Meet HI MOTIVE, who welcome something dark with new single, Gone

Navigating this swelling synth-pop sound, HI MOTIVE are an inner-Sydney duo whose electronic sound is perfect for the warmer months quickly flying ahead, channelling names including RÜFÜS DU SOL and their Rose Avenue alumni Cassian and Lastlings, as they bring hefty rhythms and rich synth together with captivating and earworming vocals which feels like a leap into the future. On their two singles thus far – this year's debut Falling and its follow-up, Silk – this sound was something front and centre, and it paid off – the duo are quickly becoming favourites in the Sydney triple j electronic space, and its something that's sure to continue as they strive into the second half of 2019, defined by a new single, Gone.

Premiering on Pilerats today, Gone is the perfect example of this distinct synth-pop sound, with a strong house pulse and dark synth melodies uniting amongst hazy vocals which deepen that comparison to RÜFÜS DU SOL – although taken in a slightly different direction to ensure that the duo are doing something distinct. "Gone is our third release and explores the narrative of loss in the fallout of a faltering relationship," the duo say on the single. "The song is obviously centered around a theme most would usually find saddening, and so we wanted to give it a passionate and almost indignant energy to signify that feeling you have when getting through to the other side of that experience. We wrote it around a year ago and have been waiting to release it as it’s become one of our favourite tracks to perform live."

Dive into the track below, and better get to know the duo while you're at it:

Tell us about yourself?

We are HI MOTIVE, an electronic duo coming out of Sydney. The two of us first met eight years ago at college and funnily enough became close mates before realising we both had a strong music background. Matt (originally from the Gold Coast) is a vocalist while Ed (originally from Tasmania) first started out as a drum soloist before moving towards the production space.

During our years at college we played in a band at venues across Sydney, and later moved out and started writing our own music.

What’s the vibe music-wise?

We always aim to make music that reflects a blend of our tastes. We are very much engaged in the Australian electronic scene that’s been crafted by some of the powerhouses like Flume, Hayden James, RUFUS DU SOL and Golden Features but also love sharing ideas with local up and coming acts and often trawl through triple j Unearthed. We always see our music having a deep and driving vibe with a prominent vocal feature - not only does Matt’s vocals help make our sound recognisable, it also lends itself well to live performances which we’re hoping is a big part of HI MOTIVE moving forward.

What are your production and writing processes like?

We always start with a raw emotion we’re driving towards and Ed will often jump on the piano while Matt iterates through melodic ideas. Once we’ve gone through this process we’ll firm up some central lyrics which tend to reflect a point in time or experience that one of us have had, before adding in our electronic sounds that favour strong basslines and bursting synths until the track is at an energy that reflects our style. We find ourselves constantly bouncing new ideas or edits back-and-forth between studio sessions which keeps us developing our tracks further and further.

Any tour dates coming up?

We’re planning to have a launch event in the coming months to support the release of Gone, and are really excited to be performing on 27 September at the ‘Jam In A Jar’ charity music festival supporting Headspace. It’s taking us back to our roots at UNSW in Sydney, and we’ll be performing there alongside the likes of Tom Tilley, Kira Puru, Jawbreakers and Pyjama Sundayz – tickets HERE.

Beyond that, we’re hoping to hit the road for a tour next year to support the release of our EP, so watch this space.

What does the rest of 2019 have in store for you?

We’ve just finished up our next few releases with another single in the works to come out later in the year. Thankfully the pressure is now off us from a writing perspective, and we can continue focussing on our live performance and making sure we’re taking the stage a number of times before the year is out.

Where can we find more of your music?

All of our releases are available on the standard streaming platforms (Spotify, Apple Music, Soundcloud and YouTube). Additional to this, we’re going to be posting more live videos, stripped-out acoustics, teasers and various other content on our socials.

We have much more music that we’re excited to release in the coming months and can’t wait to show everyone what else we have in store.

Follow HI MOTIVE: FACEBOOK