President Street are an exciting new band hailing from Melbourne, Australia. They have recently released their brand new single titled ‘This Day’ which is the follow up to their successful debut release ‘Yeah I Know’.
Here we speak exclusively to President Street about new music, band name, future plans and much, much more;
So, how did you guys meet?
It was pretty random. It was a combination of intros from friends and also finding each other thru ads and the internet. So we’re really diverse actually and we’ve definitely got a variety of musical influences and tastes between us.
How did the band name come about?
President Street is actually the name of the street that I grew up in. Its in a suburb called Kewdale next to the airport in Perth, Western Australia. Most people keep driving straight past it.
Growing up who were your musical influences?
It’s kinda diverse. Growing up in Kewdale I was surrounded by the sound of rock with bands like ACDC pretty much playing on rotation around me. But once I discovered R&B in my teens I got pretty intoxicated with the sounds of people like Prince and Maxwell. Then throw bands like Oasis into the mix. I think I’m drawn to songs that have hooky melodies but I love listening to how different artists have built their sounds around those melodies. I equally love “You Shook Me All Night Long” by ACDC as “When You Were Mine” by Prince – but sonically they’re so different.
How would you describe President Street’s sound to new listeners?
Always the hardest question for me to answer is “What do you sound like?. I’d say that President Street is a melodic pop project that doesn’t shy away from getting dirty. The main goal in our songwriting is to try and make an emotional connection so we tend to go where the song takes us. We don’t stay in one lane too much sonically and we really focus on the key emotion that we’re trying to express in a particular song and then find the best sound and energy to tap into that emotion. I think that the idea of ‘genre’ isn’t all that relevant any more as you see so much blending of sounds these days. I personally love that trend and try to take full advantage of the freedom that comes with it.
How do you feel your individual personalities marry to make The President Street sound?
Funny, we actually have a really diverse mix of personalities and musical tastes with some being pretty much down the middle musically while others were in some pretty heavy bands before President Street. So while we definitely have pop sensibilities, when you put us in a room we can tend to get loud and distorted pretty quickly and I think that kind of comes out in our sound. I think the key though is that none of us come into the room with a ‘my way or the highway’ kind of attitude and we definitely all go in trying to do the best by the music. We’re kinda perfectionists as well so we can spend a fair bit of time on a pretty small issue that no-one but us will ever notice!
When writing new music where do you look to for inspiration?
I tend to take inspiration from observing people around me. I find true life events as really the best form of inspiration and I really focus on trying to capture the emotion of a particular moment. I’ve written songs while watching a scene unfold next to me on a plane or just doing a bit of people watching. Self-reflection is also a fairly big feature in my song writing.
When can fans expect new music from you?
Very soon! We’ve got a bunch of new songs that we’re dying to share with you. 2018 will be a big year for us for sure…fingers crossed.
What is your main aim for President Street?
We’re fully independent and DIY and we’re really keen to find our own path. Making a connection with fans is definitely our main aim and we really hope that people find us because they connect with our music.
Make sure you follow President Street on Twitter @presidentstreet to keep up to date with all their latest music and tour news!
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