Coachella Band Preview: RÜFÜS DU SOL

It’s been about 3 weeks since the lineup dropped for Coachella 2019. Since then, I’ve been doing a lot of listening to bands on this year’s lineup even with working in Mexico for the last week. It definitely gets me more hype. I hope you’ve been doing the same for the same reasons. This week I’m previewing a band that is at the top of my list for bands I’m most excited for/want to see this year.

RÜFÜS DU SOL was formed in Sydney, Australia in 2010. The indie electronic group is comprised of Jon George, Tyrone Lindqvist, and James Hunt. The group was formerly known as just RÜFÜS but changed their name to RÜFÜS DU SOL because of trademark issues in the United States in 2014. The group continued to be known as RÜFÜS in their home country of Australia until recently (May 2018).

They released their debut EP RÜFÜS EP in 2011. It received some attention from music blog aggregator Hype Machine as two tracks from the EP made charts on the website. Their second EP RÜFÜS Blue was released in April 2012. Their debut album Atlas was released the following year. It debuted at number 1 on the Australian Albums Chart and created 4 singles for the band in the process. The band spent their first few years touring and playing festivals in Australia, but the end of 2013 gave the group a chance to play a few shows in Europe as well. In early 2014 the group brought their talents to the U.S. playing a small tour in the spring.

In June 2015, they released the debut single “You Were Right” from their upcoming sophomore album Bloom. It reached number 22 on the ARIA Singles Chart and went double platinum. The group played Camp Bisco in 2015 which was their first U.S. festival performance. Bloom was released in January 2016. It was RÜFÜS DU SOL’s second number one charted album and has since gone platinum in Australia. They embarked on a world tour in 2016 in support of their album that lasted until early 2017. Stops on the tour included Coachella, Firefly, Electric Forest, Panorama, Lollapalooza, and Outside Lands amongst other festivals. The group continued to tour and play festivals throughout 2017 which included another stop at Coachella, but this time the group wasn’t listed on the bill. They closed out Coachella 2017 at an unannounced set at the DoLab during Weekend 2.

RÜFÜS DU SOL released their third and most recent album Solace in October 2018. The single “No Place” preceded the album release in May 2018. This album peaked at number 2 in Australia. The group is currently on tour in support of the new album.

RÜFÜS DU SOL’s style of music is a combination of electronic music and alternative music. They’re truly on the indie electronic spectrum because they are a band (not DJs) that plays electronic music. They incorporate live instrumentation at their sets and in their recordings. That being said their electronic sound does have a house music type of feel.

I found out about RÜFÜS DU SOL about a year and a half ago from a friend who introduced me to the song “You Were Right”. Aside from that song I didn’t really get into them until last summer after seeing part of their Weekend 2 set at Electric Forest. I decided to cut my night short that night because their set began at 11:45 p.m., ended at 1 a.m., I was tired, and I had to get up early for work the next morning. I stayed until around 12:15-12:20, but what I saw was incredible. Coachella 2019 gives me another chance to make up for what I missed at Electric Forest last summer. It’ll even be better for me this year too because I’m more into their music than I was at Electric Forest last summer. I’ll appreciate their Coachella set more, if I get to see it.

This year is RÜFÜS DU SOL plays Friday. It is their third Coachella appearance, but only the second announced one. They’re also much higher billed this time around than they were in 2016. In 2016 they played on the Gobi Stage. I’m expecting a late Main Stage or Outdoor Stage performance. There’s also a possibility that they headline the Sahara Tent Friday night because Diplo and DJ Snake are also big stage performers. Whatever the case may be, I’m sure it’ll be an epic set with a large crowd regardless of stage and timing. Honestly there’s no place I’d rather be than at the RÜFÜS DU SOL set Friday at Coachella so here’s a solid mix of what songs you need to know to enjoy all the band has to offer:

1. You Were Right
2. No Place
3. Like An Animal
4. Treat You Better
5. Underwater
6. Sunbeam
7. Innerbloom
8. Say a Prayer for Me
9. Take Me
10. Desert Night

Coachella Band Preview: Tame Impala

Welcome back to week 1 of Coachella Band Previews. As always, we’ve got 3 months and a lot of listening to do. This week I decided to start strong with Saturday night headliner Tame Impala. As I said in my lineup release post, I was super hyped to see Tame Impala’s name in big letters as a headliner this year so it made sense that I previewed them before everyone else. Needless to say, I’ve never actually wrote about them on this blog before either. Not until today that is.

