We love a new band, Dear Reader. If you’ve been paying attention to our hallowed pages over recent times, you’ll know we’ve long had a rather healthy crush on Thyla. After a short spell ‘away’, they’re back with new material. Kicking off with certified mega-banger ‘Two Sense’, it’s a massive jump up the table for a band already looking like they had title-winning potential. We grabbed hold of vocalist Millie Duthie to find out more.
Hey Millie, how’s it going? What’s new?
Hey Dork readers, we’re extremely excited to be back with new music out in the world!
What have you guys been up to this year? It feels like it’s been ages since we’ve heard from you, has a lot been going on ‘behind the scenes’?
After SXSW and some festivals earlier on in the season we decided we needed to make some big decisions with regards to how we were going to progress the band forward, we weren’t happy jumping through the hoops set out for us and so decided to take back the reigns. It’s been hectic but hugely fulfilling and as a result, has inspired a lot of new music.
Tell us about your upcoming EP, what’s it about? What inspired it?
The shared experience of the past year has brought us all really close together. We wanted our second EP to embody what Thyla is and what it has become. There’s so much emotion in the songs, we go from being fierce to being angry; euphoric; helpless; and ecstatic, but what has most excited us is that there is a definite “sound”, we can’t put what it is that defines it into words, but it’s there.
When did you first start working on this one, and how did you approach curating the tracklisting?
There is a mix of old and brand new on the EP. I remember the four of us discussing which songs to choose; we picked the ones that we thought, together, as a body of work, would best convey what Thyla is.
Were any of the songs particularly challenging?
There’s a track called ‘December’ on the EP; it breaks away from our usual songwriting formula. It’s delicate and really bare in parts, the lyrics mean everything to me personally and they are really exposed. It was challenging in the sense that we had to arrange it with a different mindset to usual, and we used lots of new recording techniques in the studio. We are a guitar band through and through, but we spent a lot of time trying to make our guitars sound nothing like themselves on the record.
Why did you pick ‘Two Sense’ to drop first?
It’s been a while since we’ve released anything and we wanted to make an impact upon return. ‘Two Sense’ is our best shot at that. We’re really proud of the direction we have taken both in terms of the writing and production, it feels like our boldest cut yet, the vocals are purposefully front and centre, and the message is clear.
Do you feel as though this EP is going to be a step up from your first?
Categorically yes! This year has given us self belief and confidence in our own vision. We have found working with Josh [Hoagie] Harrison in the studio hugely inspiring, and he has really helped the production side of things come to fruition. Our songwriting feels more focused and meaningful to us, and we are proud of what we have created.
What else are you guys working on at the mo?
We are ready and looking to record our debut album…
Taken from the November issue of Dork. Thyla’s new EP is due early 2020.
