Meet Brisbane's Fresco Kyoto, who are ones to watch with Whatever You Say

Those already familiar with the depths of Brisbane’s indie scene have probably been introduced to Fresco Kyoto already, with the Queensland indie-pop group becoming a favourite newcoming name to the city’s bustling live music world. Since their break-out debut single back in 2017, for example, they’ve supported flag-bearing names of the city’s next generation – Greta Stanley, Jaguar Jonze – amongst sold-out shows of their own; their trademark and unique take on indie proving a favourite to those constantly searching for the next big thing (something that in Brisbane, it’s seemingly becoming easier and easier to find).

Release-wise, their sound explores the depths of subtle indie-pop and how it may infuse itself with sounds a touch more on the ambient side of the genre. Their debut four-track EP, last year’s Crave For Colour, broke down how exactly Fresco Kyoto do this, all while introducing themselves as one to watch in a loaded new wave of indie bands all grappling to be the break-out they deserve to be. Imposter, for example, plucked the anthemic energy of a group like Glass Animals – albeit in a bit more of a raw, DIY-adjacent manner – while The Last Time moves with a far more subtle pace, exploring the intricacies of down-tempo indie in a similar vein to alt-j (but again, in their own way).

Their new single Whatever You Say, however, is a slight change of pace. It’s a track that showcases Fresco Kyoto’s knack for cross-genre versatility, shifting between moments of hazy electronica – the track opens with a fluttering synth section, which comes and goes across the single’s duration – and full-blown indie-pop, the latter really shining through in Whatever You Say’s grand choruses. 

It’s a track that highlights what Fresco Kyoto do best, taking the high peaks of their influences scattered across genres and musical textures, then uniting them into one distinct sound that feels like nothing else out there. “Whatever You Say is about feeling you could have an emotional connection with someone, except there are unseen barriers preventing anything from happening,” the band say on the single, hinting at the soft emotive intimacy that underlies not just this single, but the vocals in everything they’ve put out – adding a further dimension to their craft. “Even though you know it's possible things could change; in reality, you know that it's more likely they won't.”

The track arrives with an official video clip worked on alongside director Karl Bouro, filmed at the Queensland Multicultural Centre. Worked on as a part of the Brisbane City Council’s QUBE Effect initiative – an initiative established to help further push developing Queensland artists onto a national, wider-ranging scale – the clip ties itself together to that aforementioned emotional connection to the song, doubling down on its intimate lyricism to really encourage you to pay attention to the track’s vocals, rather than the bustling instrumental underneath. “We sought inspiration from other music videos whose songs had a similar emotive landscape; it was important to us to explore the concept of motion as well as fourth wall breaks during significant moments in the song, and we think the video reflects this,” they said.

There’s plenty to love here, so dive into Whatever You Say below, and while you’re down there, introduce yourself to Fresco Kyoto as they establish their name as one to watch in the year ahead.

Tell us about yourself?

We’re a Brisbane-based band who create ethereal indie-pop music. A couple of us were friends from high school, and though we’ve had a few line-up changes, we’ve been playing together as a group for around 2-3 years now. 

What’s the vibe music-wise?

We all tend to picture our ‘vibe’ as textural and sometimes ambient, but we enjoy the rockier side too. Bands like Radiohead, Holy Holy, Alt-J, The War on Drugs get us excited.

What are your production and writing processes usually like?

We used to write together a lot more, but over the past 18 months, we’ve started contributing individually and working collectively to develop each other’s ideas. We often write at Cody’s (bassist) studio; it allows us to do our best to have the bigger picture in mind at all times and with everything set up, we can jump into record mode at a moment’s notice. 

What does 2020 have in store for you?

Just like the rest, our plans are in need of adjusting to our new solitary & virtual world. With an original plan of going on an east coast tour, we are now trying to get creative and plan to play some online shows. The silver lining in all of this has to be that we now have the opportunity to write more (at least individually!).

What do you want people to take away from the project?

We’d love for the new single to stick with the listener, whether that is from the very first listen, or maybe after they find themselves humming the chorus a few days later – in any case, we hope they come back to it! 

Where can we find more of your music?

Our music can be found wherever your heart desires it to be found. Other than that, on your favourite streaming platform, YouTube, socials, etc. 

Follow Fresco Kyoto: FACEBOOK / TWITTER / INSTAGRAM