meet palto guise

New local 5-piece band from the Illawarra’s northern suburbs release debut single

Words Emma Smith

Born and bred in the Northern Suburbs of the Illawarra, brand new local five-piece Palto Guise are busting to get on stage and celebrate the release of their debut single Figure It Out! Their atmospheric music has a solid rock backbeat and smooth indie vocals that will get you off your feet. We spoke to Ben (guitar and vocals) and Haydin (guitar) about their new single, how people can support local bands during these trying times and the local venues they’re most keen to play at once this lockdown ends. If these boys aren’t already on your radar, they should be!

You’re all Wollongong northern suburbs boys – how did you all meet?
Haydin: Ben, Callum and I all went through high school together and we’ve been mates since Year 7. We came across Zac through some school music programs and clicked with him straightaway. When we started our old band towards the end of high school, he was the first person we asked when we were looking for a keyboard player and he was keen to get involved. We found Jack when we were looking for a drummer for an old project and he slotted in perfectly.

We had mostly let the old project die out due to life commitments at the time, however, Ben and I continued to write music and eventually decided it was time to start up a new project. Jack and Zac were keen to jump onboard, so all that was left was to find a bassist. That’s when we decided to get in touch with Callum and despite not having played bass in about five years, he picked everything up super quick. We could finally flesh out the songs Ben and I had been writing for over a year and that’s how Palto Guise was born.

You were the opening act for fellow local band The Terrys back in April at Beaches Hotel in Thirroul! What’s the connection to the Terrys and what was it like playing alongside them?

Ben: A few of us have played on line-ups with Cameron (Terrys drummer) in other bands before, so when we were asked to play with them we were super keen. It was great to play on the show with them, especially watching the way they get the crowd involved. So exciting to see the success they’ve had this year and keen to see what they’ve got planned for the future.

How would you describe your sound?
Ben: We always find this the hardest question to answer. We have a bunch of stuff thrown in the mix, from funk to indie to hardcore influences, which we reckon makes it a bit more interesting! Generally, we like making ambient/atmospheric music with a solid rock backbeat and smooth indie vocals.

Palto Guise Debut single Figure It Out — Palto Guise Debut single *Figure It Out*

You dropped your debut single Figure It Out on August 26. What is the song about?
Ben: Figure It Out is about the inevitable ebb and flow of relationships, whether it’s romantic, friendships or family. It speaks to the struggles and barriers faced when you lose the ability to communicate thoughts and needs to each other. While it sucks, everyone faces these kinds of things at some point in their life and these situations act as a learning experience for the future. In saying that, I’ve always liked listening to lyrics that can be interpreted in different ways depending on personal context, so I like to emulate this when I write lyrics. I’d encourage everyone to create their own meaning from the song on top of the message I’m conveying. I personally believe that’s one of the sickest things about music.

The song is produced by Jack Nigro, who has an impressive portfolio of work. He’s worked alongside some real talent in the industry including Pacific Avenue, DMA’s and Middle Kids. What was it like working with Jack?
Ben: Jack’s an absolute legend. He’s the perfect balance between a guru of banter and a focused, talented studio engineer. It’s great working with someone who has a ton of experience with the big names you’ve mentioned. We’re super happy with what he’s done with the track and we’re keen to work with him again.

What has the response been to the single so far?
Haydin: The response has been awesome. It’s great seeing so many people we know hitting us up to tell us they are enjoying it, and even better seeing people we don’t know giving it a spin, too! We’ve also been chucked in some industry playlists, had some other bands share it around and had an article written on the song which we’re super happy about.

Launching a band during a global pandemic is no easy feat. How have the lockdowns impacted your ability to rehearse and record?
Haydin: The lockdowns last year really put a major hold on all our plans to get up and running. It wasn’t all bad though, as we had tons of time to refine our tracks together once the lockdowns started to ease. I must say though, this current lockdown has been much more frustrating. Aside from Ben and I (we live together), the boys haven’t all been in the same room since May, and we’ve had to work on ideas separately. Thankfully, we own some amateur recording equipment meaning we could still hash out demos and keep the other boys updated, though it definitely hasn’t been optimal. Studio-wise, we were supposed to have a session booked back in late June that ended up being pushed back to November, so we’re stoked that it’s looking likely that’ll go ahead. It’s lucky we’re patient!

What is your creative process like?
Ben: It can vary a lot depending on the song, but since we’ve spent more time in lockdown than out of it since Palto first started we’ve developed a system. Haydin and I live together, so usually one of us will come up with some chords or lyrics or a melody then show the other person and it’ll evolve from there. Once we’ve got the groundwork figured out (pun intended) we bring it to the band and add their parts and ideas and it usually snowballs from there.

In saying that though, we do also love creating songs from interesting stuff we’ve jammed together and forming them into fully fleshed out songs. Each song seems to have its own way of coming together.

What local venue are you most keen to play at once lockdown ends?
Haydin: Love the vibe at The Shy Postie in Wollongong and am keen to get on stage there. We were meant to play Ryan’s Hotel in August but the gig was cancelled due to lockdowns. We’re working to reschedule it so we can have a proper celebration for the release of Figure It Out.

What artists are in your Spotify playlist at the moment?
Ben: We all listen to a ton of different stuff, from lofi house, to hardcore, to Aus rap, to psytrance and of course indie rock to name a few. At the moment we’ve really been pumping artists like Billie Eilish, Mako Road, Nerve, Northlane, Loose Bricks, Vulpeck & Bring Me The Horizon. Always adding new artists in as we come across them.

How can people support local bands like yourself during this trying time?
Haydin: The best and easiest way to support local bands is to stream their music. Throwing it in your playlists and sharing it with people you know actually goes a long way. Buying and wearing band merch is another solid way to support them.

What’s next for Palto Guise?
Haydin: There’s so much ambiguity in the world at the moment but one thing you can be sure of is new music. Can’t give any dates yet, but it’s in the works. While we’re still in lockdown we’re planning to upload some acoustic videos to keep things interesting, and we may or may not have some merch in the works. After lockdown we’ll be making the most of the ability to get on stage and play music to people, we’ve been craving it for a while now!

Dreaming big – what is the ultimate career goal of the band?
Ben: It sounds cliched as, but the ultimate goal is to be able to travel the world playing our music to people from different cultures and seeing and experiencing all that comes with it. Being able to live off music would be a dream come true.

Haydin: Touring the world would definitely be our ultimate goal. Though in the shorter term, personally I’ve always wanted to play the sunset set at a festival and watch day turn to night. Those moments always feel super special even when I’m just standing in the audience. I’d love to be able to jump on a touring festival like Groovin the Moo, but ultimately just being able to play music is enough.