Comfort IN Shade With MATT OLIVER From SYSTEMATIC MACHINE

Interview by Kris Peters
While the lure of the tropical lifestyle of the Whitsundays is
something few people can resist, there is a potential downside to
living in the tropics.
Especially if you play in an original band with aspirations of
taking your music to the masses.
Case in point is Mackay rock outfit Systematic Machine who are on
the cusp of dropping their new single Sunburn.
Heavily influenced by grunge and alternative stylings, Systematic
Machine are a band who has been on HEAVY's radar for a number of
years but have yet to be fully seduced by the bright lights and
opportunities offered by the bigger cities.
Content to reside in their piece of paradise, Systematic Machine
are highly active in the local region scene, working closely with
bands like InEffigy to try to bring bands and music to them, not
just the other way around.
With two upcoming shows - in Bundaberg on October 21 and Mackay on
October 27 - as well as a recent supporting slot to Everclear in
Townsville, Systematic Machine are highly proactive in their quest
for an even playing field and one senses it is only a matter of
when, not if, the music industry comes knocking more firmly.
HEAVY caught up with rhythm guitarist/vocals Matt Oliver to find
out how the boys plan to conquer geography by getting their music
heard, starting with their new track Sunburn.
"For this one we're really trying to hit that… we've been getting
our sound in over the last couple of years," he measured, "and we
settled on this grunge/alternative aesthetic reminiscent of
Incubus, Smashing Pumpkins and a little bit of Deftones thrown in
there. Sunburn was probably the first full band collaborative
effort. I've pretty much written most of the songs up to this
point, so it was good to get input from everyone else in the band
and their influences. It culminated in this really great song that
stands on its own merits and is fun to listen to."
When the song is premiered on October 13 via HEAVY, it will do so
with only a lyric video for the time being following the late
cancellation of the proposed video shoot.
"We were filming," Oliver laughed. "We got the first third of it
filmed, and there's another section with some skateboarding and
some other things. The day before I was meant to do that I sprained
my ankle, so I was unfortunately unable to do any sort of
activities. It's coming good now, so we're gonna be filming that
next week and hopefully the music video should be out by the end of
the month. In the meantime I have thrown together this sketchy as
fuck lyric video (laughs)."
In the full interview, Matt talks more about what to expect from
Sunburn, how it differs to previous single Billy, whether those two
songs are part of a bigger musical picture or stand-alone releases,
the plan to release up to two more singles before the end of the
year, challenges faced by original bands outside of the capital
cities, their two upcoming shows, supporting Everclear and
more.
SUNBURN PREMIERES VIA HEAVY AT 8am, October 13