Premiere: Meet Perth's STAPLETON, and their new song Colour in Your Cheeks

When it comes to the future of Perth's indie/pop worlds, STAPLETON are a group everyone should be keeping an eye on. The five-piece - consisting of Jon Stapleton, Sofia Zaninovich, Gus McKenzie, Sam Newman and David Chidgzey - came together in the depths of COVID last year, playing Nannup Festival early on in the year before spending their lockdown remotely writing their debut EP Alone Together, which came out at the mid-way point of last year, just as Perth live stages were beginning to re-open once again.

Alone Together brought an introduction to STAPLETON and reasoning to why the excitement bubbling around them is well-deserved; a sound-capturing five tracks of catchy indie-rock and alt-pop that fused together a wide-ranging versatility of inspirations with some polish and acute songwriting to bring it all together. As an end product, Alone Together armed STAPLETON with a one-to-watch banner moving into 2021, and already they've cemented this status in the musical stone, making a return with a new single titled Wishful Thinking back in February.

Today, however, we're talking about their brand new tune Colour In Your Cheeks, premiering on Pilerats today ahead of its official release this Friday, May 26th. Colour In Your Cheeks is a blazing moment for STAPLETON that all but solidifies the charm and energy introduced through their debut EP and what we've seen following it, building into this crafty alt-pop sound led by frontman Jon Stapleton; bubbly guitar and dancing synth moving amongst a wash of vocals that compared to the darker sounds of their debut EP, shows STAPLETON hitting a brighter new stride.

As the band explain, Colour In Your Cheeks is a bit of a light-hearted poke at those times your friends bring home a partner you can't really vibe with, and the official video clip - also premiering today - doubles down on that, carving into the energy the single provides. "Colour In Your Cheeks is about those times in your friends life when they’re dating someone the rest of the group doesn’t really approve of. It’s fun, it's a bit cheeky, and we wanted the video to reflect that," they say. "The video was shot by Cedric Tang, and is about all these crazy characters showing up at Sofia’s door trying to win her heart. We had some of our friends star in it and basically just played dress ups all day, we can’t wait for you to see it."

Colour In Your Cheeks is one hell of a time, and for STAPLETON, it arrives as the group prepare to launch into Perth favourites; their steady climb over the last year only growing more feverish as they go. Take a dive into the new single and video below, and underneath that, be sure to introduce yourself to STAPLETON before they blow up. Then, catch the group at a couple of shows coming up, including a launch show at Milk Bar on June 5th.

Tell us about yourself?

We’re a 5 piece band from Perth, WA, consisting of Jon Stapleton, Sofia Zaninovich, Gus McKenzie, Sam Newman and David Chidgzey. We all met at WAAPA, and got together to play at Nannup Music Festival in early 2020. The world shut down pretty soon after that and we spent the 2020 lockdown remotely recording and producing our debut EP Alone Together. 

After playing sold-out shows around Perth and touring with Death by Denim, we released our next single Wishful Thinking, which was the first song that we all wrote together. It’s a good combo of breezy and nostalgic and we feel like it reflects our sound and vibe really well.

What’s your music like? What does it sound like? What kind of themes does it usually cover? 

We play dynamic alternative pop. Our tunes tend to go a few different directions, some are hard-hitting and riff-based, while others are dancier and more pop-orientated. Sofia and Jon share lead vocals, which is a lot of fun. I’d say we’re a bit like a Bombay Bicycle Club/Maggie Rogers collab that Didirri is doing a bit of ghostwriting for. 

Our first EP was mostly about a break-up Jon had been through, while our more recent stuff is centred around experiences we’ve been through together. The new stuff feels super authentic and we’re really looking forward to putting more of it out. 

What are your production and writing processes usually like? 

Writing usually starts with an idea from Jon, and he’ll bring it to Gus and Sof. We finish it together before bringing it to Sam and Chidgzey. The songs can change so much after that first full-band session, it's definitely a big collaborative process. 

Recording is very similar in that aspect, Jon recorded and mixed our first EP, and we were lucky enough to have Nick Ireland and William Bowden mix and master this new tune (respectively). We always have so much fun playing these songs live, and we want the tracks to sound as good as the live shows feel. 

Can you tell us about your next single, Colour in Your Cheeks? 

Colour In Your Cheeks is about those times in your friends life when they’re dating someone the rest of the group doesn’t really approve of. It’s fun, it's a bit cheeky, and we wanted the video to reflect that. The video was shot by Cedric Tang, and is about all these crazy characters showing up at Sofia’s door trying to win her heart. We had some of our friends star in it and basically just played dress ups all day, we can’t wait for you to see it. 

What do you have planned for 2021?

After our Milk Bar show we’re heading out on a down south run with our mates Great Gable and Supathick. 

We’re working on a whole lot of new music too -  we’re currently getting a follow-up single to Colour in Your Cheeks ready to go. Ultimately, we’re working towards a bigger release (an album potentially..?), which will come out closer to the end of the year. 

What do you want people to take away from your work? 

One of the main things we try to do is let our personalities bleed into the lyrics and the vibe of the songs. We’re a pretty light-hearted, tongue in cheek bunch (mostly) and we want people to come away from our tunes feeling uplifted and feeling like they’re part of the stories we’re singing about. Be it carefree or a bit more reflective, we just want to let the story dictate the vibe of the song and where it takes the listener. 

Where can we find more of your music?

Our debut EP Alone Together and our latest single Wishful Thinking are out on Spotify and Apple Music. 

We also like to release the occasional cover on our Instagram and Facebook pages. We went down to Mandurah over the Easter long weekend and recorded some of our favourite tracks at the moment, including an acoustic version of our song Rules. That and a cover of The Preatures - Is This How You Feel are out now. 

Follow STAPLETON: FACEBOOK / INSTAGRAM