Atlas Genius’ Grand Return
With their fourth studio album just months away, we speak to Atlas Genius’ Keith Jeffery about the people, places and emotions that went into building End of the Tunnel and the backstory behind their recent singles.
Congratulations on the release of 'On A Wave' and 'Don't Let Love Be A Stranger'! It's our second taste of your forthcoming album. Tell us more about how these songs came to life.
Both of these songs were written before the pandemic, back in 2019. We were living in Los Angeles at the time, obviously oblivious to what the next few years were going to hold for the world. Interestingly, both of these songs carry more weight now in 2024 than they did when we wrote them.
'On A Wave' was me attempting to write a Tom Petty song, which ended up being completely different but something we were really happy with. It's about riding the waves – the turmoil and the unpredictability of life – and just embracing it because it's pointless trying to fight it. The wave is a metaphor for forces greater than you, and often you just have to ride that experience and see where it takes you. 'Don't Let Love Be A Stranger' is a social commentary on the divides we were seeing in the world back in 2019 – an ever-growing division that feels like [it's] trending in the wrong direction. It’s an ode to society and the idea that we need to start loving each other a little more.
This double single is a follow-up to the release of ‘Romans’ and ‘Nobody Likes You’. All four songs will be on the new record. How do they fit in End of The Tunnel?
Well, I think all the songs we've released so far from the record stem from this place of finding what really matters to me and, as a human being, what ultimately is the core of what keeps you happy, safe, and healthy. Love and connection with people that you hold dear are the essence of all of that. Songs like 'Romans' and 'Nobody Loves Like You' are obviously about relationships. Some of the most intense feelings come from relationships, and for me, that's where a lot of the songs start.
You produced the latest string of songs – tell us more about that experience. How does undertaking a producer role push you as a musician?
Being an artist, songwriter and producer in the band means that you have to be quite disciplined in wearing the right hat at the right time. When you're in songwriting mode, you want to be loose and free with creativity. As a producer, when it comes time to work on the song, there needs to be a vision for the sonic architecture of the track, and how to fit this into Atlas Genius as an experience. It's not always easy, but ultimately it helps me as a control freak to be able to wear those different hats – and the guys seem to tolerate that most of the time, so it's worked (so far)!
What else can we expect from your new album End of the Tunnel?
End of the Tunnel is almost the best of the last five or six years of the band. It's been a long time since we've put out a full record, and while it was extremely frustrating to wait that long, it allowed us to really choose the songs we felt the most passionate about and what we feel represents Atlas Genius. It’s nice to finally get this out. There was a point where it felt like we were living in musical purgatory – I wasn't sure if we would ever release music again because of contractual conflicts with our previous label. It's a feeling of extreme relief and satisfaction to release this so we can show people what we've done over the last few years and start to look to the future.
You cut your teeth here in South Australia before charting a global career. How has SA influenced your journey in the industry?
We played for a decade as a cover band in Adelaide and had different original outfits during that period before Atlas Genius became a group, found success, and toured the world.
The upside of that scene was its isolation. It gave us time to work on our craft and become better live musicians, performers, and songwriters. If you grow up in a city with more exposure, you might get exposure before you're ready. We had to work hard, playing gruelling gigs and driving back to Victor Harbor every night. Thousands of gigs gave us uniqueness and a certain take on songwriting that comes from dissecting other people's work for a long time. It was hard, but everyone has their own path and timing for things.
We're also hoping you'll be back home for a tour soon! What's next for Atlas Genius?
We are dropping the rest of the record in August, which is exciting for us. There will be some shows in the States, but we'd love to play shows back in Australia. It was always difficult to play shows there because half the touring members were based in the States. We've re-jigged our lineup, and now all the members are Australian, so the possibility of doing shows is higher than ever! Our fanbase has always been bigger in the USA and Europe, but we'd love to do some Australian shows, potentially this year, but I can't confirm nor deny.
Watch this space! Atlas Genius’ new album End of the Tunnel will be out August 23. For now, you can listen to the band’s new songs – ‘On A Wave’, ‘Don’t Let Love Be A Stranger’, ‘Nobody Loves Like You’ and ‘Romans’here. Stay up to date with Atlas Genius on socials.
