There's no defeating Tied Down
Photo by: Portia Gebauer
Perth indie punk-rockers Tied Down have returned with their new single ‘Undefeated’. A song that the band describes as a “powerful anti-suicide note”. A track that features explosive drumming, and high-tempo punk riffs, showcases everything Tied Down is building a solid reputation for. We got the opportunity to ask Vocalist CJ a few questions about ‘Undefeated’, what the creative process was like for such an emotive song and the band’s first trip to play on the Eastcoast.
You have been described as a blend of Rap, Punk & Indie-Rock, how you label your sound?
To be honest, we don’t really like labelling our sound as to not be boxed in creatively but we’ve landed on alternative rock to kind of cover all bases for now haha.
Last month saw the release of your latest track 'Undefeated'. Tell us about the song? What does it mean to you?
Undefeated as a whole to us is a powerful anti-suicide note. We wanted to make an up-tempo, uplifting track about pushing through all the challenges you have to go through in everyday life and having the will to not give up no matter what. Some of us in the band have dealt with anxiety and addiction and wanted to attack that so we designed this song to be a reminder that if you take a step back and realise that if you’re still alive, you’re already winning. This track pulled a lot from our heavier influences like Title Fight, Trophy Eyes and Basement while keeping our trademark sound. We couldn’t be happier with the way it turned out!
“Undefeated was an absolute revelation for us”
What was the writing / creative process for 'Undefeated'?
Undefeated was an absolute revelation for us. We wanted to back up our last single ‘Slow’ with a more upbeat, faster-paced track so we set out to achieve that. It started pretty much business as usual with Kado writing the rhythm guitar section and showing the rest of us. Dean comes from a pretty up-tempo style of drumming so he latched onto it instantly and then it really started to take shape. Once the rest of us got our hands on it, it felt like an explosion of the last few years for Tied Down. I think I wrote the lyrics in a couple of days and sent them to the boys and was a bit nervous about the lyrics being too dark but they all loved it. We always want to touch a deeper surface musically and lyrically so the fact that we could blend talking about topics as serious as suicide and depression while creating an uplifting punk song is pretty awesome.
The song has received a lot of support from a bunch of radio stations, how do you feel the first time you heard them playing 'Undefeated'?
Yeah, honestly it has been phenomenal for us! It’s one thing believing in your own track but seeing the reward for it and radio stations getting around it is a whole different ball game. Of course, there’s all the excitement but I would say just feeling content that what you have worked so hard on and put out into the atmosphere is now being broadcast to multiple listeners and can have a direct impact on them and how they’re feeling - that’s pretty awesome.
Can Tied Down fans expect an album out soon?
We have been on a massive run of gigs lately which has slowed the writing/recording process down a touch but we’ve decided to take the back end of the year to focus on recording another EP which is basically already written! Pretty determined to have it available very early next year!
“ We have a few local gigs coming up with South Summit and Ratsalad before we hit Sydney in November for our first shows over east”
Are you looking to tour or hit the festival circuit now that live music is back?
ABSOLUTELY! Live music is our home and what we love to do so we’ll always be throwing our hat in the ring for that. We have a few local gigs coming up with South Summit and Ratsalad before we hit Sydney in November for our first shows over east and we couldn’t be more pumped for it!
How did you all come together to form Tied Down?
We had a pretty funny startup: Deano (drums) & Kado (rhythm guitar) have been mates since they were about 4 years old and always jammed together. I (CJ - vocals) played footy with Kado and decided to head around to jam with the both of them and covered The Comedown by Ocean Alley. As soon as we finished the song we kind of looked at each other like, “ahh that was actually pretty good” haha. Steve (lead guitar) was the wild chance meeting as the boys met him on the roof of a hostel in Tokyo while over there for Fuji Rock Festival which still is pretty unbelievable how that panned out. Papa D (Dolsy - bass) was the last pickup as he went to school with Kado. They hadn’t seen each other for a while then saw each other at a local hardware store and Kado gave the invite to come have a splash with us!
Who do you credit as your musical influences?
Oh man, we’ve got a ton of influences between us but I’ll name drop a couple: Ocean Alley, Basement, Kings Of Leon, Slowly Slowly, Pink Floyd, Nirvana, STIFI, Trophy Eyes, Title Fight, and Jordan Rakei to name a few!
“We have absolutely no plans of slowing down on the release front”
Who in your crew or team deserves a shout-out but never gets one? And what is it they do that keeps your world turning?
Haha I hate to give you a boring answer but we spread the love at camp TD! We have such an amazing crew around us and we make a pretty conscious effort to make sure everyone gets the praise they deserve whether it be the soundies, partners, Beehive PR team, videographers and photographers and every single person that comes to our shows - y’all keep the machine up and running and we love ya!
What's next for Tied Down? What can we look forward to?
We have absolutely no plans of slowing down on the release front. We’ll be releasing a new single within the next two months while we play some local gigs. Then we’re jumping on a plane to come play some shows for our Sydney homies in November! This will be our first trip over east so we’re super pumped for it. We are constantly writing music whether at home, in the jam room or on tour so you can expect a lot of new tracks from us in the near future!
Interview by Michelle Symes
August 2022