Interview by Kris Peters
While the lure of the tropical lifestyle of the Whitsundays is something few people can resist, there is a potential downside to living in the tropics.
Especially if you play in an original band with aspirations of taking your music to the masses.
Case in point is Mackay rock outfit Systematic Machine who are on the cusp of dropping their new single Sunburn.
Heavily influenced by grunge and alternative stylings, Systematic Machine are a band who has been on HEAVY's radar for a number of years but have yet to be fully seduced by the bright lights and opportunities offered by the bigger cities.
Content to reside in their piece of paradise, Systematic Machine are highly active in the local region scene, working closely with bands like InEffigy to try to bring bands and music to them, not just the other way around.
With two upcoming shows - in Bundaberg on October 21 and Mackay on October 27 - as well as a recent supporting slot to Everclear in Townsville, Systematic Machine are highly proactive in their quest for an even playing field and one senses it is only a matter of when, not if, the music industry comes knocking more firmly.
HEAVY caught up with rhythm guitarist/vocals Matt Oliver to find out how the boys plan to conquer geography by getting their music heard, starting with their new track Sunburn.
"For this one we're really trying to hit that… we've been getting our sound in over the last couple of years," he measured, "and we settled on this grunge/alternative aesthetic reminiscent of Incubus, Smashing Pumpkins and a little bit of Deftones thrown in there. Sunburn was probably the first full band collaborative effort. I've pretty much written most of the songs up to this point, so it was good to get input from everyone else in the band and their influences. It culminated in this really great song that stands on its own merits and is fun to listen to."
When the song is premiered on October 13 via HEAVY, it will do so with only a lyric video for the time being following the late cancellation of the proposed video shoot.
"We were filming," Oliver laughed. "We got the first third of it filmed, and there's another section with some skateboarding and some other things. The day before I was meant to do that I sprained my ankle, so I was unfortunately unable to do any sort of activities. It's coming good now, so we're gonna be filming that next week and hopefully the music video should be out by the end of the month. In the meantime I have thrown together this sketchy as fuck lyric video (laughs)."
In the full interview, Matt talks more about what to expect from Sunburn, how it differs to previous single Billy, whether those two songs are part of a bigger musical picture or stand-alone releases, the plan to release up to two more singles before the end of the year, challenges faced by original bands outside of the capital cities, their two upcoming shows, supporting Everclear and more.
SUNBURN PREMIERES VIA HEAVY AT 8am, October 13