Following the success of their third album Quiet Ferocity, The Jungle Giants are back with a brand new album, Love Signs that is set to be the band’s most successful. After delighting fans with the recent album announcement the band also shared that they will be touring Love Signs nationally. The album sees the band stick to their groovy trademark of alternative dance-pop hooks that will get everyone up on their feet.

During last year’s COVID-19 lockdown, lead vocalist Sam Hales used that time to deep dive his creative side which resulted in Hales writing and producing Love Signs all on his own. “When you trust in your ability, and you trust in your heart, and just be really honest, that’s the best feeling in the world. The album is about all those little messages we send each other, the love signs”. The album will feature previous hit singles Treat You Right, Sending Me Ur Loving, In Her Eyes and the ARIA-certified Platinum single and Queensland Music Awards “2020 Song of the Year” winner Heavy Hearted.

This week Andrew Dooris from the band joined us for a Savvy Seven. Over to you Andrew!

 

What inspired you to pursue music as a career?


I wouldn’t put it down to one thing or another, but certainly falling in love with music in my teens and surrounding myself with people equally as enamoured with music lit the fire that made pursuing music hard to say no to.



 

Besides making music, what have you done to get to where you are?



The bad things that made a difference: I’ve worked a lot of odd jobs, spent a lot of time away from friends and family, been broke and slept on couches. The good things: formed really intense friendships with people very quickly all around the world, listened to great music and developed a greater understanding of how music business works by asking a lot of questions.



 

How do you approach developing timelines for your career?

In the beginning, it was all about making sure we were releasing a record every 2 years and always trying to shorten the lengths between records. That doesn’t seem as relevant now in the streaming world, where a constant stream of singles seems to work well for most artists. Records and shows are the biggest things that you as an artist can control, so working and investing your time in those things will reap the biggest rewards. It takes time though, so don’t get too disheartened if you’re not seeing results as quickly as you’d like.




 

What will musicians discover from touring and how should they prepare for it?

Touring can be whatever you want from it. It can be the most exciting and thrilling, or the most boring and exhausting. There’s a lot of waiting time, and conversely a lot of stress and rush. Make sure you treat everyone you come across with kindness and understanding, particularly in your own touring party (even if it’s not reciprocated). Remember that at the end of the day you’re there to play music, so preparing is all about being well rehearsed, making sure your gear works and being organised (to the best of your ability), all the chaos and fun will work its way in around that. Speaking of chaos and fun, run your own race, and pay attention to YOUR headspace and body, and don’t do anything you don’t want to.

 

What is the most significant challenge you have conquered in your career?

I think one of the most significant challenges facing bands and musicians is figuring out songwriting splits and the money-side of music in general. A lot of it is dependent on the quality and depth of your relationships, if you foster trust and love in whatever your dynamic this becomes a lot easier. Letting go of ego but making sure you’re still getting recognised is tough in any career, but worth the pain. The other big component is education don’t be afraid to ask questions and do your research – bands that stay together are ones who sort the money-side out early.

 

How should people educate themselves on current industry issues?

Issues in the industry often mirror issues in society, so getting your news intake from reputable and varied sources and making sure you stay well connected with your friends and family from all over. The issues in the industry can look very different from one’s own corner of it, so making sure you’re going to gigs and are a good friend to the people you occupy space with – that means talking and listening without judgment. It’s also important to step away from things that are beyond your depth and develop your own nuanced opinions in time. In a world of social media, it can be hard to escape outrage, debate and misinformation and it can have profound impacts on your mental health and energy to always be on the edge of a fight. The world needs your energy intact, and your eyes and ears, just as much as your voice.



 

 How have you integrated modern technology into your content process?

Staying in touch with people who appreciate our music through social media has been something that we really have got a lot of value from, particularly through 2020. There’s so much good tech to get your head arounds in music creation too – plugins, soft synths, sample libraries and YouTube tutorials make life a lot more exciting.



Love Signs is out Friday the 23rd of July and you can catch them in September on their national tour!