1. Growing Up
Renee Sieff: I was born into a family surrounded by music. With a music business alongside my upbringing, it was natural for me to have a good ear and pitch. I remember seeing Aqua’s video clips for the first time and loved every single one of their songs! ‘Barbie Girl’ was the anthem of my childhood. The rest of the band all started from a young age learning their instruments to be the best they can.
2. Inspirations
Brendan Tan: Fall Out Boy, Panic! at the Disco, Paramore, A Day To Remember, Sleeping with Sirens – the list gets pretty long but these bands are amazing. I remember first hearing Paramore in high school from a classmate and immediately getting all their albums when I got home that day. Similar stories follow for the rest of my favourites – hearing one song and having to get them all. Much more than just amazing music, it’s the passion that bands like Sleeping with Sirens have; always giving the audience their best, at their live shows and on new albums.
3. Your Band
Ben Tan: We are a five-piece band that grew up as friends in the Hills area in Sydney. Our band consists of vocalist Renee Sieff, bassist Sam Sudhakar, guitarists Neil Burmester and Ben Tan, and drummer Brendan Tan. We grew up as five friends loving the same music and jamming out making the music we wanted to make. We recently have worked on our upcoming album Keep Talking, Please, with our producer and engineer Brandon Gillies and Ben Whincop.
4. The Music You Make
Neil Burmester: There’s something about the studio environment that can bring something out of your writing that you wouldn’t find in the everyday. When we were writing this album we were listening to everything pop rock, pop punk and even hardcore. The best thing about writing is that the music we make is what we want to hear. The songs are real to us and we hope that they resonate with our fans too. Once this album is released we will definitely be touring it as much as we can. If you come watch our live show you can expect lots of energy and interaction. Our goal for when we play a show is to connect with people.
5. Music, Right Here, Right Now
Sam Sudhakar: The music scene seems to always be pumping out good stuff, even if it is doing a complete cycle of what’s already been done, I can always find something new in everything. So that’s always something I get stoked on and it’s what pushes us as a band to contribute back into the scene. I guess hopefully our music can do for others what the music scene does for us.
This Sanctuary plays Spectrum, Darlinghurst on Wednesday August 28 and Risen Festival 2013 on Sunday September 29.
