Off the back of a massive 2017 crammed with raucous live shows, Melbourne six-piece Northeast Party House won’t be lifting their foot from the accelerator any time soon. With hard hitting tunes and throbbing soundscapes the boys will be live in action this February 18 at Chevron Gardens alongside Wafia and Willaris K. Following the release of their sophomore album Dare in 2016, Northeast Party House launched into a slew of touring both nationally and internationally. The band signed with US based publishing house Primary Wave Entertainment in 2017, and have firmly established themselves as one of Australia’s most electrifying live performers along the way. Guitarist Jackson Shoe chatted with SARAH DAY about what its like working with his five fellow band mates and what lies ahead for Northeast Party House in 2018.
You’re performing this month at Chevron Gardens for Perth Festival, sharing the line-up with Wafia and Wilaris K, what can punters expect from your live show?
We’re actually really excited about this one. Wafia and Wilaris K. are two artists that we all as a band really like, so I think overall the three artists will really compliment each other. It’s a really solid line-up so we’re excited about that, and just a really high-energy party set from us. We definitely feel like a more well oiled machine these days, we’ve done a lot of touring last year so we’re feeling very tight. We’ve been mixing up the set list a little bit more lately as well, so for people who’ve seen us on the last tour the set may have changed a bit.
With six members in the band I imagine there’s quite a jumble of tastes, likes and dislikes in the mix; how do you come together collectively and get your individual ideas heard?
It’s definitely difficult getting all six people on the same page but we’ve been doing it for so long now that we all have a pretty clear idea about what the band is and the direction we want to take it, so we do find a common ground. It can be testing at times but also it’s one of the benefits of having six people, having all these unique angles on things. We all have completely different taste in music but when we all find an artist that we commonly admire it’s a really nice thing but you know, it’s also good to hear what someone else is into when it’s not something that you would have found or come across by yourself. I definitely wouldn’t say it makes the process any easier, it’s a struggle but it’s a good struggle. It’s hard work but we’re always happy with the end result.
Can you tell me a bit about this two-week house party that sparked the beginnings of Northeast Party House?
Yeah (laughs), three of us went to school together and it was during our year 12 exam period. Our friend Sam Northeast, his mother went away for close to a month and he invited everyone to stay at his house. He’d invite randoms home from nightclubs, announcing over the PA like “everyone back to my mums house,” (laughs) it was just a wild time. A year later when we’d started the band we were trying to think of a name, we just looked back on that month with very fond memories and we wanted to be a wild party band and so it felt like a good thing to draw inspiration from.
Your album is titled Dare, so naturally I have to ask what’s the craziest dare you’ve ever received or given?
Hmm I’m sure there’s many; Actually a few years ago when we were in Perth the guys gave me $50 to strip off to my underwear and get into a fountain… which isn’t that crazy, it’s pretty standard and cliché (laughs) but I didn’t kind of think it through at the time, like it’s a fountain in the middle of the city and it was disgusting. I think I got quite sick after that so yeah not the best.
You’ve performed at some massive festivals around Australia and internationally over the last few years, what’s one that really stands out for you as a favourite?
Recently one that sticks out was Yours and Owls festival in Wollongong, mainly because the line-up was just so good and there were so many friends bands there that it was just nice to catch up with everyone. They treated the acts really well backstage too, there was lots of free alcohol and also a great crowd so that weekend was amazing.
What Aussie music acts are you getting into at the moment?
I’m going to say Wilaris K, I really like the beats that he makes, they’re really dark and mysterious and from all the footage that I’ve seen from his DJ sets and live shows it looks like a really good atmosphere. I haven’t actually managed to catch him even though we’ve been on similar line ups recently I’ve never seen his set, so that’s one thing to look forward to in Perth.
How do you think you’re sound has developed from when Northeast Party House first began; is there any new material in the works at the moment?
I think at the time the indie-electro scene was really big, I think that scene is what inspired us and the sound that we initially started making. We’re still working on it, I’m not sure that we’ve fully captured it on past albums but definitely on the music that we’re working on now we’re looking back to our old influences and hopefully getting closer to the sound we want. At the moment it’s just writing and hopefully we’ll be recording the album and it should be finished this year. We do take a very long time so I wont try any dates right now, because chances are we’ll miss it (laughs) and hopefully we’ll be doing some touring as well but that’ll all be based off how quickly we can finish this material.
