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LETLIVE. Return To Australia: A Spiritual Reunion And Evolution Of Sound · HEAVY Music Interviews

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Yeah, it's a Jason Alon Butler, Let.
• 0:02
  Speaker 2: Live Beautiful, well done.
• 0:05
  Speaker 3: What inspired the decision to reunite and take Let Live
• 0:08
  Speaker 3: back on the road. Was there a specific moment or
• 0:10
  Speaker 3: realization that made this happen?
• 0:14
  Speaker 4: Yeah, I mean yes and no. What had happened was
• 0:17
  Speaker 4: we were we all reconnected, we were all kicking, and
• 0:21
  Speaker 4: we were all sharing stories about our lives in the
• 0:23
  Speaker 4: less seven years. Yeah, realized that we were all in
• 0:26
  Speaker 4: similar places and realized that we loved seeing each other
• 0:31
  Speaker 4: and that, you know that we led to nostalgia and
• 0:35
  Speaker 4: reminiscing on what once was, and you know, made us
• 0:39
  Speaker 4: curious about what could be. So we decided, you know,
• 0:42
  Speaker 4: let's let's At first it was like, oh, let's do
• 0:44
  Speaker 4: like a couple of shows. Yeah, we started thinking about that,
• 0:47
  Speaker 4: and it was like, oh, maybe we'd do like a
• 0:49
  Speaker 4: US tour.
• 0:50
  Speaker 1: You know, what about the UK? What about Australia? You know.
• 0:52
  Speaker 4: So yeah, it just sort of organically developed into something
• 0:56
  Speaker 4: that we wanted to do, but really to be super honess,
• 1:00
  Speaker 4: we needed to like, we feel like, emotionally and energetically,
• 1:04
  Speaker 4: this is something.
• 1:04
  Speaker 1: That we all need to do right now. So yeah, yeah.
• 1:09
  Speaker 3: That's awesome, and you've mentioned that the band's return was
• 1:11
  Speaker 3: driven by a spiritual alignment.
• 1:13
  Speaker 2: Can you expand on that a little bit?
• 1:15
  Speaker 4: Yeah, that was That's actually exactly what what I was
• 1:19
  Speaker 4: talking about it.
• 1:21
  Speaker 3: Yeah, And how's your relationship with the founding members evolved
• 1:28
  Speaker 3: since Let Live originally formed in two thousand and two.
• 1:32
  Speaker 4: I mean, it's probably it's probably the best it's ever been.
• 1:36
  Speaker 1: Three of us, I'd say, you know, I think that
• 1:38
  Speaker 1: we've again do our own lived.
• 1:41
  Speaker 4: Experiences over time, and understanding ourselves helps us and helped
• 1:46
  Speaker 4: us understand each other much better than when we were,
• 1:48
  Speaker 4: you know, much younger, less less sort of life life
• 1:52
  Speaker 4: oriented context and just understanding what we want out of life,
• 1:58
  Speaker 4: out of art. I think that that's kind of become
• 2:01
  Speaker 4: much more clear to all of us. So it's actually
• 2:02
  Speaker 4: probably the best thing, to be honest.
• 2:05
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 2:06
  Speaker 3: And the lineup features some new faces as well, like
• 2:09
  Speaker 3: stage Webern drums and Scarlet Accord on bass.
• 2:12
  Speaker 2: What do they bring to the.
• 2:13
  Speaker 4: Table Immense talent, super dope vibe, like incredible presence, Like
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  Speaker 4: they're both incredible performers, but they're the homies, Like those
• 2:24
  Speaker 4: are just our friends that are really talented and really
• 2:27
  Speaker 4: willing to give the energy that we feel is required
• 2:31
  Speaker 4: to play let Live music live.
• 2:33
  Speaker 1: So I mean they just.
• 2:35
  Speaker 4: Fitting in, you know, because they get it, and of
• 2:38
  Speaker 4: course their talent is like kind of unmatched, so we're lucky.
• 2:41
  Speaker 1: We feel very lucky and blessed in that way. Yeah.
• 2:44
  Speaker 2: Yeah, the perfect Edition, it sounds.
• 2:46
  Speaker 1: Like, Yeah, I say so.
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  Speaker 3: And for those that have followed you over the years,
• 2:52
  Speaker 3: how do you think let Live sound has evolved between
• 2:54
  Speaker 3: albums like Fake History, The Black Is Beautiful and If
• 2:57
  Speaker 3: I'm the Devil.
