to that stage. These things often take time. To have a song connect with people like that and people just getting to know and adopting the song is pretty great to hear. Someone told me the other day that they got married and walked down the aisle to that song, just all these weird scenarios. YouTube is a great avenue for all of that.”
Fans can expect more creative clips — like the ‘Better Than It Ever Could Be’ video — from the group. “I guess people have to wait and see what we do next with our videos! We've sort of just been writing the album and we’ve nearly finished that. Soon enough we'll have to make some decisions on what we do as far as videos,” Gideon says.
The rock and rollers recently scored a spot at Coachella, an experience Gideon describes as a whirlwind. “One minute you were playing, the next minute you were off stage watching Queens Of The Stone Age and walking past P. Diddy. It was just people who had come together because of music. It was a really fantastic festival and it was a real honour.”
They also managed to get a gig at the renowned SXSW festival, which also proved to be a memorable experience. “It’s amazing what that festival actually means for young fans of music. They’re able to be in the one space and share ideas and better ways to get music out there to people. As a band playing there it was just exhausting because you had to constantly keep moving — you might be playing five songs in a day, playing for different people. So it was quite a shock once we got there but once we did that it was a good experience.”
Written by Lexi McKee
The Preatures Tour Dates
Sat Jul 12 - Corner Hotel (Melbourne)Sat Jul 19 - The Metro Theatre (Sydney, all ages)
Fri Jul 25 - Splendour In The Grass (Byron, sold out)
Fri Aug 1 - Fowlers (Adelaide)
Sat Aug 2 - The Bakery (Perth)
