Teenagersintokyo, for y'all who didn't already know, are neither teens (any longer at least) nor are they in or from Tokyo. Actually they're four Australian girls and one Australian boy who have been in Wales recording with Bat for Lashes producer David Kosten, having relocated to live in London since June.
I remember seeing these guys (minus the guy at that time) floating around Sydney a few years ago, popping up alongside the likes of Van She, Lost Valentinos (who were still going by The Valentinos at the time) and various other Modular types; and even then their bourgening skills were evident. So to check in with where Samantha (vox), Linda (bass), Sophie (guitar)
Rudy (drums) and Miska (keys) are all at, we caught up with keyboardist Miska on how life currently is for the Australian quintet. She even took the time to whip us up a self portrait.
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Hello, I’m Miska and I play keys in teenagersintokyo. My role in the band in terms of personality? I think that’d be better answered by one of the other band members.. I guess I bring the foot-in-mouth to rehearsals. I’m still learning how to moderate.
How's London treating you guys in comparison to Sydney? I remember seeing you guys play in Sydney like 4 years ago - what's the journey of the band been since then in a nutshell?
Four years feels like a flash in as much as it feels like an eternity. In many ways we’ve come very far, but we also have so much further to go. Moving to London was hard because it’s such a huge move and a great financial strain, but it was the best thing we could have done for the band so we’re very grateful and excited to be here. Now we’re close to our record label and our manager and there’s so many more opportunities here, so many more places to play. So many more people to play to.
Being 4 girls in a band (and one boy of course), and having known each other for such a long time, your menstrual cycles are supposed to align, right...and the dominant female gets hers first. Who's the dominant female?
I think we all bring different strengths to the group. We’re all good at different things and all appreciate each other’s gifts. I think that’s the thing about knowing people really well, the more shit you go through together the more you learn about them and the more you appreciate what they can do.
Very diplomatically answered. How did you guys find/recruit Rudy?
It was a myspace romance. He messaged to say hello at the right time and I asked if he knew any drummers as a joke. When he said he was a drummer I thought he was joking but we ended up having a rehearsal with him like the week after and it just clicked. Sometimes the best things take the least effort. They just seem to slide into place.
Have you lost your souls to (east?) London yet?
Not quite. I mean I love East London, but I wouldn’t say I’ve lost my soul to it. We live quite far away in suburban North London so I guess we haven’t had the overdose that you might get living right in the middle of it. But there’s so much more to London anyway and I’ve been having a lot of fun discovering other places. The art gallery suburbs and places with good coffee and bookshops.
What's your favourite bit about living in the UK?
Art galleries for sure. SO many of them and so varied. I’ve been hanging out at the National Gallery and the National Portrait Gallery when I can. And I went to see the Anish Kapoor exhibition the other day and it was fantastic. Highly recommended.
The thing you miss most about Sydney?
All the clichés of course like family and friends and my boyfriend. And the food. My god, the food.
What is it about the (music) industry that pisses you off the most?
What’s not to love?! (ha.) I don’t know. The whole business of it in general I guess. Having to face up to the fact that there’s so much more to consider than just ‘writing the music‘.
How does the Aussie scene differ in comparison to London?
In terms of music? Well everything is just on such a smaller scale in Australia. There’s less cities you can play in and in those cities there’s less venues you can play in that house less people that you can play to. And it’s frustrating because it sometimes feels like the community really doesn’t want to support what is such an important part of life. We were upset to hear of two great venues possibly shutting down in Sydney. We’ve had some of the best gigs and watched some of our favourite bands at the Annadale and the Hopetoun Hotel. (If you’re interested: http://savethehoey.blogspot.com/)
What's your ultimate career goal?
To be happy with our music and to get to a point where we don’t have to live from hand to mouth. That seems like enough for now, but goals are exponential so if we ever get to that stage you should ask me again and see what’s next.
Tell us a bit about the Australian scene at the moment...whats going on? Could you name drop some bands that you're listening to?
Most definitely. Always eager to spread the sound of our talented friends back home. You should keep a close eye on Sherlock’s Daughter, a Sydney band with hypnotic melodies and a sweetly dark vibe. Lost Valentinos are always a favourite and their debut album is out now. Pivot are an amazing band definitely worth seeing live. And Chambers and Allies are new bands with a powerful, fresh sound. Check them out. Some are in our top friends.
Ideally what would you like your Wikipedia entry to say about teenagersintokyo?
Ideally, there’d BE a Wikipedia page!
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And whilst we're waiting for that album to emerge from the wilds of the Welsh mountainside, here are some tracks to keep you going; one from their most recent double a-side release, 'Isabella', 'End It Tonight' as remixed by Mad Decent and one of my favourite tracks of theirs, 'Very Vampyr'.