• 2:59
  Speaker 4: Yeah, I mean, I think what we were trying to
• 3:01
  Speaker 4: do is just trying to find a way to expand
• 3:04
  Speaker 4: ourselves so that we could expand into the world and share.
• 3:08
  Speaker 1: The idea that was let lative and sort of the art.
• 3:12
  Speaker 4: And in no way were we ever really guided by
• 3:16
  Speaker 4: much else other than what we loved to hear as ourselves,
• 3:20
  Speaker 4: like what we liked to consumes as music fans. And
• 3:23
  Speaker 4: I think that that really, you know, informed a lot
• 3:26
  Speaker 4: of the evolution of the sound. But you know, I
• 3:30
  Speaker 4: think if there was any sort of intention in making
• 3:33
  Speaker 4: those records or it was just to make sure we
• 3:36
  Speaker 4: could try to get to as many people as possible
• 3:38
  Speaker 4: while still remaining authentic to you know, ourselves as music
• 3:42
  Speaker 4: fans and listeners and performers.
• 3:45
  Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, definitely. And speaking of influences, who inspires you
• 3:50
  Speaker 3: guys today?
• 3:53
  Speaker 4: Oh man, that's such a good question. I mean for me,
• 3:56
  Speaker 4: it's really kind of remained the same. You know, like
• 4:00
  Speaker 4: my first love was, like, you know, hip hop soul.
• 4:04
  Speaker 4: It is kind of w I started. And then I
• 4:07
  Speaker 4: got punk rock when I was like ten eleven through skateboarding,
• 4:10
  Speaker 4: and so it's kind of remained the same, to be honest,
• 4:12
  Speaker 4: Like for me, and I find new artists or or
• 4:17
  Speaker 4: even old artists that I didn't know about before that
• 4:19
  Speaker 4: that might pop in and out, but ultimately, like genre wise,
• 4:23
  Speaker 4: for me, it's like that. And then the boys, man,
• 4:26
  Speaker 4: it goes. It goes from like pop.
• 4:28
  Speaker 5: To like jazz fusion, to be honest, like, it really
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  Speaker 5: spans across.
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  Speaker 1: So we try to be as.
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  Speaker 4: You know, honor as much as as much as we
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  Speaker 4: can throughout all of the well still remaining like tasteful.
• 4:40
  Speaker 2: Yeah. Yeah.
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  Speaker 3: And you've played some massive festivals like warp To and
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  Speaker 3: Louder than Life in the past.
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  Speaker 2: How does it feel to be returning.
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  Speaker 3: To those stages and festivals now after a break?
• 4:52
  Speaker 2: Hey?
• 4:53
  Speaker 1: Sorry, can you hear me.
• 4:54
  Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, that's all right. Sorry, stop down, thank you, Okay,
• 5:00
  Speaker 2: all good, Okay.
• 5:03
  Speaker 3: I think we were talking about Warp Tour and how
• 5:05
  Speaker 3: it feels to be returning to Warp Tour after all
• 5:08
  Speaker 3: this time.
• 5:09
  Speaker 4: Yeah, yeah, I mean I think it's just like we
• 5:12
  Speaker 4: feel lucky, you know, like we've always felt really lucky
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  Speaker 4: to be able to you know, get out of a garage,
• 5:20
  Speaker 4: yeah when we started so and to be super real
• 5:23
  Speaker 4: like I you know, I started a couple of other
• 5:27
  Speaker 4: projects after let Live, and I was able to play
• 5:30
  Speaker 4: in a bunch of different settings, and even to this day,
• 5:34
  Speaker 4: like I still feel lucky. I never feel like I
• 5:37
  Speaker 4: am entitled to any of that, and and I know
• 5:40
  Speaker 4: the guys feel the same way.
• 5:41
  Speaker 1: So I think that that that.
• 5:46
  Speaker 3: Yeah, And is there any artists from back in the
• 5:50
  Speaker 3: day that you guys are still close with that you
• 5:51
  Speaker 3: may have shared the stage.
• 5:52
  Speaker 1: With, oh oh, like coming up on these festivals. Yeah, yeah,
• 6:00
  Speaker 1: that's a great question. I'm sure there or I haven't
• 6:02
  Speaker 1: really been looking at to be honest, but I'm like
• 6:07
  Speaker 1: in the middle of my own personal journey.