Tame Impala is an Australian psychedelic indie pop rock band based out of Perth. The band was formed in 2007 as a home recording project of guitarist and vocalist, Kevin Parker. He started posting the music to his MySpace page which began receiving some attention from music labels. He then brought Dominic Simper (bass) and Jay Watson (drums) into the mix for live shows. Now Simper and Watson are playing different instruments in the band (guitar and synth for both as well as vocals for Watson) and Cam Avery (bass, vocals) and Julien Barbagallo (drums, vocals) have joined as well.

The band released their debut self-titled EP in September 2008. Three songs from the five song EP received national airplay. The EP reached number 1 on the Australian Independent Records Labels Chart as well as number 10 on the ARIA Physical Singles Chart. The band embarked on tours in support of You Am I, The Black Keys, Yeasayer, and MGMT as well as a national headlining tour in support of their EP. They released a new single “Sundown Syndrome” in 2009 and continued touring through 2010.

2010 also brought the band’s first full length album Innerspeaker which was received with general and critical acclaim nationally and in the U.K. and U.S. The band received 4 ARIA Music Award nominations that year as well, but did not win in any category they were nominated for.

The group’s second album Lonerism was release in October of 2012. Like its predecessor, the new album again received praise in Australia, the U.K., and the U.S. It was voted the number one album of the year from mediums in all 3 countries. The group then embarked on an international tour in 2012 through 2013. This included the group’s second stop at Coachella (the first was in 2011). It was in 2013 that original member Nick Allbrook left the band and Cam Avery took his place. The album also received a 2014 Grammy Nomination for Best Alternative Music Album.

The band’s most recent album Currents was released in July 2015. To date the album is the band’s best charting release, reaching number one in Australia, number three in the U.K., and number four in the U.S. The album won 2 ARIA awards for Best Rock Album and Album of the Year and was also nominated for a Grammy for Best Alternative Music Album.

Parker recently said that there will be new music for Tame Impala in 2019. As of now, no official date for an album is known. A first time headlining spot at Coachella might just be the place to preview some new tracks though.

Tame Impala’s style of music can be best described as trippy. It is psychedelic rock after all, but it’s much more rock oriented than the kind of music you’d hear from psychedelic jam bands like the Grateful Dead or Phish. “Let It Happen” does close in on the 8 minute mark though. It’s more on the indie rock spectrum of music than other well known bands associated with psychedelic music.

I’m not sure how or where I first heard Tame Impala, but I began listening to them around the Lonerism era. I actually purchased Lonerism from Amoeba Records in Hollywood on my first visit to California (one of my all time favorite vacations). I bought it in CD form because I didn’t think I’d be able to transport a record properly on an airplane. I can’t say I binged on the CD after that but I’ve definitely been listening to Tame Impala here and there ever since.

2019 marks Tame Impala’s 4th Coachella appearance. After playing in 2011 and 2013, the band then played again in 2015. This is of course the first headlining spot for the Australian rockers. I’m not sure what kind of crowd size Tame Impala will draw. They’re definitely not as big of a headliner as Beyoncé was last year. I’m guessing Bassnectar will overlap in set times as well, which hopefully may pull a lot of the youth attendees to the Sahara Tent or Outdoor Stage, wherever Bassnectar may be posted up. Tame Impala’s performance will surely be epic production wise. I’m hoping it’s comparable to or beyond that of Panorama 2017’s headlining set. The visuals, lasers, strobes, and everything in between brought an incredible vibe to Randall’s Island that night, which I hope translates to the Polo fields come April. So now it’s time to start listening to Tame Impala for the next three months, here’s what you need to hear:

