Formula Indie Sessions _ Interview with Lost Vessels
What is your earliest memory connected to music?
CAM :
The Casio keyboard we had when I was maybe 3. Specifically the demo song, which was a polyphonic version of Together Forever by Rick Astley.
EILEEN :
A Yamaha keyboard that we had growing up and my favourite thing to do was to play the preloaded songs such as “Hey Jude” and press random keys to play over it. Or maybe singing to ABBA songs with my dad.
ETHAN :
Listening to songs like Wooly Bully by Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs, and Bang a Gong by T.Rex on family car rides as a little kid.
JOHN :
Haha my first keyboard’s demo song was ‘Just The Way You Are’ by Billy Joel. I took music lessons in Japan when I was 5 and also learnt to play the melodica. These days my day job is selling those Casios that kids typically start on!
REUBEN :
Mostly parents record collection; lots of mid to late 70s stuff like Elton John, Leo Sayer and a scattering of Motown artists which I think was inherited from my grandparents. The older I get the more I find I go back to the things my parents were listening to with a greater appreciation. As a kid I had a few aunts and uncles who were teenagers that used to babysit me and I no doubt inherited some of my tastes from their eclectic musical collections; I remember one of my uncles playing A Forest by The Cure sometime in the early 80s… to a child that song is both hypnotic and slightly terrifying ..
How did your passion for creating music begin?
CAM :
When I got my first guitar when I was sixteen. I was so dead set on becoming a pop star haha that I really wanted to make that dream come true so I would just try and write songs about stuff I was feeling.
EILEEN :
I remember seeing the drumset at middle school when I was about 11, and seeing the older kids playing on them. I thought “I want to do that too!”. My passion started there, and never stopped.
ETHAN :
Back in high school when I realised I could be in a band. Thankful to parents that let their kids practice in the garage. – Totally!
JOHN :
Piano lessons, guitar lessons, and eventually my first band ‘Disposable Babies’ when I was 12 years old.
REUBEN :
I was about 12 and I came back from a family trip overseas with my grandparents and my mum had bought me classical guitar to learn on when I went to intermediate that year. I felt like a massive novelty and I still actually have that instrument from all the way back from 1991.
What’s the story behind your current music project?
CAM :
We’ve just finished recording our next single. It’s a song born of overanalysing everything and getting frustrated.
The track is called ‘Bad Reaction’ and it will be released very soon. Probably a personal favourite for me.
How would you describe your sound to someone who has never heard your music before?
EILEEN :
Broadly emo/pop-punk – but I think we have heavy emotion and big breakdowns wrapped up in some catchy choruses, twin vocalists and high-energy guitars and drums.
CAM :
We get compared to Paramore a lot but that might be just cause our band has a female vocalist 😅 I think if I was to describe our sound definitely emo/pop punk but with fun dual vocals!
What is one thing you’ve learned that completely changed the way you make music?
EILEEN :
I used to be very shy to share my opinions on how vocals should sound or how the music composition should be – maybe because I felt that I wasn’t playing an instrument that I didn’t have a right – but now I love to share input and I find it so fun to play around with vocals.
ETHAN :
The difference between playing for the song vs. playing for yourself, and the wisdom of knowing not just how to play but what to play and when to play it to elevate the songs as a whole.
CAM :
I’ve tried to just make as much as possible in general and not fuss over detail in too much of a vacuum – typically perfectionism can stifle creativity.
REUBEN :
Probably not to underestimate my own ability; I’m not what you call classically trained, or even routinely competent. But I think I’ve got a little bit of a knack for creating appropriate parts for appropriate pieces. The counterpoint to this is that it often takes me a while to find a piece I’m happy with, so there’s a fairly lengthy experimentation phase when it comes to adding parts to a song from my perspective. I’ve also learned the value and sometimes doing less is much more.
JOHN :
Nothing is set in stone. You don’t know what could be unless you let it happen.
What tools, instruments, or software are essential in your creative process?
CAM :
Phones to record, notebook for notes, haha!
EILEEN :
Exactly Ethan! Our note keeper. For me it’s my acoustic guitar for the most part. The practice space is key to bring the ideas to life though.
