Brothers and musical trailblazers Travalley have been on the scene for a few years now, sharing their musical message with countless listeners at every turn.
Having released their debut single back in 2018, it didn’t take long for Levi and Sam Mellington to start serving up a litany of stunning tracks, with live shows helping to cement their worth as outstanding musicians on Australia’s live scene.
Now with stages empty and music fans searching for new music, Travalley recently shared their latest single, ‘Dear Babe’. A raucous track featuring a music video which pays homage to the likes of DZ Deathrays and Dune Rats, it shows the pair at their most pure, showcasing their musical skills and humour all in one concise package.
To celebrate the release of this new track, we had a chat with Levi to learn a little bit more about Travalley, and to give fans an idea of what they’re all about, and what’s on the cards for the future.
Check out ‘Dear Babe’ by Travalley:
How did your artist name come about?
I wish I had a good answer for this but it’s just a name that popped into my head. In saying that, for it being a nothing name it seems to be one that gets misspelt quite a lot. It has no meaning and gets misspelt all the time, probably a shit decision on my end but we still love it no matter what.
How would you describe your music to your grandma?
Kinda like when Elvis stopped writing heart-throbbing bangers and instead suddenly started hangin’ 10 down the Murray. I’m sure she’d have a rough idea at least.
Tell us about a few of your tracks; their titles and what they’re about?
‘Mr Right’ – This one is our most popular song by far. It’s about my childhood and how I developed into an adult/not caring about the little things in life anymore. It also touches on going out and enjoying you life while you can.
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‘Heartless’ – ‘Heartless’ is about a parking meter maid who gave me a fine but after hearing my ‘struggling life as a uni student’ she ended up giving me a warning which was unreal. A few weeks later I went back to the same place and got another ticket and she let me off again. What an absolute darl’.
What do you love about your hometown?
We are originally from Horsham which is about 300km west of Melbourne. Horsham is such a nice little town which has an amazing community of people who support us and back us wherever we play. We have had people drive from Horsham to Melb to watch us which means so much.
We are hoping that live music begins to flourish there again because it is one of those towns that would really benefit from a strong music presence.
Career highlight so far?
We haven’t really played together as a two-piece for very long so there hasn’t been much time to have a highlight. Our biggest achievement would probably be playing Grampians Music Festival orrrr Supporting Thirsty Merc. #Take me back to the summertime
Check out ‘Mr Right’ by Travalley:
Fave non-music hobby?
Gotta love ourselves a bit of footy. We are religious Blues supporters so the last 20 years have been a bit disappointing but hopefully the next couple of years we will win a flag. I like to look at it as more of a resilience building team than we are just a shithouse team.
What’s on your dream rider?
I didn’t even release riders were a real thing, I thought it was like an urban legend. We are pretty simple folk at Travalley. We actually don’t play drunk. When we have in the past we just turn into a rambling mess.
So instead we would request something like Morgan Freeman and his majestic voice to calm us before the show. Maybe that and a box of Shapes.
Dream music collaboration?
I listen to Last Dinosaurs every day so working with those guys would be amazing. They are one of those bands that can’t seem to make a bad song. I have seen them live and they would defs be in my top five live bands of all time.
Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
I see Thirsty Merc supporting Travalley at the main stage at Splendour. Haha, na for real I hope in 10 years time we are just playing really kick-ass shows around Australia, bringing the music to the people who really deserve to hear it in those smaller rural towns.
What’s your go-to karaoke song?
I would choose ‘What About Me’ by Shannon Noll. This song has never left my heart after being apart of one of the biggest robberies in Australian Idol history. There is a video of me doing this on YouTube from around 2009 so good luck to whoever finds it.
What’s on the cards for the future?
We have started writing a heap of house music so we have a plan to implement that into our live show. We are going to create an event called Trav Fest where we play a range of music from rock to house in the space of one night.
We feel like this will change the way people perceive what a band can do and especially enhance the night for all the fans.
Check out ‘Heartless’ by Travalley:
