Tundra is a four-piece alternative-pop band from Brisbane, Australia. Their upbeat songs are instantly appealing and are guaranteed to leave audience members humming well after their gigs. It’s a rare thing for a band to blend dynamic, mass-pleasing pop music with an artful and structurally complex element as well, yet that’s exactly what this progressive act manages to do. Tundra is the product of years of musical and performance experimentation and experience through members Rohan Kindt, Robert Lee, Tom Beh, and Joel Clish. A debut EP can be expected in the Spring of 2013.
You guys are in Europe at the moment, right? First thing’s first: any crazy stories to spill from the trip?
Joe Clish: I slept outside a train station when i ran out of money in Paris. That was kinda cool but also kinda scary.
You all played in different bands throughout high school, so how did you eventually come to form Tundra?
We all got to know each other through fairly coincidental circumstances and played in different bands together. It may sound cliché, but Tundra just fell in to place through a series of events.
Speaking of high school, congrats on finishing/escaping Year 12 last year. Has that given you more time to focus on the band?
We really thought it would, but it seems that without the lifestyle structure that school gave us (allowing us to cherish weekends as sacred band time), we have become less organised. It has become more difficult to find time to practice, but we still manage to keep up with it… Just.
How’s the EP coming along? Can you tell us what we can expect to hear and maybe when we’ll be able to grab a copy?
The EP will hopefully be released in October. Our goal is for our sound to be accessible but interesting. We hope to do this by incorporating complex rhythms with flowing indie pop melodies.
How would you describe Tundra’s sound and how has it changed since you first started up together?
Our sound has definitely (and thankfully) changed since we first started up. We feel that our more recent material is accessible indie pop containing a certain degree of depth found through layers of complexity.
What kind of bands would you cite as inspirations? We hear you’re big Tame Impala fans – we can definitely see that!
Certainly Tame Impala! We tend to draw inspiration from a wide selection of genres, from hip hop and rap to jazz. A few of our major influences are Snowmine, Frank Ocean, Last Dinosaurs, and heaps of others.
You’re coming home from your Europe adventures to play at the all-ages 4 Walls festival on August 3. So, what was the first festival you went to and how was it?
My first decent festival I went to was Big Day Out. To be honest I learned a lot about festivals that day. To me festivals are like a marathon. You can’t just go crazy for every band, you have to conserve energy for your favourite ones or you will end up half dead by the afternoon. Regardless of my rookie error, it was awesome.
If you could make your own festival, where would it be, who would you put on the lineup, how many people would you let in and what features would it have (attractions/food/bars etc)?
If I were to put on a festival, it would probably just be in some massive air conditioned room. On the lineup would be Frank Ocean, Outkast, Tame Impala, Kanye West, Tyler the Creator and John Mayer and I wouldn’t let people in if they have singlets on.
Tundra has been a familiar name on gig lists in Brisbane for a while now. How would you describe Brisbane’s music scene?
It’s awesome – so lively at the moment. We found it pretty hard when we were all underage, but now that a few of us are 18 its getting a bit easier to be a part of the whole scene.
Most of you are 18 now, but for a while there you were playing at these venues underage – definitely a perk of being in a band. What’s been the most memorable gig so far?
We’ve played a few really fun ones at [local venue] Oh Hello. I guess we get the best response there so thats what makes it memorable for me.
It’s been a pretty crazy year for you already, but what else have you got in store for the rest of 2013?
We’re going to be recording and EP which is really cool! We also have a string of shows lined up around the valley which we are really excited for!
Lastly, where can we see you play next, what releases do you have available and where can we get them?
Our next show is at Four Walls Festival at QACI on the 3rd of August! See our Facebook page for Details. Releases will hopefully be available in October. They will also be available through our Facebook page and our Bandcamp!
Four Walls Festival 2013
Saturday August 3rd 2013
Doors open 1pm
QACI – 61 Musk Ave, Kelvin Grove
Cub Scouts
Jeremy Neale
Pigeon
Go Violets
Tourism
Stephen Smith
Wilderness
Twin Haus
Sleepy Circus
The Good Sports
Surfer Cats
Chinatown Car Park
Sports Fan
The Missing
DJ Sets by: Teen Girls, Baby Making DJs, Laroche, Buddah Bros, Sticky Lips, DJ Bodi Tree
