They’ve not been around for an awful long time, but already Perth’s Cloning are proving that they’re the future of indie and alt-rock in Australia.
Having unleashed their debut EP back in 2019, the quartet that is Cloning quickly earned some well-deserved accolades from every direction, with their mystifying mix of indie, trip-hop, shoegaze, and alt-rock dazzling all that gave them a listen.
Sharing their latest single, ‘All Rise’, back in January, the band’s profile has continued to rise, with their masterful pairing of stunning compositions and visual accompaniment putting them on par with greats like Portishead, Radiohead, and more.
To celebrate their recent single and to help shine a light on their undeniable talent, we caught up with Cloning to learn a little bit more about them, what their music is about, and what makes them tick.
Check out ‘All Rise’ by Cloning:
How did your artist name come about?
We thought it sounded cooler than any of the other names we could think of. The symbol in the letter ‘O’ on our logo is an inverted Hecate’s Shield. She was an ancient Greek goddess who transformed from a young woman to an old lady then back again over the course of each day.
We liked how this figure who symbolised change contrasted with Cloning which just means replication. (Felix)
How would you describe your music to your grandma?
Fun, sad and a little bit spooky at the same time. (Felix)
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2 cool for U. (Jack)
Anything really because she’d forget after I tell her. (Bevan)
A little bit crazy, a little bit fun. Want to cure your Alzheimers? Listen to our music. (Nic)
Tell us about a few of your tracks; their titles and what they’re about?
‘All Rise’ is about how groups of people can think their intentions are purer than they actually are, and end up doing bad things in name of their chosen cause. The ‘All Rise’ title and lyric in the song is sort of ironic; it’s poking fun at how these kinds of groups can ‘rise up’ to act out their beliefs blindly and without much thought.
Our song ‘Epilogues’ is about looking back at your past actions and seeing where you went wrong; often it’s too late to fix those mistakes at that point. So its like reading the epilogue of a novel – where we have a summary of the events that have taken place and have some conclusions drawn about the story.
‘Melanin And Melanomas’ is about how the negative events in our lives can be important for shaping who we are, and without them we wouldn’t be the same person.
I tried to symbolise that idea through this contrast between melanin which is a pigment important for protecting against sun damage and melanomas which obviously are pretty nasty things. (Felix)
What do you love about your hometown?
It’s very peaceful and quiet. Not a lot happens so there isn’t much around to distract me from music. (Felix)
Lake Kununurra in Kununurra. (Bevan)
It’s easy to find people who want to help you to do what you want to be doing. (Jack)
Weather and the beaches! (Nic)
Check out ‘Epilogues’ by Cloning:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AIkD8zpYFuc
Career highlight so far?
Playing our first shows over East in Sydney and Melbourne late last year. (Felix and Bevan)
Supporting Ocean Alley when they were just starting to take off. (Jack and Nic)
Fave non-music hobby?
Eating pizza and drinking chocolate thick shakes from McDonalds. Other than that its music and playing with my dogs Selby and Balthazar. (Felix)
I enjoy sailing. I sail a one-handed dinghy called a Waszp, and that is a lot of fun. (Jack)
I like photography and cinema which has been helpful few times when making visuals for the band. (Bevan)
Playing with my cat Tiggy. (Nic)
What’s on your dream rider?
A margarita pizza and a chocolate thick shake from McDonalds. (Felix)
A bowl of chips and a big side of aioli. (Bevan)
A huge salad bowl full of Nachos. (Jack)
A golf magazine to keep Bevan happy. (Nic)
Dream music collaboration?
Jonny Greenwood Although his work with Radiohead is great I love Jonny’s classical and film work. His ability to create tension and influence the mood of scenes is amazing and his ear for orchestral arrangement baffles me. I’d love to incorporate that into some of our music and feel his almost obsessive approach to music would mesh in well with us hahaha. (Bevan)
Thom Yorke I really like the way Thom sees music. He looks at a work of music deciphering elaborate patterns and making those patterns come alive. As a drummer I see a lot of music as patterns continuously intertwining. It would be really cool to work with someone who is a master at music and views it in a way similar to me. (Jack)
Charli XCX Her music is quite different to ours but she’s a super creative songwriter. It’s inspiring listening to her new releases because it’s a surprise as to what she’ll do next. The production is so innovative, too. (Felix)
Sam Fender, I just think he’s one of the most exciting artists right now. His music is this amazing combination of The War On Drugs and Ben Howard… I feel like being in a room with him would result in something cool. (Nic)
Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
Playing music as a career except hopefully making enough money to actually afford to play music as a career! (Felix)
What’s your go-to karaoke song?
‘What The Price’ by Migos (Felix)
‘I know It’s Over’ by The Smiths (Bevan)
‘Untouched’ by The Veronicas (Jack)
‘September’ by Earth Wind And Fire (Nic)
What’s on the cards for the future?
We are going to record more music this year. We have five other songs recorded and mixed so we’re planning to release those during the year (and hopefully tour) and just play more shows! (Bevan)
Check out ‘Melanin And Melanomas’ by Cloning:
