Q&A: New Zealand Darlings Foley Make Their SXSW Debut with a Bang
WITHIN JUST A FEW NOTES YOU KNOW YOU’LL BE GROOVING TO FOLEY - The New Zealand duo brings a fearless and innovative approach to their endearing pop sound. Fresh off the release of their latest project, Crowd Pleaser Pt. 1, the duo made their way to Austin, Texas for this year’s SXSW.
Though early in their career as Foley, the duo have quickly caught the eyes and ears of many, and have even been nominated for multiple awards including ‘Best Pop Act’ and Breakthrough Artist of The Year at 2021 Aotearoa Music Awards.
With no plans to slow down anytime soon, Foley already have new music, more tour dates and everything in between on the horizon. We got a chance to chat with the duo in the midst of the SXSW week to learn more about their live show and what they’ll be up to in the coming months.
LUNA: Welcome to Austin and SXSW! How’s the week been going so far?
FOLEY: So good. We really love it here because it's so cool. It's our first time in Austin, Texas - people are so nice here and everyone here is just so excited to see new artists and take everything in with open minds. To play to that as well and be like, “This is what we do. This is who we are” is a really cool feeling.
LUNA: What value does SXSW has for both for you as an artist and the industry as a whole?
FOLEY: A lot of what we do has always been rooted in the live aspect of performing. We're such performers at heart, and we try and reimagine and write our music to perform it live. Places like this, where there's everyone, from all walks of life, and all parts of the industry coming together is really, really valuable. Even just the small moments that you get with people, like bumping into people on the street that you'd never see back home in New Zealand is so cool. There are so many friendly people, and everyone's here to do the same thing and just be happy and have a crazy week.
LUNA: How to prep for these shows in comparison to your normal shows?
FOLEY: Our live Set is definitely different to the recordings across the board. The pop shows that we've loved have been those where there are new elements and new flavors that you don't get from the recording and as an audience member, you know that. So we always try and do that with the live set. For SXSW, condensing it into these short sets where you try to showcase the skills of the band, and have stage presence and everything, has been a challenge that has been sort of fun to do as well.
LUNA: What’s been your favorite song to perform live?
FOLEY “Lost In The Garden”. Playing that one live is so fun. It's like was really unexpected for us…there’s something about its energy that is just so good live. We kind of reworked it a little bit for SXSW and added like a quick intro and a breakdown. It gives us an opportunity to jam with the band quite a lot as well.
LUNA: What do the upcoming months have in store for you Foley?
FOLEY: We’ve just released the first half of the album, and very soon we will start releasing the second half, which is going to be awesome. It's been a long time coming, and we’ve already started writing the next stuff. We’ll be announcing some new tour dates too!
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