Everyone has those annoying friends who love to talk about the big band that they knew about before anyone else, before the band was ‘cool’. Well, the bad news is, it’s probably going to get worse, because Northeast Party House are just such an act – and they’re about set to burst.
Despite their growing success, Zach Hamilton-Reeves maintains his modesty towards the whole endeavour, despite admitting an excited anticipation towards their upcoming tour to follow the release of their latest single ‘Pascal Cavalier’.
“Playing for people live you know,” says Hamilton-Reeves, “I think that’s kind of the best part about it!”
The story behind Northeast Party House is as befitting of the band’s dance-driven party tunes as it is their notoriously rambunctious live shows.
For those who don’t know the truth, Hamilton-Reeves reveals the formation of the band as the result of a roaring house party held by a Melbourne local, back in 2008, which saw both the inauguration of Northeast Party House, and the almost total destruction of the host’s residence in the process.
“I think there were even little fish living in the toilet bowl by then end,” says the vocalist with a laugh, “if you can imagine a really crappy teenage movie party scene, well that’s basically what happened.”
Thank god for that, because the result is certainly one of the most energetic and engaging live acts to spring from Melbourne’s soil in recent times.
One listen to the new single and it’s easy to understand the hype building behind these five Melburnians, resulting in sold-out live shows and even a position headlining alongside Sydneysider Oliver Tank at the unfortunately ill-fated Castle Music Festival, which was forced to cancel earlier this year.
“We were actually really pumped for that one, it was actually really exciting just to get the chance to play a little fun local festival so we were really bummed when it fell through” explains Hamilton-Reeves about Castle, which was supposed to be held in late June this year.
The cancellation of Castle Music Festival is just one example of the dire situation facing Australian live music venues and events in recent times, a fact that Zach says is affecting artists as much as it is fans.
“East Brunswick Club closed about a week after we first got to play there, which sucked because it was a really good venue,” Hamilton-Reeves affirms.
“I mean, we try and make the best out of any situation though, I think we are in some cases more about the vibe than anything else, regardless of where that is.”
It’s this added energy towards live performance that has facilitated the steadily growing impact of Northeast Party House on the Australian music scene, with the singer admitting that the stage is certainly where his band prefer to dwell.
“We haven’t actually been that active recently in terms of gigging, we’ve kind of been trying to find our sound a bit more,” he says.
“But I can’t wait to get back [onstage], we are definitely a live band, I think Malcolm [Besley] our drummer, who recorded and produced our most recent single, has done a sick job at making it sound nice… but definitely live music is the way for us, it’s where all our efforts come back together and we can get down to what we actually want to do, which is make people dance and dance along with them.”
Having already hit the stage at Melbourne’s Corner Hotel last Friday to begin their tour to support the release of the new single, Hamilton-Reeves says a hometown show always brings something unique.
“Playing in Melbourne – it’s a lot more accessible for us to make the gig a bit special, we’ll get props out or give ourselves a theme to run with,” explains Hamilton-Reeves. “Something just to make that party a little bit better.”
‘Pascal Cavalier’, in similar fashion to the band’s first EP, released last year, was recorded and produced by the band, making the whole production of the song a very insular DIY undertaking – a method Hamilton-Reeves thinks has a positive effect on what the band produces.
“I really enjoy being able to work within the band and not having to take on an external opinion as such, although at the same time I guess we have never worked with a producer so that would be exciting as well and I wouldn’t be against it,” admits the singer.
But whatever it is that Northeast Party House are doing, it seems to be working, with positive feedback already streaming in for ‘Pascal Cavalier’ as well as a resoundingly positive response towards the recently released music video. Featuring some scantily-clad ladies playing a rather messy game of Twister, which is certain to catch people’s attention.
Enough to bring them to the band as they hit the road this month, playing their signature set of raucous party tunes to melt hearts and move feet.
Pascal Cavalier is out now. Northeast Party House play Sydney’s Goodgod Small Club this Friday 20th July, then Brisbane’s Alhambra Lounge on Saturday July 21st. Full dates and details here.
