Dunedin based 4-piece sludge-pop act Soaked Oats are due to feature at Coastella 2019, which is taking place on the Kapiti Coast on 23 February. Bridie from Muzic.net.nz spoke to the band about their songs, theme and their ultimate goal:

How was the name Soaked Oats decided?

We didn't actually name the band! Our good friend and extended family member Jack Hawke came up with the name. He's a wacky genius and does loads of our poster and merch designs. We always had in mind something Oat related (for a while it was going to just be The Oats) but when Jack was doing the design for our first single Avocado Aficionado he coined Soaked Oats; we ran with it.

Who mostly writes the songs in the band or is it a shared effort?

Typically, our songs are a group effort. Often someone comes to the band with a semi-written demo that we then feel out as a group together and workshop the song over time. Otherwise most of our songs originate from jamming together.

Is there a particular theme you try to stick with for your songs?

Musically, not very much - because we all write demos the songwriting and style tends to shift a lot depending on who has coined the song. Our jams tend to be loud and fast though, 'cause that's fun. Lyrically, both Stone Fruit Melodies and No Slip Ups have themes running throughout them that are swirling around Oscar's mind when he's writing.

What’s everyone's favourite song to perform live?

Oscar - Gum-15
Max - Apricot Jam
Conor - Houdini
Henry - Perfect Song

Where’s your favourite kind of venue? Old halls, house parties, wineries?

House parties are great because they're so relaxed, and people typically enjoy themselves without the normal social worries of being in a public space which is fun to be a part of. Our favourite venues around the country are probably dive bars - Whammy in Auckland and The Darkroom in Christchurch etc. They both don't have massive stages and are relatively small venues. Because of this they lend themselves to intimacy between the crowd and performers, which makes everyone feel more intertwined and like they're a part of the performance which is hard to replicate on bigger stages and venues. Getting to play festivals is awesome too though - the crowds are always in a great mood, everything about the setup is always super professional, and we get to see other artists performing which is always a treat!

What’s your writing process? Do you try to get a lot done in a shorter amount of time or keep things instinctual and take as long as you need?

Jeepers... we think it comes in bursts. That pure creative moment (when you know exactly what you want to make AND know how to make it) is very, very fleeting. We certainly spend a lot of time trying to put ourselves in an environment where that can happen, but also you can put in work every day to develop ideas and work on smaller aspects of a song rather than just demanding on yourself to 'write a song today'. We're still very young as a band and musicians and are still trying to work out how we want to sound and how to do it. Recording our forthcoming EP has taken about 12 months, most of which was spent listening to mixes and trying to work out why it didn't sound quite like how we envisaged. It's nice not to rush the project and let it marinade over time.

You’re starting 2019 with Nestfest in Hawkes Bay. Are you hoping to do another tour in 2019?

Yep we're touring in January which has become a bit of a staple for us. It's such a nice way to hang out at all the lovely spots around Aotearoa in summer and visit friends in different parts of the country we don't normally get to see much of. We'll tour again around the time we release our EP later in the year, and then will take a break and just focus on writing for a bit.

What is the ultimate goal for Soaked Oats in the future?

To expand our portfolio beyond music to designing couch cleaning products, followed by research on the possibility of domesticating Seals 'cause we love em so darn much, followed by space travel to Gum-15 (a nebular 3000 light years away from Earth).

How can people keep up with Soaked Oats online?

Link up with us on Instabook and Facegram yo!

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