• 6:09
  Speaker 6: But I'm sure there has to be because we make
• 6:14
  Speaker 6: so many friends back then, and like we were kind
• 6:17
  Speaker 6: of the band's bands back then, So yeah, I'm sure
• 6:20
  Speaker 6: they are, definitely.
• 6:23
  Speaker 3: And what do you think it is about let Lives
• 6:25
  Speaker 3: music that resonates so deeply with fans, particularly when it
• 6:28
  Speaker 3: comes to your live shows.
• 6:31
  Speaker 4: I really just think that it's about the fact that
• 6:34
  Speaker 4: we are transparent, both on record and on stage. I
• 6:39
  Speaker 4: think that we just trying to open up the space
• 6:41
  Speaker 4: to where we can be honest with ourselves. And then
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  Speaker 4: I think that that resonates with people from may feel
• 6:47
  Speaker 4: a desire to do the same. You know, I don't,
• 6:50
  Speaker 4: I don't really, I don't really think too much about it.
• 6:56
  Speaker 4: I just think about what I can offer as again,
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  Speaker 4: like as a as an exhibition of the thing that
• 7:02
  Speaker 4: I want to see, right, Like I want to see honesty,
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  Speaker 4: and I want to see a type of passion, and
• 7:07
  Speaker 4: I want to see a type of you know, there's
• 7:09
  Speaker 4: also a type of like vulnerability that can be sometimes
• 7:11
  Speaker 4: seemingly reckless or dangerous.
• 7:14
  Speaker 1: That I want to see because I know that I
• 7:16
  Speaker 1: need that.
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  Speaker 4: So I believe that, like again, if we perform as
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  Speaker 4: music fans first, and we perform as fans of art first,
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  Speaker 4: and don't think of ourselves as the display, but more
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  Speaker 4: so as like a reflection.
• 7:30
  Speaker 1: Yea, than then I think I think that's that's us
• 7:34
  Speaker 1: doing our jobs.
• 7:35
  Speaker 2: Yeah, definitely, one hundred percent.
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  Speaker 3: So it's like you really do put yourself in those
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  Speaker 3: shoes of the fans.
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  Speaker 4: One hundred percent, because that's all lions. I'm just a fan, honestly,
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  Speaker 4: I am. Even on stage. I'm just a fan of
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  Speaker 4: the gift of art. I'm just acting as a as
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  Speaker 4: a vessel to be super.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, well put, well put. And you're heading to Australia
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  Speaker 3: in September. Do you have any particular memories or favorite
• 8:01
  Speaker 3: moments from your previous tours.
• 8:02
  Speaker 2: Down on that.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, I said this, I said this in every interview.
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  Speaker 4: It was the moment that I stepped on to the
• 8:10
  Speaker 4: shores of Australia, like like I got there and okay,
• 8:15
  Speaker 4: that's a lie. It was when I got on the
• 8:17
  Speaker 4: shuttle from the airport and they took.
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  Speaker 1: Us to Sydney. I remember this.
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  Speaker 4: It was like for sun Way and and we drove
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  Speaker 4: there and I stepped outside of the of the shuttles
• 8:31
  Speaker 4: to get to the hotel and just felt like I
• 8:33
  Speaker 4: had arrived, you know, like you know, my my, oh no,
• 8:38
  Speaker 4: like in my career, in my life and my energy.
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  Speaker 1: It was just because it's something so far away.
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  Speaker 4: I essentially had like circumvented the globe, gone to a
• 8:46
  Speaker 4: different hemisphere, which I had never done in my life before,
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  Speaker 4: And I don't know if I ever would if if
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  Speaker 4: it wasn't for music, do you know what I mean?
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  Speaker 4: So I just think that what kind of realizate and
• 9:00
  Speaker 4: that this was possible was offered to me through my
• 9:04
  Speaker 4: visit to Australia, and also just an energy that I
• 9:08
  Speaker 4: felt that I don't know, almost familiar to me in
• 9:12
  Speaker 4: a way or like I had been here before and
• 9:15
  Speaker 4: I knew that was my first time.
• 9:17
  Speaker 3: Yeah, that's amazing to hear. And if you could pick
• 9:22
  Speaker 3: one song from let Leaves, Discover, Discover Free that you're
• 9:26
  Speaker 3: especially excited to play a lot would.
• 9:29
  Speaker 1: Have been wide and members first City Country, That's gonna
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  Speaker 1: be my favorite song.
