TIM & JEAN

Cute Australian duo, Tim & Jean, today release their single Come Around and are the latest in a steady line of Antipodean euphoric dance/rock outfits, following the likes of The Temper Trap and The Naked And Famous (mixed with a bit of MGMT). We Q+A the boys on their music and experiences to date.

Describe your music in five words
Synth based with alternative swing

How did you guys meet?
We met on the local gig scene, later we ended up running into each other at a train station, had a bit of a chat and decided to catch up for a jam.

How did you start making music?
We recorded what we were jamming when we met. The first night we stayed up through the early hours and wrote our first 2 songs ‘come around’ and ‘like what’ and it was the music we first made that became the music that got us noticed. We didn’t take it seriously at all

What inspires you when making music?
Listening to the music that influences us. Watching great players like we have on tour. We recently supported Erykah Badu and watching her every night side of stage was amazing. The band were so good and great to talk to.

You supported Moby on tour – did he have any advice for you about the music industry?
We didn’t really get into that kind of conversation with him. He was a nice guy though – really polite and thankful and surrounded himself with good people. We supported him at the Opera house in Sydney, we were the main support and it was only our third gig so it was a pretty weird and stressful show but great as well. We’ve had plenty of other bands offer us advise while on the road. Everyone has a story of some thing or label to avoid and that type of stuff. We’ll no doubt have a few of our own to offer down the track.

How did you end up supporting Moby?
We dunno. We made this track and then before we knew it we were supporting Moby. It was pretty mind blowing.

We think your track “Like What” [the title track of their forthcoming album] is like a combination between Example’s “Kickstarts” and the 1998 classic “Music Sounds Better With You” by Stardust – who are your current and classic influences?
We have a lot of influences, from Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers to Herbie Hancock. So I guess a lot of artists have influenced us to make music but we do not necessarily sound like them. We do definitely have the 80’s synth vibe which also comes from the influence of Prince. We take 6 keyboards on the road with us but were now starting to use more guitars live and no doubt we’ll be pushing that more on the next record.

You’ve been touring Australia– what’s been your best live experience to date?
Playing Splendour In The Grass – it was amazing! – we had the best response at any show so far. The Falls Festival we also had a massive crowd and a huge response so that was great. Hanging out and watching with Erykah Badu’s band on The Good Vibrations tour was inspiring. Seeing so many great bands live is such a big thing, we wouldn’t be able to afford to see them otherwise.

What has been the worst live experience so far?
They’ve all been good for us. There were definitely times where we could have played a lot better but nothing drastic. We’ve had some pretty bad weather situations on the Future Sound festival tour and when you’re using a lot of technology there’s always the odd nervy moment. Occasionally the food is crap and we don’t get any beer.

What are your plans for the Summer?
Play as many festivals as possible and hopefully be somewhere different and interesting. We’re always up for new experiences. Make some new music, see some great bands and have a good time. That’s not bad if we can do a bit of that.

[Originally published on wonderlandmagazine.com/blog, April 2011.]