Raave Tapes

Raave Tapes SUDS national headline tour hits Adelaide this Friday with support from Feels, No Oaths and Oscar The Wild at Rocket Bar. New single, SUDS addresses the belief that intoxication isn’t an acceptable excuse for poor behaviour. This is the ethos RAAVE TAPES convey in their live show, where having fun is paramount – as long as it’s not at the expense of another individual.

RAAVE TAPES burst onto the scene in 2016 when they were handpicked by triple j Unearthed to perform at This That Festival. With the 2017 release of breakout singles 2 U XOXO and k bye, the band quickly harnessed an army of dedicated fans. In the past year, they have completed a fifteen-date headline national tour, with multiple sold-out shows, were invited to perform with Northeast Party House, Hockey Dad and The Gooch Palms, in addition to sets at Groovin the Moo, Festival of the Sun, Yours and Owls and Mountain Sounds. The band answer a few questions ahead of their Adelaide show.

Are you excited to be getting out on the road for this national tour?
One hundred percent! We’ve been doing this touring thing for a few years now, so heading back on the road means catching up with old friends we haven’t seen in a while. And by “catching up with” I of course mean “sleeping on the floor of”. Plus there’s a bit more of an incentive these days. We used to drive 12 hours in the hope that the support bands would bring a few friends to make the whole trip worthwhile. Now we know we have at least 3 people who will turn up in some places. Shout outs to our three TRU friends in each city. You know who you are xoxo.

What can fans expect on this tour?
Loud guitars, dumb effects pedal noises, poorly synchronised dance moves & to feel safe, secure and supported. We may make big, dumb, loud, over-the-top party music, but we believe everyone has the right to enjoy the party. We’ve been working pretty closely with each venue’s staff & security to ensure everyone has a nice time at the rock show.

Safe spaces & melted faces x

How would you describe the Raave Tapes sound?
Dark, sparkly indie garage dance rock.

The single SUDS, what’s the story behind the single?
SUDS addresses the belief that intoxication isn’t an acceptable excuse for poor behaviour. We want to encourage the listener to call out shitty conduct, even if the culprit is a close friend. To put it bluntly – don’t be a dickhead. This is an ethos we carry into our live shows. If we see someone doing something we don’t agree with in the crowd, we’ll do our best to handle it. We find if we’re pro-active with the microphone, it empowers people to help confront these issues in the crowd themselves.

Did you enjoy making the film clip?
The clip is just filled with a whole bunch of our close friends, so it was a super wholesome day. The ground work for the clip may have ruined a few friendships though. We posted a status on Facebook asking for people to comment everyday things that people do that frustrate you, for example, leaving your dishes in the sink. This thread absolutely blew up with over three hundred comments. We took most of the content for the clip from this status, but not before people started calling out their housemates. Things got pretty heated and I sincerely hope no bonds were lost in the making of this clip.

What’s the plan beyond the tour?
Very good question! We’ve got a bunch of new stuff kicking around. We’re actually playing a few new ones in the set list at the moment to road test them. We’re going to be very studio bound at the end of this tour & hopefully have an EP before the year is out. Fingers and toes crossed.

Interview by Rob Lyon

Catch Raave Tapes at Rocket Bar on Friday 22 June