Newcastle alt-pop duo RAAVE TAPES have hit the ground running in 2024 with a new single, k hi.
The pair are also opening for The Presets in Newcastle in March and yesterday it was announced they are on this year's Laneway Festival line-up in Sydney.
RAAVE TAPES has been inching towards an electronic future since the release of Red Flag in 2020 and k hi is another step in that direction.
Vocalist and guitarist Joab Eastley says k hi is a love letter to friends and family living overseas.
"This track is dripping in nostalgia for us, both thematically and sonically. Put very simply, we wrote this one for our friends and family living far away who we miss dearly," he says.
"We name check one of our favourite local pubs in the opening line, the Seven Seas Hotel, which has hosted many late night 'no I love you more' sessions.
"To the friends whose lives have taken them elsewhere across the globe, this song is audible proof that we actually do love you more."
The song was written and recorded at the family home of the other half of RAAVE TAPES, bassist and vocalist Lindsay O'Connel, in Stanhope and mirrors their 2018 track k bye.
"We approached this song very simply: with three power chords and a dream," Eastley says.
"Our wonderful producer/collaborator/bestie Fletcher Matthews stripped things right back and tapped into our raucous garage/punk beginnings before turning the production up to 11.
"Sonically, we used almost the exact same guitar and bass tones from k bye. We then ran these sounds through bit crushers, filters, tremolos and a host of fun pedals/plug-ins to juice 'em up.
"The track really does feel like a wink and a nod to our day ones, with our eyes squarely fixed on where we're headed."
The dirt bike-themed music video for k hi was filmed under the Stockton Bridge and was directed by Maya Luana.
"Everything about this song just screams bedazzled bright orange dirt bikes," Eastley says.
"We knew that we wouldn't be able to reach the lofty heights of our last clip Goodbye, where we literally flew above the city in a helicopter, so we decided to get down into the dirt with our ride or die director Maya Luana.
"She absolutely crushed our last clip and we just love working with her.
"We name check the suburb of Stockton in the track, so it just felt right to shoot this clip under the iconic Stockton Bridge: a true marvel of modern architecture. A classic spot for local band press shots. We had to put some respect on the name."
RAAVE TAPES are co-founders of the NoFi collective (alongside fellow Novocastrians Vacations) and have organised several mini festivals and warehouse parties, bringing together some of the country's best emerging talent (such as Teen Jesus and The Jean Teasers, Cry Club, Stumps, Ruby Fields and more) and giving local bands a platform.
