Opening the door to a neon-soaked room where synths plucked straight from the ‘80s reverberate from every wall, Tungz offer up the visual for the dance floor anthem our Autumn party playlists have been yearning, “Always”. Tickling our eardrums with seductive reverbs and honey-suckled vocals, the four-piece lament the untraceable nature of time — accepting the brutal fact that we ‘are not always gonna be around’. Taking these dark motifs and burying them under a swelling melody that sparkles between every bar, the inescapable charm of Tungz and their optimistic matter-of-fact approach to storytelling coaxes audiences into a state of willing acceptance and blissful escapism simultaneously.
“‘Always’ is about coming to terms with impermanence. Sometimes people, places or moments are meant to just be in your life for a little while – no matter how much you want them to stick around things tend not to last forever. We wrote and recorded this between home and our studio in the docks of east London. Walking around the harbour there gave us a real Bristol feeling. I imagine that crept into the song somehow. Maybe it reflects the sadness we felt when we came back there on tour and found out Luna pizza was permanently closed. Or maybe the joy when we came back later and found out it was actually still open,” Tungz affirm.
A perfect unity of their ‘80s funk, Jai Paul and ABBA influences, the music video for “Always” ensures the band’s psychedelic swagger remains the main character. To celebrate its release, we spoke with Tungz to gain further insight in the tracks meaning, the inspiration behind the video and what is next to come.
Head below to stream the track and for the full interview now…
Hey Tungz! How are you doing?
Jamie: Experiencing the familiar mix of mild anxiety and incredible excitement that comes from putting each new release into the world.
Nicky: Pretty good, thanks.
Talk us through where we’re chatting to you from today.
J: From all over. From glamorous Paris to the glamorous Isle of Wight. We’re straddling the channel in an intensely glamorous way.
As a Bristolian band, how has where you come from influenced the work you make or your approach to it?
J: Bristol has a crazy live music scene, which is where we existed as a band before anywhere else. Because of those beginnings, that’s really what music is to us, playing live. When we’re writing we’ll often ask ourselves if what we’re making is dancy enough, how it’ll go down with a crowd. I like to think the crowds we’re imagining are Bristol crowds.
Congratulations on “Always”, it’s an irresistible track! Not only is it catchy, but the production really shines through, from the first synth chords you hear. Can you unpack the process of making the track? What came first?
N: Thanks so much, too kind. For a long time it was just a loop of the verse and chorus chords over and over again played on my synth along to a drum pattern I made. (Basically those first synth chords you’re talking about). The chorus melody came from me repeating the last word of the verse echoing it on into the chorus chords. Singing the “more” of ”All I want and more” over and over again gave me the first melody of the chorus.
The lyrical theme explores impermanence, can you talk us through how that became a focus in your writing?
N: I’ve never been good at accepting the ends of things. My relationships weren’t sticking around long, people were coming and going from my life, we’d moved out of Bristol. There was a lot of change happening in my life. So I framed this song around the story of a breakup and in a way by singing the chorus I was forcing myself to accept that things change and life goes on.
Impermanence in life, as you touch on in the track, can be hard to get your head around even once you acknowledge its existence. Has the writing process affected your own relationship with that aspect of life?
N: I think I’ll always be holding on to the moments I love in life but at least now I have a song I can listen to whenever I wanna get over something.
We love the video for “Always” too! You had a bit more budget for this one, can you tell us how you find making it?
J: Reaaaaally interesting. On all of our videos up to this point we’ve done pretty much everything ourselves. We love them very much, and think they’re maybe the purest expression we have of who we are as a band. But there’s only so much we’re able to achieve with a Sony Handicam. Luckily we were able to find a director (Hector Melville) team who could keep that sense of who we are while also making it look goddamn amazing. It’s also probably the least hard we personally have ever had to work on a video, which is a plus.
In terms of the video’s themes, it captures you in contrasting mid-party and post-party settings. How did you come to use that analogy to convey the track’s themes?
J: What’s a better reminder of the fact that everything ends than being the last people left after the party is over? A post party scenario has its own kinda grubby appeal too though, so maybe there’s a lesson in there about how as one thing ends another begins. But then that’s gonna end at some point too so…
Your musical influences are eclectic, including Jai Paul, ABBA and 80s synth funk. If each member of the band could pick one track to go onto a compilation EP of your favourite tracks ever, what would be on there?
Rick – Sign “O” The Times, Prince
Ollie – Didn’t Cha Know – Erykah Badu
Jamie – Queen of Denmark, John Grant
Nicky – Honey From The Jar, Herbie Hancock
What a weird EP.
Finally, what would you love to achieve before 2022 is out?
N: We’re running a string of our own parties around the country (and maybe other countries?) to play at alongside DJs and friends, take it back to our roots and to put the music in the right context. Hoping to get away from the headline show promoter factory that new bands get funnelled through. We want to use these nights to put on women, non binary musicians, basically not just more white dudes like us and to build a community around the music that feels real and connected. Keep your eyes peeled for announcements first one is in London 21st October.
J: When I was younger I dreamed that I would become rich enough to pay a team of scientists to build me these massive silver wings which would enable me to fly high above the world, doing as I pleased. So yeah still angling for that. Quite a lot to get done before the end of the year but I’m cautiously optimistic.
