Alpine
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Alpine

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If they survive the heat, they will return to Melbourne covered in glory for Spray N  Wipe at The Espy. They’re looking forward to bringing a slightly changed Alpine to the show, in a good way. “I totally feel like we have [changed], just in the way we perform. I know it’s only been a couple of weeks but it feels like months!” The development of their live performance style comes down to experience and the influence of their US tour director, helping them connect with the US crowds. “It’s been fun identifying with the crowd and really looking people in the eye.

“The show in Melbourne is actually on the same day we fly out of New York,” they say. So they’ll be fresh off a 16 hour flight “ready to have some fun.” Sounds crazy, but that type of preparation is becoming more normal for them. “We’re getting used to doing crazy stuff like that, it’s a lot of hard work, but you just have to really try and get lost in the performance.”

Watching Crystal Fighters probably didn’t do any harm either. They talk about the Crystal Fighters live show with enthusiasm, saying it is packed with “almost tribal” energy. “They’re mental, they remind us of Jinja Safari a bit.” One thing Alpine have not been digging is the 14 hour road trips, but they think it’s hilarious that they’ve been trailing after the Crystal Fighters bus in their smaller “little brother bus.”

The Alpine train has been steadily growing in size and gathering momentum for a while now. They recently were named the iTunes Australian alternative band of the year, so the stack of accolades is growing higher. While they’re happy with the props and incredibly grateful for their success so far, they are staying focused. “We’re taking things one step at a time, because, all that stuff is nice but it might not always be like that. We have a good work ethic, so we’ll just keep working hard. We just want to really enjoy being here, make the most of it.”

Reflecting, they admit it’s been a “completely surreal experience”. Before the release of A Is For Alpine, their first album and first release since the Zurich EP, they tried to have no expectations. If that’s the case, all the success must be overwhelming by this point.

The US has welcomed them with open arms, the crowd really going crazy, singing the lyrics. “They’re wicked. One guy saw the show and was like, ‘Okay, my job sucks – I’m just going to come to like five of your shows’. So we put him on the ticket and he did, follow us around for a while. Not in a weird way, he was just a nice, salt of the earth type guy.” The variety of people, not just in the US, but within the shows has stood out. “There are people in the crowd from 18, to like, 60-year-old ladies!” 

The Alpine live experience is different to what you might expect. “When you hear our music, I think people sort of expect us have this pretty sort of style, then they’re surprised when they see us live.” They certainly do have a surgical sound. It’s an endearing quality in indie-pop, it sounds Scandinavian, a little like The Whitest Boy Alive. Apparently, that sound does not come from the authoritarian approach. Unlike James Brown, who famously punched a trumpeter with his own trumpet for getting out of line, they have more of a team philosophy when it comes to making music. “We’re great friends, we’re all pretty easy going, sometimes we piss each other off but we get over it.”

BY SEAN MELROSE-AUKEMA