ETHAN :
I used to hand write lyrics into a notebook but have now upgraded to the notes app otherwise sometimes I’ll hum a tune into my phone to record.
JOHN :
Of all the thousands of pieces of music crap I’ve bought, probably a tuner pedal and metronome are simultaneously the most useful and least glamorous of them all.
REUBEN :
No idea is a bad one; for that purpose I’ll video any guitar ideas I have… mostly cloud stored now, but for years I just uploaded to my YouTube channel as private videos to draw from. Think I had a couple of hundred short clips between 2010-2020… most of which will never see the light of day, but might be handy one day…. Digital hoarding at its peak!
Which indie artist or song are you loving right now?
CAM :
Capture This – Self-Sabotage. Or anything from their Tangled EP
EILEEN :
Forget Me by inbalanceCA. I’m really digging the melodic punk/pop punk by these guys.
ETHAN :
The Hoosiers – Sleeping with the Lights On – just came out and I really love it!
JOHN :
The Lonely Forest seem to be always on my speakers recently, although I’m aware that I’m about 10 years late to the party with that band. Also discovered a crazy Korean outfit called Haeroo that sound incredible.
REUBEN :
I’ve enjoyed Borderline’s “When It’s Raining” as late. It’s fairly fresh but has vibes like early Coldplay/Travis before they were mainstream.
How have your personal experiences influenced your music and artistic vision?
CAM :
Everything comes from experience with the songwriting. Whether it be the music that’s inspired the writing style, or feelings that find their way to music. If anything it can be cathartic to let it out, especially playing it all live.
EILEEN :
Totally agree with what Cam has said here. It really helps with how you want to build a song – musically or lyrically – doesn’t have to be about one certain event in your life but more about a theme, positive or negative.
What emotions or messages do you hope listeners take from your work?
CAM :
I don’t think songs need explaining. I hope people take their own meaning from our stuff, find a way to relate.
EILEEN :
I think what Cam has said is perfect! If they are able to find a way that the song relates to them then our job is done.
What’s the most important lesson music has taught you so far?
CAM :
There’s just so many ways to be creative! There’s no set in stone sound we have to follow and the biggest one is that you might have an idea of how the song should sound but be open to ideas because you might be limiting yourself to what the song could become.
ETHAN :
Personally, music has taught me self-confidence in a major way. Having a level of achievement in the proficiency of an instrument combined with being able to express yourself creatively at the same time
JOHN :
You aren’t limited in any way shape or form, I’ve played a multitude of genres and find joy in seeing how many crossovers there are in what you can apply.
REUBEN :
Patience.
What is a dream venue or festival you would love to perform at?
CAM :
Festival if local to where we are from – definitely Homegrown… otherwise would be so cool to play When We Were Young or Warped Tour!
JOHN :
Probably Glasto, Fest, or Lollapalooza for me
If you could collaborate with any artist, past or present, who would it be and why?
CAM :
Origami Angel would be so cool, or even Motion City Soundtrack!
ETHAN :
Artist? Where to begin?! I think it’d be really cool to instead work with some of the producers – like Mark Hoppus, Sean O’Keefe or Ross Robinson – who have produced some of the best tracks by our favourite artists.
JOHN / REUBEN :
Chris Walla would be cool to work with. Not that the stuff he’s done is too aligned with us. His work with Death Cab and the album he did with Foxing are iconic. Agreed! I also wouldn’t say no to Rick Rubin… and as you’ve mentioned them, Chris also produced The Lonely Forest!
Where can our listeners follow and support your music?
All our links:
https://linktr.ee/lostvessels
Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/artist/7AeupCew2jUeKC3wFOHyRz?si=_Rbp-m4iSjOB_RPkftVtZA
Insta:
https://www.instagram.com/lostvessels?igsh=Mml4czF0bG9lMHhm&utm_source=qr
Looking toward the future, what’s your dream for the next chapter of your musical journey?
Reply :
We’ve got a ton of really tight songs that we’re super stoked to play to audiences every chance we get. We’d like to record another EP with these tracks for people to enjoy and to keep building our following.
And even some cool stuff no one’s heard yet!
What do you hope listeners will discover about you along the way?
That even down at the bottom of the world lives some great, independent, hardworking original musicians who just love to play
