Meet Sydney teen group Erthlings, who just signed to Future Classic with their debut single

Header photo by Dani Hansen.

Considering the rise of G Flip - who signed to the label after unexpectedly breaking out both locally and internationally within days of her debut single About You being uploaded online - chances are, when Future Classic sign an act off the back of a single track, it's usually a pretty damn good track. Sydney teenage four-piece Erthlings are the latest example to cement this claim, with the group of 16-year-old high school friends signing to the label/management team with their super exciting debut single, Bridges. After meeting at an inner-Sydney music school at the age of eight, Bridges is the first slice of new music officially released from the band and it shows a lot of promise, bringing this guitar-flavoured indie-pop sound to the table that after the rise of acts like Hatchie and Cub Sport internationally, could bring some very, very good things.

It's a washed-out and woozy debut, uniting hazy guitar with a thick, yet restrained drum line and Issy's spotlighted vocals, which cut through the single's instrumental like a knife to offer this sense of refreshments amongst the track's already quite cool-and-collected feel. Lyrically, the track - and those yet to come - speak of strength, empowerment, frustration and disappointment alike, using the band's personal experiences to add a touch of vulnerability and honesty to the band's already quite familiar and warm sound. "It’s never been a weird thing for us that we’re a young, all-female band. We’ve never thought about it twice," says Issy, speaking on their familiar and relatable lyrical themes, and how they refuse to be boxed in by being labelled too 'young' or 'immature' - something that a lot of teenage musicians (like British exports Let's Eat Grandma) have spoken about in the past numerous times. "I think we’re doing what most people in music are doing. We’re just trying to write about what we know."

With more tracks to come before the year's end and a couple of big shows already in the pipeline - such as slots at this year's quickly approaching BIGSOUND and Sydney supports for G Flip - get on board the Erthlings train early and get to know them a little better below:

Tell us about yourself?


We’re Erthlings and we’re from Sydney (Issy, Taylor, Jess and Lissa) We formed the band when we were eight at our music school. We’ve known each other for most of our lives (Issy and Taylor are cousins and we all went to primary school together apart from Issy!). We started learning our instruments when we were three, and we’ve all grown up with music around us every day. Our style has been in the making for eight years and we’ve been writing our songs ever since.

What’s the vibe music-wise?

Our vibe’s indie pop but we like to think we have a variety of sounds. Each song is different. We all think there are certain parts of songs that are really great, so we aim for our music to be a representation of that. A lot of themes are universal, so hopefully, everyone can relate to them. We want our songs to be a description of many different emotions and situations people have because that’s how music helps us!

What are your production and writing processes like?


It’s a super collaborative process! We all throw around ideas and bounce off each other, which we feel makes our songs even more relatable - because it’s more than one person’s perspective and feelings! As for production, we have a lot of input but enjoy working with other people to see how they interpret our music.

Can you tell us about your debut single, Bridges?


Bridges is one of our more powerful songs, so we felt it was a good debut single for people to get familiar with us. We wrote ‘Bridges’ around the idea of moving on, and feeling dragged down. This really helped us write about how we felt. We hope that the song is relatable and people can identify with it.

All four of you are still in school – how do you balance music and school?


Bottom line is it’s pretty hard and some of us don’t balance it well, but we all try super hard! It’s getting exponentially harder but the feedback and support that we get is all worth it :)

There’s a lot of late nights and late homework, but we push through it!

Any shows coming up?


We’re playing at BIGSOUND in Brisbane (5th and 6th of September) which is super exciting and nerve-racking! We’re also supporting G Flip at her three Sydney shows which is rad! BIGSOUND is our first real concert after our debut single so it will be good to perform in front of a crowd!! We’ve been working really hard and can’t wait to show everyone what we’ve got!

What’s the rest of the year have in store for you?


Lots and lots ;) Taking it one step at a time but working on new music and looking forward to seeing where it all goes. We also need to graduate year 10!

Where can we find more of your music?


We just released our debut single, give us a minute! More to follow, we promise that until then you can play Bridges on repeat wherever you listen to music hehehehe.

Follow Erthlings: FACEBOOK