“It’s been amazing, a very strange experience,” Henry says of the world tour – the band’s first. “Every leg of the journey has been so different, one of those things where you just never know what’s coming next. We started off in Japan, which was mind blowing. We played six shows in six days, mostly in cafes and bars. It was just really beautiful and everyone was so friendly. Then heading to London was really different again – it was really heart warming. We expected London to potentially be a bit cold and tough, but it felt really good. Then America was really fast, playing heaps of shows at CMJ. It was tiring, but really great.”
After establishing itself as a live favourite, Ready For Your Love received a studio release midway through 2015. “I guess when we make music, the recording and the live performance all goes hand in hand,” Henry says. “The live performance is the first out of the gate – we try out the arrangement and see how the song feels. That really influences how we record, how we produce any track. We just got to the point with the recording that felt really nice. The final touches were getting our friends Matt and Mohini from Habits to sing a little bit, finishing it off and making us feel really good about it. So we wanted to get it out there as soon as we could.”
During the writing and recording of 2014 album Falling For You, the band – rounded out by Jack Madin, Bec Rigby and Martin King – became an evenly responsible creative unit.
“I think we changed a lot during the making of the album,” says Henry. “We really started with the dynamic of me and my brother Jack writing the songs then all of us coming in and learning them, to a way more collaborative approach where everyone is contributing songs and production and recording ideas. That’s where we finished up on that album – the album took a long time to make. I think the things we’ve made since then have felt stronger because we learned so much.”
The Harpoons wrapped up 2014 with a triumphant, boot-waving return to the Supernatural Amphitheatre, shining as one of the finest acts at Meredith Music Festival. “It was so beautiful. What a festival,” Henry says. “All my friends are there, literally all of my friends. It really took me back, because one of our first shows with The Harpoons was at Golden Plains – one of the first ten shows we did. I was 18, maybe 19, it was such a defining moment for me, something I’ll never forget, and to be back there on that stage brought so much back. I think the other guys felt it too. It was really nice.”
As for the prospect of forthcoming Harpoons material, the recent worldwide sojourn has invigorated the band’s vision for the future. “We’ve got another single coming out soon that we’re really excited about. It’s a bit more of a change, pushing further in this electronic direction for us. I think Martin and I, we produce these things together, and this one is the one we’re most satisfied with. It just really glued. I think that will lead to an EP we’ll release early next year. That’s the plan. Recording all the time, we’ve been recording here in London too.”
The beat that drives Ready For Your Love has a captivating reggaeton inflection, and coincidentally enough, months later Justin Bieber’s Sorry popped upfeaturing a similar reggaeton groove. “It’s funny with the new Bieber stuff. We absolutely love it, it’s so good. We’ve got these demos that we’re listening to and saying, ‘Was this pre-Bieber, or post-Bieber?’ Right now we’re really influenced by it, so it’s interesting to track what was before and after. We’ve got lots of different influences all the time.
“We’ve got really into this label Principe Records that release lots of stuff in kuduro style. We saw a lot of their acts DJ here in London recently, like DJ Marfox and Nidia Minaj, who are just incredible performers and producers. I think we pulled it all in on that track. At the same time, it’s electronic but it has that live sound – live drums, guitar, marimba and singing.”
BY LACHLAN KANONIUK
