Tell us about your new Single?
‘Picture Me’ is our new and most dance worthy single yet. It features local hobart musicians BINI and DJ Grotesque. It draws inspiration from early 2000s house music with vintage synths, bass driven hook and turntable scratching. It also has a touch of future dance through the use of warped samples and intricate percussion. We’ve enlisted Yung Lean producer Woesum, and Deep Shoq from Lithuania to remix the track.
Which of your songs resonate most strongly and why?
Our remix of ‘Blood’ by Hobart indie rockers LEWES that appeared on our last EP. This resonates most strongly as we used a more brooding and thematic production approach to compliment the strong lyrics.
Tell us a quick, on the road, anecdote.
One starving evening on tour we were longing for a preservative-packed teriyaki chicken footlong from Subway. Much to our dismay we had lined up our tucker mission exactly with their city-wide Xmas staff party and every store was closed. We were FORCED to abandon our dreams and head to a 7/11 for a mediocre spread of Four N’Twenty meat pies. We hadn’t had any major downfalls the whole tour until this crippling moment.
Where do you draw inspiration from?
We take harmonic and melodic inspiration from older Jazz and RnB artists such as Cortex and Stevie Wonder. Texturally we take influences from modern acts such as The Internet, Disclosure and Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs.
Which song do you wish you wrote?
Inside My Love – Minnie Riperton (1975). Amazing lyrics and arrangement, and a chord progression that has been sampled by many high profile Hip-Hop and RnB artists through the 90s until now.
What’s next for you?
We are currently working on our second EP and have a few fresh remixes in the bag to keep people ears full until the release. We’re also hoping to do a lot of travelling this year.
What’s your scene?
We’re more Section 8 than Cloud 9. We’re playing there on the 1st March.
Emerging from the depths of Tasmania are Allan McConnell (20) and Finn Rees (18) who are known for their electrifying fusion of electronic, trip-hop and jazz. The two met only a few years back in 2013 and it was there that something struck a chord. Since their recent beginnings, Close Counters have supported the likes of The Kite String Tangle, The Aston Shuffle, Tkay Maidza and Shaggy. Their first single ‘Fluctuate ’ was named Track of the Day on international music blog Indie Shuffle , and the track’s music video was aired on ABC TV’s RAGE program. Close Counters have had play on American Radio, lead the Purple Sneakers Alice Underground Party with their “Synth-gasm worthy harmonies ” and capped the year off playing Falls Festival.
