INTRODUCING
'Wasting Time' is the debut release from Sydney indie alt-pop band youproblem, the first of 'a song every two months' campaign accompanied by a music video.
The track is a cute, upbeat, quirky indie alt pop song about the pull of codependency and the addiction of being with someone you want to waste all your time with. It's light and energetic, with lyrics swollen in irony about the sacrifices you make by being in this phase. Written, produced, and performed by Alistair Hayes and Alana Patmore, mixed by Joel Quartermain, youproblem is set to crash onto the indie alt scene, with a lot more coming up this year!
We spoke to the band as part of our Introducing series...
How did you meet and when did you start making music together?
Alana: "We actually met in year 3 percussion ensemble! We didn't really become friends until late high school / uni. We had occasional things to do with each other, like Alistair helped out with recording drums for an EP for me when we were 15, and we were each other's first writing session in high school. The song was terrible though so we didn't write again until we finished uni! Alistair would periodically find that song we wrote together and send it to me to laugh about it, which is how we reconnected in 2020."
Alistair: "Yeah i was hitting up all my friends to write with to get better at producing when I found the lyric note in my phone and sent it again. Alana and I really connected musically so we started a band after our first session. A musical love story."
Is there a story or meaning behind the band name?
Alana: "We'd been stuck for a band name for literally months. My best friend Chantelle got obsessed with saying 'sounds like a you problem' so I was hearing that phrase like every day. Eventually, we had another band name brainstorming session, I suggested it, we both liked it, and here we are. We do sound like a youproblem."
Where are you from and what’s your favourite thing about it? Do you feel as though your surroundings have inspired your sound in any way?
Alistair: "We both grew up in neighbouring suburbs in Sydney's north west. I really found my place in the inner west though when I went to school in Newtown. Everyone was super accepting and a little odd, so I felt like I really fit in and was able to be totally surrounded by music and lovely creative people! "
Alana: "The music we hear around us in Sydney and Australia has really inspired our sound, but my fave thing about Sydney is how multicultural it is. I'm always going to be inspired by wherever I am. I write mostly from emotion and experience, the good but especially the bad."
Who are your biggest inspirations, musically?
Alistair: "There's so many, but mainly COIN, Phoenix, Broods, and Two Door Cinema Club. We love that indie alt pop sound."
Alana: "Lyrically I'm really inspired by Phoebe Bridges, terror jr, and Holly Humberstone!"
Who would be your dream artist to collaborate with?
Alistair: "Holly Humberstone! She's such an incredible songwriter, and the way her music makes us feel is just so powerful!"
You’ve just released your debut single ‘Wasting Time’! How has the reaction been so far?
Alistair: "We're absolutely stoked! We've had so much support from friends, family, and strangers it's been a dream. We even got on some Spotify playlists that we actively listen to in our free time (like Indie Arrivals) and that's just mind blowing to us!!"
Tell us a little about it!
Alana: "When we first started writing, we had the goal to write 20 songs before we chose anything to release. I think 'Wasting Time' was number 16 - around February 2021? I was reflecting on what I'm like in the infatuation stage of relationships - I get super obsessed and want to spend every waking hour with that person even when I have other things to do or it feels lethargic. The song is generally happy, but that frustration was definitely shining through for me when I wrote it."
Alistair: "We were listening to our fave high school bands so it's inspired by those bands - two door cinema club, bombay bicycle club, and tsubi club. All the club bangers. We actually had an old version which was way rockier, but we reproduced it in December last year."
What’s coming next for you guys?
"We've got our next single 'Drunk' dropping on the 25th of May - you can presave it here if you wanna https://li.sten.to/drunk <3 - We also just filmed the music video, so we're still super buzzed about it! We're currently putting our live set together so we can start playing shows ASAP! After Covid and writing for so long, we're fully ready to get rolling with it all and do EVERYTHING!"
'Wasting Time' is out now.
Listen HERE @youprobs_
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