A Quick Chat with Keaper

First of all, where did the name Keaper come from?

It was actually our first drummer who suggested “keeper” for our band name after hearing the word in a movie. We decided to switch an “e” for an “a” to make it a little more unique!


Tell us a bit about your upcoming concept (and debut!) album.

Our concept album, Waking Dream, encapsulates a journey through the eyes of a character that is exploring an unknown world in her slumber. We wanted to create an immersive and interactive body of work blending musical, visual and written material. Musically, we aimed to combine our individual music tastes into something that was a natural progression from our previous releases, yet exploratory and innovative.


The concept was inspired by the idea of pairing music with maps, which expanded into a short story with a character journeying through this world. Each song relates to a different location on the map of this world and step of the journey, with the entire narrative running through the tracks of the album. Through the music and our self-published book that goes alongside the album, the story conveys a message of unifying all facets of yourself, exploring your inner world and your path through life.


What was the first gig you ever attended?

Ameya: U2 in Auckland!
Sam: Avril Lavigne - London
Austin: Metallica in Melb 2010
Julia: Rob Thomas in Adelaide hahaha

What were your favourite songs of 2023?

Ameya: Alife – Slowdive
Sam: Angel - Little Simz
Dancer - Idles
Austin: frog on the floor - 100 gecs
Crude drawing of an angel - Caroline polachek 
Xena - Skrillex
Julia: Hatchet - Hot Glue
Space Heavy - King Krule

Dinner party with 4 people (alive or dead) - who are you picking?

Sam:
Murakami 
David Attenborough
Immanuel Kant
Simone de Beauvoir 

Austin:
Sylvia Massy
Kurt Cobain
Robbert Eggers
David Foster Wallace

Julia:
Maya Angelou
Joan Didion
Hayley Williams
Dua Lipa

What shows are you currently binging?
Sam
: Peaky Blinders, South Park (always), Flight of The Conchords, Bojack Horseman (always) and new Curb Your Enthusiasm.
Ameya: Just finished Buffy the Vampire Slayer and it's definitely my new favourite!
Austin: smashed through boy swallows universe, now watching shameless.
Julia: The David Beckham documentary,  plus always re-watching Gilmore Girls. 

What’s in store for the rest of the year?
We’re celebrating the launch of our album with a day festival at Bergy Seltzer and Bandroom with 20 other artists, and then going on tour around the country.

Sam: I bought a Dave Smith Tempest and Elektron Octatrack: going to try and figure out how they work and hopefully incorporate them into the next album!

Austin: adjusting to my new life in Geelong, recording bands at wrangler studios, playing plenty of shows with Keaper.


To celebrate the album, Keaper are hosting their own festival at The Bergy Seltzer on March 23, with over 20 artists performing in the bandroom, bar stage and beer garden.