Melbourne outfit Sweet Jean have just released their brand new album ‘Monday To Friday’ and kicked off their 10 date Australian tour throughout July. We were lucky enough to have a chat and found out more about their music and band life decisions.
How are you feeling now that your sophomore album ‘Monday To Friday’ has been released?
Pretty good thanks! It’s always exciting when you’ve worked so hard on an album to have it out in the world doing its own thing.
Why did you decide to release ‘Everything Changes’ as the single for the album?
That song opens the album, and it introduces a lot of the themes that feature across the ten songs. We thought it’d be a good way to introduce people to the album.
What was it like recording with John Castle in The Shed Studios?
We love working with John. He’s a really talented producer and multi-instrumentalist, a very fun guy, and he has a straightforward and direct approach to working in the studio, which we like.
Who has the most influence during the writing process? Or is it pretty even?
The songwriting gets split pretty evenly between us. If we’re working on a co-write, we both have an equal amount of input, but if it’s a song one of us started with then that person usually has more sway when it comes to final decisions.
What new song are you most excited to play live?
We’re looking forward to playing the whole album, though ‘Slow’ and ‘Bird of Prey’ are particularly fun to play live. We’ll be touring with our producer John, and our good friend Roger Bergodaz (who also happens to be a producer and multi-instrumentalist). The live tracks are sounding great so far, so it should all be a lot of fun.
How does it feel to have your album so positively recognised by Rolling Stone?
Real nice.
Is there a particular reason you allow ‘Sweet Jean’ the freedom to cross over multiple genres instead of sticking to one sound?
We’re both interested in a wide range of styles, and that comes through in our music.
What can fans expect from your live performances?
We’ll be working with a much fuller sound for these shows, in line with the production on the album. We might slip in some 80s covers too.
You are currently on tour with this album, what do you love the most about being on the road?
Being on the move, meeting new people, hanging out with our bandmates, and playing live.
When you are relaxing, what music do you play in the background?
At the moment, it’s Bach, PJ Harvey, Songhoy Blues, #1 Dads, The Cure, Chairlift, and Sharon Van Etten.
Sweet Jean Tour Dates
FRI 1 JULY
Music on The Hill, Red Hill VIC
FRI 8 – SUN 10 JULY
Bello Winter Music Festival, Bellingen NSW
FRI 15 JULY
Skukum Lounge, Ashgrove QLD
SAT 16 JULY
Mullum Ex Services Club, Mullumbimby NSW
THU 21 JULY
Bridge Hotel, Castlemaine VIC
SUN 24 JULY
Wheatsheaf Hotel, Thebarton SA
SAT 30 JULY
Northcote Social Club, Northcote VIC
THU 4 AUG
Brighton Up Bar, Darlinghurst NSW
SAT 6 AUG
Caravan Music Club, Oakleigh VIC
