DIY music from down under: Salarymen talk their ‘two-man operation’
Renee de la Motte chats great songs, vintage influences, and all things Aussie ahead of the duo’s debut UK tour.
Photo: Tom Wilkinson
Fresh off the heels of supporting Royel Otis on their sold-out national tour, as well as the release of their effortlessly catchy new single On The Run, Australian indie duo Salarymen are about to embark on their first ever UK tour this May.
Known for combining a diverse and rich mix of rock, psych and dream pop, the musical project of Renee de la Motte and Thomas Eagleton has already proven a commanding presence down under. Drawing praise from the likes of triple j with their playful harmonies, witty lyrics, and atmospheric soundscapes, Salarymen have been busy carving out a unique spot for themselves in the Australian music scene and, thanks to their charming indie style, now seem ready to conquer the world.
Lucky enough to speak to one half of the whole (despite being on other sides of the world), we chatted to vocalist and bassist Renee about the origins of and influences on Salarymen just days before she headed to the UK.
To get started, I’d love to know: why did you start Salarymen?
Tom had always been in a couple of bands before, and I had never been in a band. His bands always ended up fizzling out because of one person who was a dickhead, and he decided like ‘alright the next band I’m in, is gonna be my band.’ And I’d always wanted to do something in a band, but I didn’t actually play any instruments. Tom knew how to play guitar and sing, and I’ve always sung but I didn’t actually play anything. Then we were like ‘crap, we need a bass player’, so I just learnt bass in six months.
That sounds really easy, but it wasn’t, it was really hard. There were loads of tantrums and tears and things like that, but that’s how Salarymen came about. It was wanting to have more control in the creative process and less people to mess things up. It’s super DIY. We record in our home studio, Tom was mixing and producing all the tracks as of last year (we did get a few people on board for our recent singles), but we do all the music videos ourselves. We have no manager; we haven’t had a booking agent until recently. It’s a two-man operation.
I find it really interesting that you have both a male and female vocalist because it’s not necessarily unusual, but it’s not common either, why does that work for you guys?
I’m gonna sound cliché here but one of our most influential artists of all time is The Beatles. The way that they wrote music was them two together; Paul would come to John with a song or vice versa, sometimes they’d just sing their own songs, other times they’d sing together. There’s loads of harmonies in all of those songs, so it made sense. Why have one when you can have two? And it adds a real depth and a new dimension to the music. Like you said, it’s not like it’s really uncommon but someone’s usually in the background. We swap around – some songs I sing, some songs Tom sings, most songs we’re both singing. I think it makes it a lot more interesting and dynamic.
Do you think that’s representative of your creative process and how you both have such a big say in what’s going on?
Yeah, definitely. I always joke there’s zero egos in the band. If something is shit, one of us is just going to tell the other person and we’ll get on with it. You know that whatever we’re writing is for the best of the band. So, in that way it works really well because if some things just miss the mark, we’re gonna let each other know and there’s gonna be no hurt feelings over it.
You already mentioned The Beatles, but your aesthetic is very vintage as well, harking back to the 60s and 70s. What is it about that period that attracts you?
I think number one is harmonies. Let’s be honest, they’re not that common these days. Harmonies are an afterthought in most people’s songs, and that was absolutely huge in the 60s and 70s. I just love the fashion. It was such a time of political change as well. It was such an exciting time to be alive and I think that’s really reflected in all the different styles of music. We get a bit psych-y now and again (we like borrowing from all the different genres and decades). I think it was the golden age really of guitar-based music, and every modern influence that we have – The Strokes, Arctic Monkeys – their influences are people like The Beatles as well. Everyone borrows from that era because it was just unmatched, really.
And of course, you’re going on your UK tour very soon, are you feeling ready for that?
Yes, we are! We’re really, really excited. We’ve got shows in Edinburgh, Manchester, London, and FOCUS Wales. The bloody plane ride is like 24 hours or something stupid, but we’re coming!
Are there any British artists who are particularly high on your list of influences?
Definitely Arctic Monkeys. I grew up listening to them and all their different eras. They really matured and changed their sound and stepped away from that garage-y stuff and more into really beautiful indie-rock ballads. So, basically every era of Arctic Monkeys I would say we touch on in terms of influences. But there’s so many great British bands. We really love Radiohead as well, like obviously The Beatles. Honestly, I could just keep naming them, such great music was coming out of the UK like forever. It’s been a hub for good guitar-based music for so long. In Australia, we don’t have heaps of history when it comes to music so, naturally, we borrow from the UK.
But even though Aussie music borrows from Britain, you’ve got Australian bands like Spacey Jane, Teenage Dads and Dice, who have quite a sunny, jangly indie sound that is such a stark contrast to the British indie scene, which tends to be a bit moodier with heavier, pummelling guitars – what is it about Australia that fosters that?
Well, I mean, even in winter the sun is out. I think life’s a little bit slower here. I think we’re very — not to say people in the UK don’t value their free time — but Australians are very staunchly protective of our working hours. You’ve got really funny Aussie songs like The Chats’ Smoko that’s gone viral. And part of that is that Australian energy of ‘don’t talk to me, I’m not working, I’m living my life’. I think we just have that energy of life is there to be lived. Life’s just a bit more chill and I think that really comes out collectively in our music.
Do you find that you’re frequently inspired by your home and the places around you?
Yeah, I think in some songs. But I also think that in some songs we also sound like we’d fit in in the UK way more. They’re quite moody, quite synth-y, quite gloomy. There’s lots of suspense in them, so sometimes.
We’ve got a song called Summer’s Coming that was just written in one day in spring when all these jasmine flowers were blooming. In Australia when all the jasmine starts flowering it’s like spring’s here, summer’s on the way. So, that song’s definitely about Aussie summers, being on the beach, drinking margaritas with your friends and staying out all night. I think it just depends where inspiration strikes.
And, since you recently supported fellow Aussies Royel Otis, who’ve made a name for themselves as the kings of covers, I was wondering what song you’d cover if you were on Like a Version?
One song that I would love to do because I think it has such a cult following and basically everyone knows it, I would love to do Dolly Parton’s 9 to 5 and make it less country. Maybe even a little bit psych-y; add some synths, things like that. That is just such a good song that stood the test of time, and everyone knows the lyrics. We’ve done it live a couple of times and people come running from the other side of the pub.
The other one that I really, really like is Young Hearts Run Free which is from the Baz Luhrmann Romeo + Juliet movie. That’s a banger. And maybe, like, I don’t know the name of it, but everyone knows it. There’s a song by Stephen Sanchez [Until I Found You]. That is such a great song, it’s got beautiful harmonies. I’m just so glad that song got as big as it did because sometimes I feel like where we are today, at the age of social media and that instant gratification mindset, is people can’t appreciate something that takes a little bit to warm up, is a little bit slower. I feel like we’re all turning into goldfish brains with the amount we’re looking at social media. So, I think that’s a beautiful example of a very modern take on a song with very obvious vintage influences, so I’d love to do that song.
Salarymen’s debut UK tour will begin at Edinburgh’s Sneaky Pete’s on 7th May before heading to Manchester, Wales, and London. Full details below.
See Salarymen live:
7th May — Sneaky Pete’s, Edinburgh (Tickets Here)
8th May — Disorder, Manchester (Tickets Here)
9th - 11th May — FOCUS Wales (Tickets Here)
14th May — The Victoria, London (Free Tickets Here)