Foley (Ash Wallace & Gabriel Everett) explore the moment in both of their relationships when you’ve completely lost track of time because it feels like you’ve always known each other, in their new track 'Anything Before You'.
'Anything Before You' is out of nowhere - the realisation that you can’t imagine how life used to be without the all-encompassing presence of love.
New love can completely flip how you see and interact with the world, and the rush of change can render you a little powerless. 'Anything Before You' finds Foley pushing any fear to the side with a newfound confidence. The track’s chorus shrugs off the heavy thoughts and allows us to lose track of the outside world, because the deeply personal moments are all that matters.
Written in suburban Los Angeles and powered by Chili’s, La Croix & cornhole, 'Anything Before You' is the focus track from Foley’s sophomore EP Vacation. Written with Nate Campany and Will Everett, with production by Chris Lyon and Ambian & Sleo. Full of mesmerizing grooves, blissful pop melodies, and infectious energy, the 5-track 'Vacation' EP is a captivating journey from start to finish. As an overall concept, the ’Vacation’ EP is a mediation on what it means to escape from routine. Whether it’s a physical getaway or just being with someone who makes you feel at your best is up to the listener’s personal interpretation.
"For us, ‘Vacation’ is us trying to be our best to our partners, friends, families, and a reminder to enjoy ourselves. It’s us being confident in our creativity and aspiring to be better.”
We had the opportunity to speak with the pair on the new EP and more as part of our Get to Know series...
Hey guys! Introduce yourself and tell us a bit about the group!
"G’day! We are Ash and Gabe and we’re a pop funk duo called Foley from Tāmaki Makaurau [Auckland] in New Zealand. We've been writing and performing music together for a few years now and we are two bloody energetic best mates who just love to boogie and write super honest songs."
How did you meet each other and when did you decide to start making music together?
"We met in a band competition in high school competing in different bands. We knew of each other from rehearsing in the same space but had never properly met. Once we linked up our two bands became a group of awesome mates! We were best mates for a few years before it ever occurred to us to write songs together! Seems crazy now... once we got started we never looked back!!"
Is there a story behind the name?
"Ahhhh, names are so hard! Nothing ever feels right haha. We actually went traveling together and just decided that once we touched back down in New Zealand we had to have landed on a name. Foley was the one that we both liked at the time and so we just vibed with it. "
Where are you from and do you feel it has inspired the sound in any way?
"We're from New Zealand, which is the tiny island at the bottom of the world that is constantly left off world maps! It's a very small music community here so it's impossible not to be inspired by the music around us, which we'd describe as having a real upbeat, summery vibe. NZ is quite an outward facing country though, so we're all inspired by the global music scene and just put our own spin on it wherever possible!"
Who are your biggest inspirations musically?
"It all started for Ash with Fleetwood Mac and for Gabe with Prince. The rest is history!"
How would you describe your sound in 3 words?
"Fun, carefree, (yet) thoughtful."
What’s been your stand out moment so far?
"We just came back from playing a few shows on tour that blew our minds. The live shows are always just such a huge buzz especially at the moment because nowhere else in the world is getting to do this. We performed to sold out crowds that were just buzzing and sweating like crazy, and everyone was so stoked to be there together. Its been a pretty wild time recently making the most of our Covid-free country. Aside from that, we went on an awesome writing trip a while ago in Los Angeles and we were able to connect with a few songwriters we admire greatly. Writing “Anything Before You” over there was a total buzz because we were in the middle of LA, riding the wave, discovering amazing new sites and people, and just exploring our creativity. Huge energy!"
Tell us about the focus single from your EP, 'Anything Before You'.
"We love that track. We actually wrote that overseas in LA before the pandemic hit with some of the nicest and most creative souls we've met (Nate Campany, Chris Lyon & Will Everett!) — it came about in a day. It’s about the overwhelming feeling of a new relationship. When you find someone you connect with so well your lives can just suddenly become so intertwined that it's hard to remember how you managed to exist without them. We smashed out the instrumentation pretty early in the session then spent the better part of the day powering through the lyrics, melodies and chords and really honing in on the concept. We're super proud of it!"
The track is part of your second EP 'Vacation'! What can we expect from the EP?
"It's a lot of different styles and definitely less linear than our first EP! We were lucky to work with a wide variety of producers and writers who all brought their own flavours to the tracks and made everything sound fun, refreshing and a bit more confident than our last EP. The ‘Vacation’ EP was us just trying to be the best we can be, whether that's in our relationships, friendships or creatively."
What’s your favourite lyric from the EP?
"For me (Ash) it’s “can we float without moving forward” from Better “Than Love” because it just sums up that treading water feeling where you just want to float in a moment and never lose it."
What are your plans for the rest of 2021?
"We never stop writing music so we are pumping more out ready to follow up the EP. We’re also hoping to be able to travel internationally but who knows when that will happen, so we’re really enjoying making some awesome live content and trying to connect with our fans even though we can't be there in person right now. It's super hard to plan anything nowadays so we're just going to take things as they come and continue to do what we love!"
The 'Vaction' EP is out now.
Listen HERE
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