Canberra’s indie-rock whizzkids Sputnik Sweetheart are currently heading around the country on their debut tour. The band had us all swooning with the release of their latest single, the dreamy ‘Us Girls’. To celebrate the band’s first-ever headline tour we shot them through a few quick “Get To Know” questions. So without further do, meet Sputnik Sweetheart:
Watch: ‘Us Girls’ – Sputnik Sweetheart
How did your artist name come about?
One of Net’s favourite authors is Haruki Murakami, and around the time we were thinking of a band name she was reading his book, Sputnik Sweetheart. It’s a romantic novel, and we love, love.
How would you describe your music to your grandma?
The same way we describe it to everyone – rock n roll baby.
Tell us about a few of your tracks; their titles and what they’re about?
We put out two singles this year, ‘Home Again’ and ‘Us Girls’. Sonically, Home Again is pretty upbeat and happy sounding, and most people are surprised when we tell them it’s not a love song. Right before we started writing the track, one of our friends (who is an incredible photographer) was documenting life at a refugee camp in Palestine. Her stories/photographs were so moving we ended up writing a song about it.
Us Girls is also about an important but heavy topic – woman’s struggles for gender equality. Net just came to band practise one day with the lyrics and chords and that hectic chromatic run. We workshopped it in the studio and the rest is history!
What do you love about your hometown?
Canberra cops a lot of flak for being slow-moving, but from our perspective, this is the perfect place to start out. You don’t need to fight off 100 bands to get a gig, and everyone in our community is really supportive.
Career highlights so far?
Getting billed for Stonefest and added to the Spilt Milk line-up is completely surreal for us. It’s an honour to be playing alongside all of these artists, many of which we have looked up to for a long time.
Fave non-music hobby?
We all have different hobbies! Net reads a lot, Byron plays basketball, Joe is a graphic designer and Riley is a real green thumb. His veggie garden is insane. We also all love drinking coffee and hanging out together.
What’s on your dream rider?
Puppies to hang out within the greenroom
Dream music collaboration?
Genesis Owusu please, we’ve asked twice now.
Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
Hopefully still making music together and having a fun time.
What’s your go-to karaoke song?
Murder on the Dancefloor – Sophie Ellis-Bextor.
If you want to catch Sputnik Sweetheart, you can at the below dates.
18th of October
British India Support
Beer Deluxe, Albury
19th of October
Stonefest Festival
UC, Canberra
31st of October
Strawberry Boogie
Wollongong
9th of November
Not Fest
Melbourne
15th of November
Bugs Support
UC Hub, Canberra
23rd of November
Spilt Milk
Canberra
5th of December
Maddy Jane support
Wollongong
