Having stayed mainly on the low down in 2014 after a smashingly successful 2013 on the back of their debut album Body Work, English production team AlunaGeorge have made waves again recently popping up with their very own new single ‘Supernatural’ in early October, and a fresh collab with trap whizkid Bauuer in the last week. Any notion of the year remaining quiet is now echoing loudly with new tunes as the duo gear up for a big 2015!
With an unforgettable new age R&B sound, melded with a vibrant pop tendency and flirting vocal delivery, the music is a choice hard to go past for any New Years celebration. Luckily, the good organisers over at Beyond The Valley have got you covered this year, brining Aluna Francis (vocals) back to the country for the festival at Phillip Island this coming NYE.
There’s an incredible chemistry between these two and it comes across in both their music and their interviews (which are always done together). On that note, we caught up with both Aluna and George Reid, the other half and man behind the swooning sounds that Aluna flirtatiously invites you in over, to have a chat about a possible new album and what their dream NYE party would look like.
Well, first thing’s first guys – take us through the new single ‘Supernatural’:
Aluna: “We’ve been dying to get that out, haven’t we, George?”
George: “Yeah! We really wanted people to hear it. We were starting to get to this point where people were going to have to wait until next year to hear any new music from us, so without sort of making a massive song and dance about it, we just wanted to get something new that we’ve been making in the studio out to our fans, who’ve been really patient with us waiting for new music. So really, just a little something until we can get the album out fully.
We had a great baseline for it and it was one of those songs that came together bit by bit by bit and was very kind of meticulously pieced together in the end. It’s a dance track really, the way it’s structured and the bounce to it which is a bit of a departure for us really. I like it [laughs]!”
So do we! The burning question has been answered, there’ll be a new album out in the New Year?
Aluna: “There will be for sure! We’ve got a big body of work for it already and we just decided not to rush that twenty percent and tide it over to the next year so we can really give the writing process complete freedom for the last few months of the year.”
Awesome, you’ve just dropped the single ‘One Touch’ with Bauuer and it’s a tune for sure! Any other collabs in the works that you can share?
Aluna: “Not at the moment for the album but we have a couple of collaborations that you will hear all in good time. We have got someone on there who actually featured for us, but I can’t tell you who that is [laughs]. It’s a good song!”
George: [Laughs]
What’s happening creatively for the new album, experimenting with anything?
Aluna: A Brass section, right George?
George: Yeah, I’ve become obsessed in that way.
Aluna: And guitar!
George: “Yep! It’s all guitar and brass album two [laughs]. Yeah I think just after a while of messing around with so many electronic sounds you kind of go ‘oh yeah – live instruments are bloody awesome’ and let’s see what happens when we put these in this type of context, and that’s been good fun!”
Aluna you’ll be back for Beyond The Valley this New Years Eve, looking forward to it? And George we understand you’re not touring…
Aluna: “I can’t bloody wait! The first time we came to Australia was such a highlight for us on the tour and it was just indescribably lovely. So looking forward to it!”
And does that mean you’ll be stuck in the studio, George?
George: “Oh god New Years, it’s always so awkward. I never know what to do on New Years. I don’t know, ask me at the time…I’ll figure something out.”
Alright. So. The two of you together have free reigns to plan any New Years party you want. Go!
Food
Aluna: “I would like Heston Blumenthal to cater. He does celebration food absolutely the best of all celebrity chefs I think and he’ll invent some kind of weird stuffed Flamingo, not that we should eat Flamingo I’m not saying that, but he might make a Flamingo out of a Duck.”
Music & Entertainment
George: “You’ve got to have Diplo DJing,he’s just good fun all the time. My only other thing I would say is recently I had the fortune of being in a pub that had a bouncy castle left over in the back garden. It was the first time in years that I had been on a bouncy castle and I recommend every adult to go and find one as soon as possible and remember how awesome they are.”
Aluna: “I think the combination of releasing everybody out into this garden for the bouncy castle at the same time as the fireworks go off, so that you’re in the air as the fireworks explode would probably be the best experience of all time.”
Well, if we can make that happen – it sounds like a plan!
Both: Laugh
Aluna: “Totally! I think the thing about festivals is I’m going to catch whoever I can catch. Because the thing about it is it’s all about seeing or hearing something you’ve never seen before, that’s the real value in festivals for me. It’s a golden opportunity.”
Camping
George: “No! No! I can’t allow that man, I think that everybody in attendance has a right to their own shower and a warm comfortable bed to not sleep on.”
A: “See, the thing about camping right is festivals has ruined camping for me – because that is not camping. That’s just genuinely getting stuck at a house party that has no roof. Camping is like, you go somewhere tranquil and nature relaxes you and then you have a cup of tea by the fire with your guitar and stuff. Not a load of drunk people trying to get into your tent or piss on your tent.
And also, the combination of trying to look good whilst camping is way to stressful.”
AlunaGeorge will be performing as part of Beyond The Valley festival head over the the Beyond The Valley website for all information and ticketing.
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