Words by Steven Fernandez
Although a few of us have had a boozey yarn about making music, Gavin Correia and Marty Richard of Jupiter Project actually followed through with it. After meeting at a party and realising their mutual passion for songwriting, the two Uni graduates put their minds to work and started creating sounds that caught the attention of Grammy Award winning producers in Miami. Back home from a whirlwind trip to the States, where they recorded new tracks and filmed the video to their latest single “Celebration”, Jupiter Project told Steven Fernandez 12 things about 2012 as they prepare for a summer on Kiwi festival stages…
Steven Fernandez: 2012 has been a huge year for Jupiter Project. How did you guys meet and how did you come together?
Gavin Correia: We met each other through some mutual mates at a party back in ‘09 and hit it off. We were studying completely different things at different Universities so it was our mates and our passion for music that brought us together and since then we haven't looked back.
SF: Your song “Hook Up Girl” with Jessie G was all over radio this year and really put you guys on the map. How did that collaboration come about?
GC: That song we’d had lying around for a while, but it was lacking a female perspective. We met up with Jessie, clicked right away and then played her the track. She loved it and had a similar take on it so we put her on there and it worked out pretty well.
SF: You’ve just returned from Miami where you were recording new material. When are we going to hear this stuff on a full-length album?
MR: The way we work is we try make as many cool songs as we can, rather than setting out to make an album. And it now looks as though we have enough cool songs for an E.P.
GC: People consume stuff more frequently now and they don’t want to wait for an album. They’d rather get small pieces as they go and it’s about all the extra stuff as well, like the video. People aren’t just buying the music anymore; they’re buying the whole product. And I think social media has played a big part in that. It’s good for artists though and it makes us work harder to deliver quality stuff to the listeners.
SF: And you filmed your latest music video “Celebration” when you were in the States. Tell us how that came about.
MR: It was hectic, because we had to go to each city – Los Angeles, Las Vegas, New York and Miami – to find locations and scout people who could appear in the video, then shoot it. It was pretty intense but it captures the vibe of exactly what we experienced over there.
GC: We wanted to make a video that documents the whole trip and takes everyone back home on the journey we went on. And it just so happens that a huge part of that trip was a celebration, we were going out every night, having heaps of fun and meeting heaps of awesome people. So it was perfect really.
SF: How does that happen? Getting a really slick video like that off the ground overseas?
MR: A lot of it is through us pushing it. This photographer Bradley Scott from Sydney was on board. He’d been shooting some stuff for us, we loved his work and we were keen to collaborate with him on this video. So we went up to LA with him and he has a lot of contacts, so we gave it a shot.
SF: And tell me about your thoughts on the importance of the live show for new artists like yourself?
GC: Live shows are everything because it gives people the chance to appreciate artists for who they really. When you’re on stage you’re pretty naked and when you put on a good show people respect that. At the end of the day our job is to entertain people and nothing does that like performing live.
MR: It’s another way to connect and to exchange energy between yourself and the audience. Being able to record an album with production editing and all that is one thing, but being able to give an epic performance to a live audience is a bigger challenge.
SF: That life on the road is a far cry from the office jobs you guys still hold down. How do you juggle those two worlds?
GC: [Laughs] It’s pretty hard because they’re very different, but our “9-to-5” jobs have been really good to us and we’ve also learnt heaps through our internships about business and stuff like that.
MR: It’s getting to the point now where we’re spending a lot more time on our music and stuff is picking up with the band that we’re really going to have to make a choice in which direction we go.
SF: It’s almost new years and now that the world hasn’t ended, summer is upon us. So what festivals and gigs are you guys playing?
MR: We’re doing BW Campgrounds and Rhythm & Vines over new years, with some smaller gigs and festivals in between. Details about where we’re going to be are on our Facebook and Twitter.
GC: We’ve been playing live for nearly 18 months now, so we’ve got a pretty cool show put together. We mix it up a lot, so we’ve got some fresh stuff and a high energy to bring to everyone over the summer. We like to mix the sets up so it’s exciting for us and we often throw in random songs and mixes when we’re on stage!
SF: How would you describe your sound?
MR: To be honest we’re still trying to figure it out. Can’t say we really fit in a genre. We’re not rock, not electro, not hip-hop, but we take elements of each to create something unique. Our sound is really influenced by our life and that’s an ongoing journey.
SF: Who else out there could you compare your sound to?
GC: As Marty said our sound is pretty eclectic so we find it hard to compare our stuff to other artists. But we have been compared to the likes of N.E.R.D, Theophilus London and Phoenix, so that's not too shabby!
SF: Who else out there – locally and abroad – do you guys rate at the moment?
MR: So many new amazing acts coming out that we really like. From the whole Odd Future collective, Lana Del Rey, Danny Brown, A$AP Rocky, Azealia Banks, the list goes on. Got local love for all Kiwi music. We have some really great artists here, especially Shot Gun Alley, Alaska and of course Kimbra.
SF: What’s the plan for 2013? Where do you guys want to go next?
GC: We laid down some roots in America on this most recent trip and we’ve got some really incredible opportunities to work with producers up there we respect. So we want to get back there as soon as possible to keep pushing ourselves and producing stuff we love.
MR: We’re also putting a book with some of Bradley Scott’s photography from our trip and some really cool merch. We’re into fashion as well so we’ve created some cool stuff that’s more like a street label than tacky fan merchandise. We’re always open to new ideas and trying new stuff around our music, so 2013 will just be working hard to realize those ambitions.
Check out Jupiter Project's new video 'Celebration.'
