A Quick Chat with Harley
A Quick Chat With Harley:
Harley wears his heart on his sleeve with Tell Me You Love Me, an infectious indie rock anthem that turns self-doubt into something impossible not to sing along to. The Brisbane-based artist blends driving guitars, airy synths, and feel-good energy into a track that captures the restless search for reassurance, whether in love, life, or creative pursuit. We caught up with Harley to talk about the single, its deeper meaning, and more.
Can you tell us what this track means to you and what you want people to take away from it?
‘Tell Me You Love Me’ is a search for validation and fulfilment. Something I think we all feel but instead put on a brave face and ignore. I wrote the lyrics as a lover who is pleading with his partner to say that they still love each other. He starts questioning himself, “Is there something that I missed?”. He spirals and falls into the rabbit hole. On the surface, that’s all there is to the song. However, I love when songs have double meanings and can be interpreted by the listener in multiple ways. I think for me the song serves in the light of a musician searching for fans and validation. Seeking sold out shows, people who truly connect with the music and perhaps the strength to be unapologetically goofy and weird.
I wanted this song to truly stand out from my previous releases. This indie/rock/pop sound I haven’t done before and I wanted a song people could just have a proper boogie to. I want people to feel comfortable and able to be their true selves at my shows and this song is all about that.
Who are some of your influences, and why?
Some of my favourites are: Holy Holy, Sam Fender, The Vanns and Briston Maroney. Be it their intimate songwriting and storytelling abilities, or the production side of things creating soundscapes that fully immerse you. All of these artists have had an impact on me and inspired me to create something that I’m passionate about.
What's the creative process for you, from writing through to recording?
It usually starts with just me, an acoustic and a notepad. Either I have a specific story I want to tell or just mindless words pour out until I don’t know what I’m really saying until the song is done. I find it very therapeutic finding meanings in my lyrics that even I didn’t realise were there at first.
I would then take the song to the rest of the band and we go from there, but recently I’ve really enjoyed creating the whole song in Logic as a demo. That way I can create exactly the vibe I want and paint the picture I see in my head before we head to the studio and rerecord everything with the nice, shiny equipment.
What do you think makes a great song?
I think something I learned from Mumford & Sons (one of my other favourite bands) was the campfire test. If you can play the song by yourself with a guitar around a campfire and it’s still good, you’ve got a good song on your hands. Other than that, I think any good song just needs to make you feel something. Whatever emotion it’s trying to portray, if you feel it, it’s done it’s job.
If you could collaborate with any artist, who would it be and why?
One of my all time idols is Oscar Dawson from Holy Holy. I absolutely love his guitar work but even more so his production skills. The level of detail he adds to a mix is insane. One day I’d love to work with him and see how he could help elevate my music.
When not working on music, what other creative outlet/s do you have?
When I’m not playing music I love rock-climbing, it’s nice to turn off the outside world for a couple hours and focus on problem solving a boulder, plus it’s fun. Aside from that I love building things, I think it came from lego as a kid, but occasionally I’ll re-stain furniture, build a case for my pedalboard or make something out of wood that I thought would be handy. I’ve also recently found a love for painting. My partner’s an artist and she inspired me to start like I did with the cover art for ‘Tell Me You Love Me’. It’s really cool to make a physical copy of what I imagined, and I think I’ll do a lot more of it in future.
Who are some local bands we should check out?
Happy Valley, Pigeon Pleasers and Bean Magazine are the first that come to mind. They’re all great at what they do and are real genuine people.
Winter or summer and why?
Oh that’s actually tricky. I love being outside and exploring in the sun, but there’s something about cold winters that I do really enjoy. I often find cold days inside a great time to write or create. Plus if it’s cold you can rug up and stay warm, whereas if it’s hot you just sweat which sucks.
What else do you have planned for the year?
Well it’s all hush hush at the moment, but I am really excited for what’s to come! ‘Tell Me You Love Me’ is the second of three singles I’m releasing off my upcoming Debut EP. Having never released a large body of work like this before it’s been really fun piecing it together to create something that feels authentically me.