1. Feels Like We Only Go Backwards
2. Let It Happen
3. Elephant
4. The Less I Know The Better
5. Half Full Glass of Wine
6. Solitude is Bliss
7. Mind Mischief
8. Eventually
9. Cause I’m A Man
10. New Person, Same Old Mistakes

 

Coachella Band Preview: Empire of the Sun

The first weekend of Coachella is 3 weeks away. Yes three weeks is what separates us from the hot sunny Indio Desert, the greens of the Empire Polo Fields swarming with festival-goers, palm trees swaying to the cool breeze and rad tunes, epic sunsets over the mountains, and the sweet sounds of music from incredible artists entering our ears. I only have a few band previews left before the annual festival begins and time is of the essence so I better get to it.

Empire of the Sun is an electronic/alternative rock band from Sydney, Australia. The band formed in 2007 as a collaboration between Luke Steele and Nick Littlemore. Both had worked together on music for each other’s bands before forming Empire of the Sun. Those bands each performed different styles of music. Steele brought the alternative rock genre to their new band and Littlemore brought the electronic dance music. Their first album, Walking on a Dream, was released in 2008 with the first single of the same name debuting about a month before the album’s release. Both the single and album were charted in the top ten of the ARIA charts. Although their only intention was to create a studio album, they decided to do live performances in response to the album’s success. However the live shows did not include Littlemore, who decided to opt out of touring early on. By the end of 2009, the band received 7 ARIA Awards for the album including Album of the Year.

2010 was the year the band embarked on the festival circuit playing Glastonbury and Lollapalooza for the first time and by the end of the year Littlemore and Steele discussed creating a new album for the band. Production on the album began in 2011 and Littlemore stated he would go out and tour in support of this one. 2011 also involved a North American tour for the band, which included a stop at Coachella.

The duo released their second album, Ice on the Dune, in June 2013. The new album brought more touring throughout 2013 and into 2014. The band made their second stop at Coachella in 2014 and headlined the Sahara Tent. Their music was also featured in the film Dumb and Dumber To, which came out in late 2014.

The band continued to tour into 2015 while simultaneously working on their third album. Their third and latest album was just released this past October. 2016 also marked the first time that the band broke on to the Billboard charts. It was their 2008 hit “Walking on a Dream” that earned the band the number 3 spot on the Alternative Music charts after it was used in a U.S. Honda commercial in early 2016.

Their music, as I said, is a combination of alternative rock and electronic music. It can’t be described much better than that, although some may say the band fits genres like synthpop or glam rock. I feel like their sound has stayed consistent over the course of three albums so if you love the song “Walking on a Dream” or only know music from that album, you’re bound to dig some of their more recent stuff.

I discovered Empire of the Sun in 2011. There’s no significant story of how so I’m guessing it was through a recommendation from Youtube or Pandora because I listened to similar music on either channel. Of course the first song I heard was “Walking on a Dream”. Throughout the past few years I’ve heard their other stuff here and there and I’ve liked it. I’ve also heard the song “Walking on a Dream” multiple times in various circumstances throughout the same time period. It’s no surprise it’s their biggest hit. I never got into them as a band though. Nor have I been dying to see them live, but I’ll tell you why I would definitely check them out at Coachella.

Music festivals give you an opportunity to see bands live who you might like but not like enough to buy a ticket for a touring show making Coachella the perfect time for someone like me to check them out. Empire of the Sun does some pretty cool live performances too. The performances are as much of a visual art as they are a musical art. They wear elaborate costumes, have dancers or other performers, and display mesmerizing visuals often seen as part of electronic shows. They play Friday at Coachella. They’ve already headlined the Sahara Tent at the festival once before so that might happen again. As long as their set doesn’t overlap with some other great performers, it’ll definitely be a spectacle worth seeing. Here’s a few songs to know if you go:

1. Walking on a Dream
2. Alive
3. High and Low
4. We Are the People
5. Standing on the Shore
6. DNA
7. Two Vines
8. Concert Pitch
9. To Her Door
10. Friends