Music NT presents - Gaia
When you talk about Darwin band Gaia the first thing people tend to say is “I can’t believe they’re so young”. Since forming three months ago, the indie rockers have been impressing crowds with their perfect mix of youthful vivacity and intelligent songwriting. If you haven’t rocked out to their funky mix of pop/groove/funk/rock you should put it on the top of your to do list! MusicNT had a chat with the quirky quintet about all things musical.
So, how did Gaia form?
Funny story actually. We were all contestants in the NTMS Battle of The School Bands competition earlier this year. The band was formed through an ambitious plan by the fiery haired Kyle (our rhythm guitarist) to pluck us from our current bands and create a “super group” of sorts. So we all arrived at the first practice incredibly awkwardly in Kyle’s garage not knowing anyone else there. Surprisingly enough it’s turned out really awesome.
How would you describe your sound?
Our sound is a blend of all our previous projects, which is surprisingly a lot less chaotic then you’d imagine. Kyle, Dakota and Luke form the rhythm section and are used to playing really funky stuff. Then you have Bayden who’s really into blues and rock – that deepens the music. On top of that you have Stevie who’s got a jazzy, R&B style voice. We’re beginning to see our set as Indie Rock, with each of us drawing inspiration from different genres and musicians including The Kooks, Sticky Fingers, The 1975 and legends Led Zeppelin.
You’ve recorded a Demo EP. Tell us about the recording process.
We had no idea what it was going to be like. Our manager gave us an address and we rocked up to this house that had a really cool studio out the back. Luke fell in love with the drum kit as soon as he hit the snare and then we had to suffer through approximately ten minutes of him just bashing away in a tiny room. We lost our hearing. But all in all it was a really fun experience.
What other NT bands do you dig at the moment?
Room 105 has always been a big inspiration to us, they just have a way with rhythm that catches you off guard and it’s awesome. At The Dakota are really rad as well. We loved rocking out to their set at their tour launch and we have their EP and look forward to their next recordings. Ocean Bones is another band that springs to mind when you think of incredible NT music and we hope they’re killing it down south.
