Slumberjack, aka Morgan and Fletcher, are two Perth boys who came together to try their hands at making “chilled music and relaxing sounds” as Fletcher says; but what they ended up making was so much more than that. Now one of the forerunners in big room bangers, the two make exceptionally massive tracks that would have you almost snapping your limbs in an attempt to dance to it. It’s break neck speeds, epic drops and so much damn fun, which is why excitement was at an all time high late last year with the release of their debut self titled EP.
Since then, they’ve toured nationally twice, played at Stereosonic and just wrapped up a support slot on Alison Wonderland‘s Warehouse Party 2.0 tour. They were also the subject of a remix EP, which dropped not even two weeks ago. UZ, Trumpdisco, Hatch and NGHTMRE each stepped up to the plate to turn the already epic EP into something even bigger (as if that was even possible).
We got to chat to the boys on their way to a recording session – yes, that means new music is on it’s way – about best shows ever, Korean BBQ and the Perth music scene, as well as their return to doing what they love instead of trying to be liked. Two of the nicest guys to chat to, the only way is up for the Perth duo, and we can’t wait to see what comes next!
Hey Morgan, hey Fletcher! How’s it going guys?
Fletcher: Hey! We just had a photoshoot, and we just did a few interviews. It’s been a good morning!
You’re on the warehouse party tour right now, how’s it been for you guys?
F: It’s been epic. These are probably the best shows we’ve done so far, since we’ve started Slumberjack!
Wow, really?
F: Well, some of the best ones!
Has there been a particular one that has been THE best so far?
F: Definitely Perth, because of the hometown crowd! The Perth scene is so epic, and it was just a really fun show. I think we played to 5000 people?
Holy shit! That’s awesome! You guys have been friends with Alison Wonderland for a while now, haven’t you?
F: Yeah, we met Alex at Stereosonic last year, and jumped in the studio, and now we just hang out and keep in touch!
Does that make for an even better tour, when you’re with more friends who you already know well?
F: Definitely! There is a big crew of us traveling around. I think there is like 10 or 15 of us, and we all know each other now. Plus a bunch of guys from the US who are over, and all the photographers – we all hang out together and go get dinner at the hotel every night and have a good time.
That’s awesome! Speaking of dinner, i read in a separate interview that the best moment of your year last year was eating Korean BBQ before your show at Can’t Say?
Morgan: Yep, that’s right! We do like our food!
Are you proper foodies?
F: Well look, I’m only 21 so I don’t know if I can call myself a foodie – but I do enjoy going to restaurants and eating food. Especially Korean BBQ. That was probably one of the best meals I’ve ever had.
Is that a side project in the works? Maybe retire Slumberjack music, and started a Slumberjack foodie project?
M: We could start a Slumber-food critic magazine or something?
“Slumberfood”?
M: Yeah!
F: I like it!
M: Like eat yourself into a food coma!
That makes more sense with the “slumber” than the music you guys make anyway!
F: *laughs* That’s an interesting one. We started off trying to make chilled music and relaxing sounds, and then we ended up going the other way, which is funny because now the name doesn’t represent us at all… Oh well!
Well, congratulations on the EP anyway! I’ve been listening to it pretty much nonstop since it came out!
Both: Thank you!
You had a pretty big year overall last year, but it really started picking up towards the end of last year, for a fan anyway. Was it just as rapid for you guys as well?
F: People ask us that a bit but we find that, from the inside, it’s not really rapid at all. It’s something we work at constantly, so for us it was like a slow build. But I can definitely see it from the outside how it would look like that!
Listening to the EP, there are a few obvious shifts from your earlier stuff – it’s more melodic in a way, but still just as massive! Was that a conscious decision to be like, “Let’s try this now!”
M: We always liked melodic music. When Slumberjack started out, we didn’t really know how to carry our show music-wise. As with a lot of producers, you want to fit in and you want to make sure a lot of people like your music. But now, it’s not so much a change as we’re being true to what we like and what we think club music should be. The best way to fit in is to carve your own space, and that’s how we did it this time. We feel like it’s more genuine. It’s more of a backwards thing – we’re going back to what originally liked instead of consciously trying to emulate somebody else.
I love that! Also the introduction of vocalists was a big change too, with Father Dude and KLP…
F: Yeah, we really like to work with vocalists. We think it just adds another layer or dimension to the song, and we’re really into having other sounds and having a vocalist on there gives the track a whole new perspective and it gives the track a bit of their creative input as well. It makes the track, I guess, “pop”!
I can hear that! Is that something you’ll be looking towards doing again in the future?
M: We just really enjoy collaborations. We do like instrumentals a lot, but at the same time you’re really having a good time driving down the street and singing to a song! We really wanted to create that experience, but at the same time serving a purpose to the music. Creating a story that’s a literal story, and at the same time there’s an instrumental part that you can dance to or vibe out to! So yeah, definitely looking at doing that more!
Also being able to relate to the song a bit more from the lyrics as well is something I’ve noticed with those songs. KLP’s lyrics especially, I love that song!
F: Thank you so much! She did a really great job and that was a fun one to do. She sent it back in like a day, even when she was sick with a terrible cold she sent us back a demo.
M: That was the one we used too!
F: Yeah, that was the one we ended up using! We didn’t change it.
Wow, that’s amazing! Now with the remix EP coming out, how does it feel making your song, and then someone coming back with a totally different interpretation of it?
M: It’s surprising, but it’s always positive. We enjoy getting surprises like that. It’s surreal, never in a million years when we started did we think that would happen. We always wanted to remix other people, but when the label came back and said someone wanted to remix the songs. We just really liked how everything came about. It was so nice and the tracks work well. We play them out too and people love it!
Especially that Hatch remix! That shit is crazy!
F: Yeah it’s epic! That was the first remix done too. It was done quite a while ago.
Can you give us an insight into any Perth acts we should be keeping an eye on?
M: We’ve got Sable, we’ve got a really good drum’n’bass scene. Obviously we all know Ta-Ku, and a couple of small acts starting out –
F: There’s a guy called Jia Lih too who is doing really cool stuff too!
M: He is very talented!
F: I hope he does really well too, he deserves it!
Looking forward now, what can we expect next from you two? You’re going to wrap up this tour, but you actually tour a fair bit anyway. Can we expect a new tour in a few months?
F: No, because we’ve done so much recently we’re going to pull back on the touring and focus on working in the studio. We’re actually on our way to a studio session right now. We’ve got a lot of new music ready to go, or almost finished. We’re going to lay it all out and pick the best ones which will come out on our next EP later on this year which we’re really excited about. Our number one passion is sharing our music with people so we’re super excited about that. But to do that, we’re going to have to take a break from some shows, but we’ll be back early next year!
Awesome! That’s also rad you’re recording whilst on tour as well – seizing the moment!
F: Absolutely! You have to make the most of every single moment!