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  Speaker 5: Yeah exist to me, it's how many interesting to see
• 9:48
  Speaker 5: how that changes from from let's Brisbane Chicago, you know. Yeah,
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  Speaker 5: and that energy shifts first, Oh yeah, don't for that step.
• 10:01
  Speaker 5: So it gives me a lot of this it's right
• 10:06
  Speaker 5: and it's literally which is also culturally you like so long.
• 10:11
  Speaker 1: You know what I'm saying.
• 10:12
  Speaker 6: Yeah, awesome, yeah.
• 10:18
  Speaker 3: And as a band, you've always pushed boundaries with your sound.
• 10:21
  Speaker 3: Have you found any new ways to challenge yourselves creatively
• 10:23
  Speaker 3: this time around?
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  Speaker 1: But we're not, we're not.
• 10:26
  Speaker 4: Yeah, we're already like discussing some sort of back end
• 10:29
  Speaker 4: things like behind the scenes with the way that we're performing,
• 10:32
  Speaker 4: the way that we're playing our instruments, and the actual
• 10:35
  Speaker 4: production itself. So we definitely definitely because between three what
• 10:40
  Speaker 4: we've learned so much.
• 10:42
  Speaker 1: You know, musically and technically, So yeah, we're doing that,
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  Speaker 1: and we're doing so we'll be able to we'll be
• 10:48
  Speaker 1: able to push.
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  Speaker 4: Ourselves further and the performance for you know, for our
• 10:53
  Speaker 4: friends and things in the crowd.
• 10:55
  Speaker 3: So before awesome, there's some surprises in store, sounds like.
• 11:01
  Speaker 2: Wicked.
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  Speaker 3: And last question, if you could bring one random thing
• 11:05
  Speaker 3: or person on stage with you for a one time performance,
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  Speaker 3: who or what would it be?
• 11:10
  Speaker 1: My dad? Probably my dad?
• 11:12
  Speaker 4: Yeah, Like he's the you know, he's the reason for
• 11:15
  Speaker 4: better or for worse that I played music to be honest,
• 11:19
  Speaker 4: So yeah, I would say my dad.
• 11:21
  Speaker 3: Oh that's lovely. And was he a huge influence to
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  Speaker 3: you growing up musically.
• 11:26
  Speaker 4: Or yeah he was, but like in a very like
• 11:29
  Speaker 4: non traditional way. You know, he didn't really want me
• 11:31
  Speaker 4: to play music because he was a musician that did
• 11:34
  Speaker 4: pretty he did his thing, and but he got he
• 11:37
  Speaker 4: got really exploited and taken advantage of it a time
• 11:39
  Speaker 4: where like black people were just getting used in music.
• 11:42
  Speaker 4: I mean, it's it's not uncommon now, but he was
• 11:46
  Speaker 4: much more glaring back then.
• 11:47
  Speaker 1: So he was like, nah, you're not gonna do this.
• 11:50
  Speaker 4: You're gonna play sports or do uh, you know, academia.
• 11:53
  Speaker 4: So but he was and you know, I think that
• 11:57
  Speaker 4: there was a taboo about music obviously because he didn't
• 11:59
  Speaker 4: want me to do it, and also seeing him do it,
• 12:01
  Speaker 4: because he was still doing it even though he was
• 12:03
  Speaker 4: you know, got played.
• 12:04
  Speaker 1: I just think it was like that.
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  Speaker 4: Was my idea of you know, manhood, or that was
• 12:09
  Speaker 4: my idea of like what you do when you when
• 12:12
  Speaker 4: you want to push further, even though he was like,
• 12:14
  Speaker 4: you're not going to do it. So there was a
• 12:15
  Speaker 4: mixed bag of feelings. But you know, and he was
• 12:18
  Speaker 4: really really he still is really good at it.
• 12:21
  Speaker 1: So yeah, it was just quite influential for sure.
• 12:24
  Speaker 3: Well that's amazing. And do you think he could still
• 12:26
  Speaker 3: did he sing or did he play an instrument?
• 12:29
  Speaker 1: Yeah?
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  Speaker 4: He was a multi instrumentalist and he's an incredible singer,
• 12:31
  Speaker 4: like incredible singer.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, so awesome. That's so cool, Jason. We can't wait
• 12:37
  Speaker 2: for September. Thanks so much for your time today. We
• 12:39
  Speaker 2: yet so excited to see you guys.
• 12:42
  Speaker 1: I really appreciate you. Thanking so much, Thanks so much.