Solkyri About Their New EP, "Cranebrook"
"We Perceive the World in a More Cautious Light"
Solkyri just released their new EP, "Cranebrook", and they are finalising their fourth album right now. Andrew agreed to an interview, and we finally talked about the past five years. Of course, he also told me a lot about the plans of the post-rock titans from Sydney—and he shared some sweet personal news with me!
Anne: Hi Andrew! Wow, it's already been five years since we last talked! How is this possible? Don't you think this is mind-blowing? I'm always trying to figure out why time has been running so fast since the pandemic started in 2020. But it seems I still don't get it! Do you? How are you guys doing? How did you spend those five years? And how are you dealing with this circumstance? I mean, seriously: Is there a leap in time? Thanks for taking the time to chat with me, by the way!
Andrew: It's been quite some time, but I'm very pleased to be here talking with you. I felt that the pandemic period was quite mundane as the days just blended together. There was no distinction, no emotion, no milestones. My thought is that because we made fewer memories with our friends and family, we have less distinct memories stored away. So, perhaps that's how it feels like that time in our lives flew by.
Anne: What has changed for Solkyri since we last spoke?
"A lot has changed for Solkyri"
Andrew: A lot has changed! We now perceive the world in a different and more cautious light. This has impacted what it means to be an artist releasing music in a post-pandemic world. We had to learn this on the fly when promoting our last record ("Mount Pleasant", 2020) which, with the benefit of hindsight, was unfortunately released before the world hit the off-switch for 24 months.
Listening habits have changed. People are generally not as motivated to purchase tickets to live shows. You know, you have to juggle being a "content creator" as well as an "artist", which can be soul-destroying as someone will now instantly scroll past your Instagram reel that you spent 18 months writing the music for. It's tough, but you need to be adaptable.
I feel Solkyri has adapted. We are now, for the most part, self-sufficient. Ryan, who doubles as our lead songwriter and producer, built a studio in his home. This means that we can craft, perfect and eventually release music without any outside involvement. Which is a pretty cool thing to say.
It also means we can save a lot of money and spend it on other important things, such as pressing vinyl and touring.
Anne: Let's talk about your newest output, "Cranebrook". It came out so perfectly. I really love to listen to it. I think you captured so many feelings and memories with those six songs. Are you happy with how they turned out?
Andrew: Thank you so much. That truly means a lot.
Yes, we are stoked with the release, and it's great to see people really gravitating towards it.
Anne: You recorded "Cranebrook" during a lockdown in times of the pandemic. You handled this situation by using some classic instruments that don't necessarily need the big studio setup to work. Which is pretty ingenious, to be honest, and has led to an outstanding record. Was there anything else you had to pay attention to when recording your EP in this exceptional situation?
Andrew: The EP was born over a series of online video calls. As we were not able to meet up in a rehearsal room, we had to think of a different angle of how to approach the new music.
We are massive fans of ambient music, and it's long been a dream of mine for Solkyri to do something in this style. Ryan, in his newly built studio, started to create some really bare-bone drone loops and piano chords. And: We basically grew it from there, with all of us bouncing ideas across emails and WhatsApp.
"It had to feel like Solkyri"
We had to pay a lot of attention to time. We found you can get lost in ambient music, which is why people enjoy it, but we wanted it to still feel like Solkyri. So the endless moments of drone and copious amounts of excessive reverb required a start, a focal melody and an end. Applying those constraints felt necessary to make it feel like it was a Solkyri take on ambient music. The record has our personality all the way through it.
Our good friend Sim (from the math-rock band SEIMS) linked us up with Monique Turner, who helped with all the string arrangements. Monique's involvement elevated the tracks to another level and pushed them into their final form.
Anne: Are you planning to record with this setup again?
Andrew: Yes and no. The next record will be "rock" based. So drums and riffs are back. But we are utilising string arrangements, as well as horns, this time around.
Anne: Cranebrook is the name of a suburb of Greater Western Sydney. Did you dedicate this record to this part of your home city? Do you want to describe this location a bit?
Andrew: We grew up in Cranebrook, which is a small town in Western Sydney, Australia. The southern portion of the suburb was named "Mount Pleasant", which is also the title of our third album.
Anne: I think the EP works best when you listen to it in one go. Picking out individual tracks and listening to them independently or as part of a playlist makes almost no sense. You're telling a story that runs throughout and that I don't want to interrupt. What is the overall theme of the record?
"'Cranebrook' is intended to be listened to from start to finish"
Andrew: We agree. It's intended to be listened to from start to finish. But we get it. It's 2025, and people only want to listen to songs on their playlists. So that can also work.
"Cranebrook", in some weird way, is meant to be a sister record to our previous album, "Mount Pleasant". The EP borrows some musical themes and ideas from "Mount Pleasant", so that link needs to be acknowledged.
The album titles, the music, and the artwork highlight progression and development. Just like we have developed as a band. Just like how the towns merged and became one. It's all intentional.
Anne: One track that stood out for me was "Autumn Mold". Do you want to tell me a bit more about it?
Andrew: That's my favourite too. Ryan originally shared the early workings of this track way back in 2021. Over the past few years, Ryan has constantly been nagging us about incorporating more acoustic guitar into our compositions. Being four sweaty dudes from the suburbs of Western Sydney who have a love for loud music drenched in reverb...it was going to be a hard sell. Ryan persisted, and we are so glad he did because he eventually won us over when that piano motif finally climaxes. Pure beauty.
Anne: How would you describe the current world situation from your point of view? How do you deal with it? What can we all do to make it more bearable for all of us?
"Each one of us should bring up a little light"
Andrew: It can be quite daunting scrolling through your phone and seeing what is happening around the world. It's scary.
What can we do? Small acts matter. Kindness, empathy, and solidarity go a long way. Support local initiatives, go for a walk, pet your dog, and create things that bring joy or provoke thought. If each of us brings even a little light, it adds up in ways we don't always see right away.
Anne: Will there be some Solkyri live shows soon?
Andrew: We don't have anything on the horizon. Always looking and always keen!
Anne: What are you working on right now?
Andrew: We are applying the final touches on album #4. It's very epic, and we cannot wait to share it with you all. It still has some way to go…!
Other than that, I'm getting ready to become a father for the first time. Which is exciting!
Anne: That is so exciting! Congratulations! How marvelous! I'm so happy for you!
See you in five years, Andrew. I'm kidding–I hope much, much earlier, of course! This brings me to my last question: Name a topic you wish to discuss in our next interview so I can prepare for it!
Andrew: Haha, I want you to ask me what it is like being a father and how do I juggle a job, a baby and a band! Because I would like to know!
Anne: OK, I've made a note of that. If someone tells me this secret first, I'll make sure to call you and share it with you! Once again: Thanks so much for talking to me and sharing precious insights about your music!
Andrew: Thank you for having me! It's been a real treat chatting with you. Let's do it again soon. Take care.
Check out my "Cranebrook" review now!
