Introducing Kuiper…

It has been a big year for Kuiper who released their new album Be Here Now in October, a record crafted entirely in‑house and mastered by Ron Pollard of Tangled Thoughts of Leaving. Since debuting live in 2024 opening for Mogwai, the Adelaide project has shared stages with Stuart Braithwaite, Black Aleph, Khan, and Treebeard across multiple Australian tours. In 2025, Kuiper expanded further, travelling to Melbourne to support Black Aleph ahead of their European run, marking another step in the band’s steadily growing presence both locally and abroad. Dion Zisos talsk to Hi Fi Way about the album.

Sounds like it’s all happening for Kuiper releasing new album Be Here Now.
Definitely, the best way to put it is you get something out after putting so much time and effort and energy into it, and then it’s finally out there. It’s so good to have the product as opposed to talking about it.

Being an independent band, how hard is it trying to juggle so many balls and keep a project like this on track?
Having a passion for music and writing music that’s interesting to yourself, I think that’s what makes it easy. The other thing is enjoying it, actually enjoying the genre of music, being instrumental, post-rock, and having fun with it. That’s the main thing, I think that’s what makes it easy to do. Otherwise, people are making music for something other reason, and that’s just not what music’s about. It’s about conveying something and expressing something that means something to you as an artist and a human. That’s what makes it a little bit easier, I’d say.

Did you have a clear vision in mind, or an idea of where you wanted to take this particular album?
Yeah, definitely. In terms inspiration I’m pretty loosely defined around concepts, philosophical concepts from Eckhart Tolle, exploring the concept of now for example. Other concepts loosely related to psychological Jungian archetypes. This album is a little bit different. Different in terms of collaborating with musicians a little bit more. That’s been pretty inspirational in itself to be able to write music with people, who have a little bit more input in the music. The other thing is wanting to do something that is a step up from the previous album. I think that’s the most important thing to do as a musician. The concept here was to make something that I felt was a step up from the previous release in terms of the composition, the arrangement, the exploration of synthesizers, even the mixing and mastering. We were able to work with Aaron Pollard from Tangled Thoughts of Leaving, who really got the audio quality to a really high level.

Were the people you wanted to collaborate with clear, or did they bring something particular to the music?
The drummer is my long time friend from primary school. In primary school, we had a band, which never existed. We just spoke about having a band. So, I kind of hassled him for a good three to five years, probably even longer, to be honest with you. Eventually, he said yes over a barbecue, so that was good. In terms of the bass player, we’ve always been fans of each other’s music from Adelaide. Always have worked with each other, but probably not this in depth. So, I guess wanting to have him on board in terms of not only his bass playing, but also his, production skills, because he mixed and co-produced the album with myself. The audio side of things, Aaron from Tangled Thoughts of Leaving is probably one of the most boundary-pushing bands in Australia, I’m a massive fan of their music, so being able to have him support in the audio side of things was really cool. It was the same with some of the visual artists, seeing their art on Instagram and reaching out to them and asking if they’d be interested in being involved in either doing film clips or artwork was cool.

Do your own personal influences shape the music, or have much bearing on how the music evolved this time around?
Becoming a dad, I think I’m a little bit more mature. I’d probably say that’s reflected in the music, the emotional experience of that personally. So even in the film clip that we released for Enter Orbit, from the way I interpret it, there are some visual representation of that experience, which is pretty cool to be able to have in the art. Then another personal experience of dealing with the ebbs and flow of life, and how that translates. How those emotions translate into audio, I think is represented in some of the ambience, the dynamics, where it gets quite big, and then it gets quite small again, and crescendos up, crescendos down. Different life experiences, like grief and loss has probably come into it as well, just all the normal things that are needed to be a sublimation for music.

Was it a long process from start to finish?
It was very long. I’d say some of the songs were first written in 2020. 2020 is when some of the songs were written and arranged, and now five years later to have it out it’s taken quite some time, but I generally feel like myself as a musician, it always takes probably five years to get something ready and release it. That just seems to be a bit of a theme that I’ve noticed with releasing music. But it was definitely worth it, because we got in-depth on the recording as well the mix. We had to make sure the master we had is the best representation of the music. So, it took a while, but I think it was the time that was needed.

Did it all go to plan?
I think it depends on who you ask in Kuiper. I’d probably say it took the time it needed. We took the time it needed to make the pieces as good as they can, and as best as they can, and as enjoyable as a listen as they can. As interesting as they can be, otherwise, you’re just kind of scratching the surface with music, really listening to some of the early demos, and how they interact with each other, and what can be added here to make it feel this way, or what can be added here to make the dynamic a little bit better. Particularly synth-wise, because there’s a lot of work going on in the music. There were some songs that took a little bit longer than others, and that’s okay. I think that’s required, because at the end of it, you get a nine-track album where everything’s interwoven and interrelated. It’s almost one whole piece of music over fifty minutes with that time, I think that’s what we’ve got is a really cool album at the end of it.

What’s the background behind the song Enter Orbit?
The song actually started from the ending. I was experimenting with a Moog Sub 37 and a tremolo effect, trying to capture the feeling of something crashing back down to Earth. From there, I built the track backwards using repetition, slowly adding layers of synth, bass, drums, and guitar to create a hypnotic rise into a post‑rock crescendo. After the peak, there’s a brief silence before it hits a heavy wall of sound. Because it’s instrumental, people can interpret it however they want, but for me it reflects that idea of re‑entry or impact. The film clip by Max Rating explores similar themes through a character moving through different worlds, visually echoing the track’s journey.

Is it exciting to be hands‑on with the film clip and see everything come together?
Definitely. Finishing the audio was huge, but pairing it with animation, especially with those nostalgic Nintendo 64 vibes made it feel complete. I’ve always loved artists who combine visuals and music live, like Tycho, Steven Wilson, Tool, and Jon Hopkins. Being able to create that myself feels like a real milestone, and the animated clip is a bit of a nod to those old-school games too.

Do you think about taking the project overseas, at least in terms of releases or touring opportunities?
Yeah, for sure. There are actually more listeners overseas than locally right now. If the opportunity came up and it made sense for everyone in the band, it’d be amazing, maybe even turn it into a family trip. Europe especially has a strong scene for this kind of music, with festivals like Tangent and Dunk!Fest. If it happens, it happens, but we’ll see how things unfold now the album is out.

Interview By Rob Lyon