Introducing Twelve Ballet and their soft new ballad, Aren't We Too Old

Hailing from Far North Queensland, Twelve Ballet are a brother-sister duo who are doing some quite incredible things. Their sound, perfectly demonstrated on their fragile new single Aren't We Too Old, combines a subtle electronic backbone with shadings of indie, pop and occasionally even blues, which all blend together to create this really tender sound semi-reminiscent of names including Angus & Julia Stone – particularly in Samantha's high vocals. They're really quite remarkable, and with some big things planned (more on that below), we got to know the duo and their new single, plus what they have planned for us as we hit the new year:

Tell us about yourself?

We are brother and sister who are constantly mistaken for twins, but we are actually 3 years apart – (we may as well be twins as we are basically the same human... mostly). Sam is a photography buff and tends to collect anything that is collectable; records, movies, comics etc. (fun fact: she just got a Spider-Man tattoo). Ben has been rocking it out since he was a young one - “playing” a plastic toy guitar in our living room in nothing but his jocks (don’t worry guys he was like 2), these days though if he’s not in the studio you can find him listening to vinyl or getting that last shrine in Zelda.

What kinda tunes we talkin?

Trying to sum up your own music always gets hard when you’ve listed off 5 or so genres and whoever you’re talking to is just staring at you blankly - but basically Alternative Synth-Pop with Rnb and blues infusions.

We are always inspired by The Paper Kites, alt-j, Hall and Oates, The Alan Parsons Project and The 1975 (that’s more of Sam’s thing... and by “more” we mean completely).

Production/writing process?

Depending on the song, the writing process tends to change; sometimes Ben will already have something composed and then Sam does the lyrics afterwards - other times, and more recently, we sit down and write the instrumentals together and Sam does lyrics and melody at the same time.

Then it’s a matter of recording it in our very own studio, and then Ben sitting in front of the computer editing and mastering for days and days and days... and maybe one or two more just to make sure.

Can you tell us about your latest single Aren’t We Too Old?

This single was a live recording; Sam had a heavy hand with the synthesiser and melody, and Ben of course with guitar and the drum machine as well.

This song, like many of ours, focused on an emotional aspect of our life - and Sam’s lyrics explored questions and wondering. “A never-ending preface, a constant precipice” - because at this age and point in time, a lot seems to be left unanswered and unsaid - so the story of the song focuses on that and the way that plays out in relationships with other people and everyday life.

Any shows coming up?

We aren’t sure we can reveal it just yet, but we are lining up a slot at a big event coming up in April 2018 (keep those eyes peeled).

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

Aren’t We Too Old is our final release for the year - but the small portion of 2017 that remains, will be spent in the studio getting to work on new tunes for next year!

Where can we hear more of your music?

Your usual candidates, but also you can find our music videos we make ourselves on our YouTube channel. Plus Spotify, iTunes and Soundcloud.

And you can follow us on our social media links to keep up with whatever we are doing: Facebook / Instagram / Twitter.

Follow Twelve Ballet: FACEBOOK