‘Not All Those Who Wander Are Lost’ arrives as KIN TALA’s debut EP, landing on the 14th of June. Continuing their artistic evolution, each of the seven tracks pushes both sonic and thematic boundaries. Whilst remaining true to the traditions of indie-rock, KIN TALA has sculpted stunning soundscapes for each of the tracks. From the opening, airy eclectic ‘Aztecs’ through to the synth-soaked ‘Heavy Head’, all the way to the concluding indie-rock vibe of ‘Two Socks’, KIN TALA firmly creates outside of the box. Speaking on the creation of the EP, Dom shares,
“This EP is an expression of a lot of things; our long friendship, our drive to make interesting music, and KIN TALA finding itself. We had the opportunity to craft something totally on our own, so we had creative freedom to push those themes and range of sounds on the record. I think you can feel that in the EP, which is different from your typical indie set of songs – it’s a lot more diverse in terms of influences and samples ingrained within. Lyrically, I used it as an opportunity to express frustrations surrounding aspects of society, history, and politics that have done my head in over the years, and wanted the sounds to reflect that. The opening track Aztecs is the perfect example of this – I wanted to be worldly, bold, and challenging, like something you’ve never heard before, and on first listen you think to yourself “What’s going on here then?!”
Quintessentially TALA-esque, the project’s focus track Ocean Blues praises, ponders, and laments, serving as an ode to honest communities, folk, family, and friends, for those left behind, and for those still to come. Sharing the inspiration behind ‘Ocean Blues’ Shee says,
“We wrote this track back in 2014. I was listening to Mac Demarco’s ‘Salad Days’ a lot at the time and the riff was heavily inspired by that record – lots of vibrato and chorus effects. I showed it to Dom and the whole song came together in about 20 minutes. We’ve rerecorded the track 4 or 5 times since then but in the end, returned to the earliest iteration of the song. This track means a lot to both of us and, on reflection, it’s probably because this period was the ‘salad days’ of KIN TALA.”
Fusing elements of electronic, experimental, and indie atmospheres, ‘Not All Those Who Wander Are Lost’ is an innovative and impactful debut EP dropping this week.