Antelope is Perth five-piece made up of Dylan Crosbie, Matt Slocomb, Luke Butcher, Tom Allum, and Mitchell Withers. Choosing to converse through melodically textured instrumentation and a range of ornate samples, Antelope craft instrumental music that is both accessible and unsullied. On their eponymous self titled EP, the boys take us through lush soundscapes and interesting sonic landscapes.
Have a listen to the stream below and have a read of the band taking us through a track by track of their release.
This fivesome of fellas have definitely conjured up something unique, fresh and worthy of your listen! You can order the record here.
‘Perennial’
The idea around this song was to create something that represented the cycle of life. Perennial plants are those with an enduring life span, they bloom over the spring and summer, die back every autumn and winter and then return in the spring. This is much like the life and death of all creatures. We are born from the earth, we borrow energy from the earth and our bodies pass on the energy when we die.
‘Dusk’
This song began as a simple accompaniment to an old track, which sonically traversed a day from dawn to dusk. We explored opposing dynamics to encapsulate the journey from sunrise to the day’s end. ‘Dusk’ is a song about retrospection and celebration.
‘Passages’
This song was a collaborative effort between all band members. One of the most memorable moments was through the recording
process. In a big old house on the coast, a storm brewed around plastic weatherboard walls, competing with guitars to be heard. It’s that very idea we wanted to explore – The defenselessness of human existence. How we as people are really just victims to an uncontrollable environment. It is so big and we are so small. Field recordings of the storm feature throughout the song to further this notion.
‘Canaveral’
Canaveral started as an intro to the live set, and developed from its percussive backbone into an exploration of contrast. The production intends to disorientate the listener through a battle between harsh, low-fi textures and clean, sharp melody. Unlike the other tracks on the EP, it begins with greater intensity and progressively deconstructs itself to a single fragile guitar part. The track explores the destructive nature of human existence, the manipulation of power in conflict and the fragility of those left in its wake.
‘Apnea’
With this song we wanted to replicate the feeling of drowning. The idea stemmed from a story where a family member almost drowned at age eight. His recollection of that feeling was of a suffocating sensation followed the acceptance of fate and the peace that accompanies this. This was mirrored by one of the songwriters own battles with depression throughout the writing process. He felt the experience of being physically drowned shared a strong connection to the physical and emotional suffocation that comes with mental illness. The acceptance of ones own mortality and the frightening peace that partners such feelings is something he wanted to give a voice to.
