Electronic pop duo Hi Life, consisting of Tom Spira and Harry Patrick first gained traction in 2016 when they released their songs So Good and When I Get To The Club. Slide is a jumpy yet restrained production, where Harvie’s vocals are lush and tranquil, taking the audience through the struggles of a difficult relationship.
The duo is set to drop more anticipated singles throughout the next couple of months. The Hi Life season is coming just in time for long road trips up the coast with your mates, and cold beer by the beach.
What inspired the name?
HI LIFE (TOM):
We had so many names in mind, but we wanted a name that had two syllables and worked well as something that communicated energy and emotion.
How did the band come to be?
TOM:
Harry and I became friends back in Canberra in 2010, I think maybe at Rev where I used to DJ at one of the Strangeways parties that I ran. Then in mid 2016 Harry sent me a demo of a song that he was working on. I liked it and thought maybe I could finish it. That song became So Good which eventually came out on Denzel Sterling’s Sidechains label. We used to live in different cities (myself in Melbourne and Harry in Canberra) and used Splice to work on our Ableton sessions remotely. The next song we produced, When I Get To The Club, got us a feature on Triple J unearthed. Sydney label Future Classic became aware of us through that feature and eventually we signed a deal with them. They’ve been amazingly supportive!
Your third single Slide dropped just a few weeks ago. Could you tell us a bit about the release?
TOM:
We developed the instrumental for the song over 2016 and 2017 and sent it to a bunch of different singers. Harvie’s topline (the lyrics and melody she wrote) totally floored us so we were really keen to get her on the final version of the song! Slide was produced entirely ‘in the box’ using a mixture of software VSTs like Serum and FM8 and a collection of our own samples including crowd noise from a live concert and the sound of a metal pipe hitting other metal objects. We experimented with at least 6 or 7 different arrangements of the song but eventually went with the simplest one to compliment Harvie’s amazing performance on the track.
Is there any plans for an EP?
TOM:
There are 4 singles that will be released next year. We’re looking to drop a single every 3-4 months from the start of 2019 and keep on doing shows and festivals!
Could you tell us about your upcoming tour?
TOM:
We’re touring with Alison Wonderland for her Awake tour all around the eastern states. Because of the logistics of this tour we cant bring a singer on tour with us so our way around this problem was to have a different one every city. We are super lucky because all the singers we are using are amazing artists in their own right: Janeva who was recently on tour as a vocalist for the Rubens will be joining us in Melbourne, Lili in Adelaide, Austen in Brisbane and then in Sydney and Canberra we have Jasmine Khan and Alana Patmore who were both featured on The Voice Australia in 2017. We will be performing three originals that haven’t been released yet plus Slide, and the rest will be our own remixes and edits, some that you may recognise.
We were super thrilled to when we found out that Alison approved us to support her on this tour, she featured our single Slide on her podcast ‘Radio Wonderland’ which was amazing. She’s rally down to earth and lovely.
Tell us a bit about future plans! Any more collaborations in the mix?
TOM:
We have locked in a bunch of collaborations for our future singles, some from Melbourne and some internationals. The plan is eventually to move to L.A. – it’s a great city for musical collaborations.
What is the concept behind Slide?
TOM:
Slide is a snapshot of a relationship that could be falling apart. Its about deciding between letting things slide to save that connection, or confronting them and risking what you have together. It’s a moment of both trepidation and euphoria that Harvie’s vocal perfectly captures.
There seems to have been a 2-year break between your two singles (So Good and When I Get to The Club) and Slide, what was happening in between then?
TOM:
We wanted to refocus the project a bit so we tried lots of different approaches. We wrote a lot of music, and Slide came together quite slowly. Besides that, I moved from Melbourne to Sydney and some personal stuff was happening that made it hard to focus on music. But eventually we got through it. One thing that really helped was going to Harry’s coast house and spending a week writing there.
How has Slide been received?
TOM:
The reception has been amazing! Slide was just added to spot rotation on Triple J (feel free to request it if you vibe it) and featured on Good Nights with Bridget Hustwaite. We’ve had lots of nice feedback from other artists and the general public over Facebook and Instagram. I can’t wait to release more music and keep playing shows. Keep your eye out for a remix that’s dropping on December 7!
Give Hi Life some love on FB, follow them on Instagram or catch them live at the Enmore supporting Alison Wonderland on Dec 7
