Hailing from Adelaide, Australia – Atlas Genius is unique band with a unique story of success. The band’s nucleus is vocalist/guitarist Keith Jeffery and his brother Michael who plays drums and the very first song that they completed was a song called “Trojans”. After weeks of retooling that song, Michael insisted that the song should leave the studio in some facet. Just about an hour later, “Trojans” was on the Triple J Unearthed Website, SoundCloud, and for sale, worldwide, through iTunes, Amazon and Spotify.
It was soon after named an iTunes Single of the Week in Australia and New Zealand, reaching #4 on Hype Machine. “Trojans” started selling over a thousand tracks per week on U.S. iTunes and climbed to 45,000 sales, with zero promotional efforts whatsoever. After many months of being pursued by several major recording labels – the band returned to the states having made their decision to sign with Warner Bros.
The band’s first release, the EP Through The Glass was released in June of 2012. The band then worked on writing and recording its first full-length album, all while rehearsing for their first tour, which started in the summer of 2012 – which led to three more tours back to back in the U.S. When It Was Now was released in the U.S. on February 19th, 2013. Glide chatted with Keith over the phone just days before the band would be hitting the road again – performing in the US and Europe during the next few months to support their latest release.
The lyrics on When It Was Now come across as being very personal.
They are definitely personal. Pretty much all the lyrics I write tend to be. Often I’ll tweak them until there’s some sense of privacy. If you make a song very literal, about your particular situation, it may be hard for other people to relate to. I like hearing a bit of mystery in other peoples’ songs and I try to do that in our songs as well. If you understand something completely, then you tend to lose interest in it. I find that writing lyrics with some vagueness to them feels right.
The tracks “Electric” and “Through the Glass” really stand out. Would you mind commenting on them?
“Through the Glass”, which could have been written even before “Trojans” came together with a chorus and a pre chorus and then we started elaborating from there but it actually took about a year or year and a half to finish it. “Electric” was our last song that we wrote for the album. We had just a bit of the chorus and we wondered what to do it with it, as we really liked it – but it wasn’t a full song as is. So, we experimented with different pieces of music and different verses and eventually landed it with the music that is there now.
You’ve been very productive in a short period of time. Could you explain your creative writing process and where your inspiration comes from?
When I was younger, I used to write on an acoustic guitar or maybe a little electric guitar and drums with my brother Mike. It was actually pretty limited. Now we’re using a lot of synthesizers and drum machines. You can have the same set of chords but if you depend upon the synthesizer sound or the guitar sound tends to really change the mood. It’s reactionary process, where I couldn’t sit down and write the songs we do now on an acoustic guitar even if it was the same chords, but the sound wouldn’t inspire those same melodies and lyrics. The studio is a huge part of the writing process because we have so many tools at our disposal.
What have you found that inspires you to write?
Ah, good movies. I find that sometimes I’ll watch a really good movie and it’ll ignite an emotion. Our own music as well, when we create moods without the lyrics and it’ll be inspiring as maybe a jumping off point. Good rhythms and melodies as well. Good melodies will interact with the drums and the other instruments in good and interesting rhythmic ways.
It’s in your bio that your parents are Beatles fanatics. Their musical tastes must have had some influence on you and your brother.
Absolutely. Having well-crafted songs playing in your formative years is important. I appreciate all genres of music, even if it’s a style I’m not normally drawn to – as long as there’s a unique, interesting story in there.
How have you found writing, recording and now touring with your brother?
We get on pretty good. My brother Michael and I have very similar tastes. When I take something to him and he thinks it’s got something or not, I think it’s a good indication as to whether I’m on the right track or not. When you’re writing, you get a feeling that something is right but sometimes you’re off, so it’s good to have those people in your life that you trust.
Initially you were intimidated about coming to the US for the first time. How do you feel today?
As soon as we started playing in front of American crowds and the reception was really great. That quickly got rid of any nerves that we had about touring in in the US.
What should a first time guest at one of your shows expect?
Without trying to talk up the show too much, you’ll hear the songs from the album and we tend to expand upon them when we perform them live
Are there any specific cities that you’re looking forward to visiting, maybe Boston?
Well, we love Boston. The first time we were there was with the Silversun Pickups. We’ve played there a couple of times. It’s one of our favorite American cities. The last time we were there it was in the fall and the leaves were falling, quite beautiful.
What are some of Atlas Genius’ hopes and aspirations at the moment?
We’re really looking forward to a good fall tour around the States. It’ll be our fourth or fifth time around the country, so I’m really looking forward to going back to visit some of the cities that I really enjoy. We’re pretty excited to go back to Europe again as well.
Atlas Genius Fall Tour
September
18 – Santa Barbara, CA @ KJEE Summer Round Up w/ Blink 182
20 – Chula Vista, CA @ 91X’s X-Fest @ Sleep Train Amphitheatre w/ Blink 182, Jimmy Eat World
21 – Tempe, AZ @ The Marquee **
24 – Cincinnati, OH @ Bogart’s *
26 – Minneapolis, MN @ The Varsity Theater *
27 – Kansas City, MO @ Berkley Riverfront Park – KRBZ Beachball Berkley Riverfront w/ Phoenix, Alt-J
October
1 – Chicago, IL @ House of Blues *
2 – Cleveland, OH @ House of Blues *
4 – Toronto, ON @ Danforth Music Hall *
8 – Boston, MA @ House of Blues *
10 – New York, NY @ Irving Plaza *
11 – New York, NY @ Irving Plaza *
12 – Philadelphia, PA @ Theatre Of The Living Arts *
13 – Silver Spring, MD @ The Fillmore *
16 – Charlotte, NC @ The Fillmore **
17 – Atlanta, GA @ Center Stage **
18 – Orlando, FL @ House of Blues **
20 – Denver, CO @ Summit Music Hall **
22 – Houston, TX @ House of Blues **
23 – Austin, TX @ Stubbs Bar-B-Q (outdoors) **
24 – Dallas, TX @ House of Blues **
30 – Salt Lake City, UT @ In The Venue ****
31 – Las Vegas, NV @ House of Blues ***
November
1 – Anaheim, CA @ House of Blues *
6 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Wiltern *
7 – San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore *
9 – Portland, OR @ Roseland Theatre *
10 – Vancouver, BC @ Venue *
11 – Seattle, WA @ The Neptune Theatre ***
+ Pacific Air and Haerts
++ Pacific Air
* “Ones To Watch” Tour with Family of the Year and Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. supporting
** “Ones To Watch” Tour with Family of the Year and The Colourist supporting
*** “Ones To Watch” Tour with Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. supporting
**** “Ones To Watch” Tour with The Colourist supporting
