Equal parts cinema and grit, rock and ambience, euphoria and philosophy, Eagle Eye Jones invite you into their world of disturbing troughs and triumphant peaks.
On the cusp of their latest single ‘New Growth’, Eagle Eye Jones continue to solidify themselves as a group of eclectic possibility. The five-piece dance on the dagger between mainstream and art rock compositions, and have carved out a dedicated fanbase in the Australian scene and beyond.
New Growth is a canopy of entropy, a love letter to humanity. A narrative that is the intimate, interwoven story of five friends. A song of love and dislocation, triumph and desperation, life and death.
Can you tell us the origin story for Eagle Eye Jones?
About five or six years ago, Toby and Luke met after a Black Sabbath concert and started playing guitar together near the Manly Wharf. They invited their friends Dylan and Jason to start a band and Eagle Eye Jones was born.
Fast forward two years and Jamin took Toby’s job at a local Manly cafe after Toby had moved to London for three months. They started chatting and before you know it Eagle Eye Jones was the five-piece that it is today — a lot of our early days were formed on the streets of Manly.
During the process of writing music, what is the most enjoyable aspect and what do you find most challenging?
It’s always the same thing, which is hunting for those moments where everyone in the room feels this great release or this moment of finding the energy that we are always looking for. When a particular section or something we have been trying to get right just comes together, it’s pretty magic.
Sometimes it happens instantly, other times it takes a lot of work — and when it’s taking a lot of work it can be the most challenging but often the most rewarding. If we see or hear something of worth in a song, we will pursue it to through fire to its final form.
Disagreements are actually a really important part of the process, they usually give way to better ideas.
What is the most positive thing about the Northern Beaches creative scene and what impact does it have on your artistic output?
Having a really supporting community is definitely our favourite thing about the Northern Beaches Creative scene. With how many bands and artists have come out of the beaches, it’s so easy to chat and collaborate with people more experienced than us and it feels so good having that community to depend on.
The Moonshine will be mourned for ever by those of us who remember. It was a real stronghold for music here. It was dirty and dingy and always packed to the rafters. There was always bands playing and always people dancing and cutting loose, Thursday to Sunday. We met Ocean Alley and Lime Cordiale there when they were rising and it was super inspiring.
It’s almost like a dream to remember that place in this recovering world.
Tell us why you wanted to be a Creative Open Ambassador for 2023? What do you like about the program?
We have worked with the Council on events, such as Taste Of Manly and Play Manly, in the past and have always had such a good time playing these shows. So having an opportunity to represent our band through this Ambassador program just seemed like a great way to continue our relationship with the Council.
Can you tell us about any upcoming work or projects you have on for 2023/2024?
Yes, we have a debut album being released on 9 June and a tour to follow shortly. After that, we’ll probably be taking some time off after our tour before jumping into more writing and shows over summer 23/24.
What are your short and long term goals as an artist/s?
We would love to play in Japan and Europe as we’ve always been drawn to those places and cultures. We are already very excited to record another album. We really enjoy recording and getting lost in the endless realms of experimentation that you often are in during studio time.