After originally breaking through with their stunning initial offerings 'WALKIN'' and 'Nothing At All' back in 2019, Australian outfit Honeydrip now make their long-awaited return as they deliver their vibrant comeback single 'O.T.F. (On The Floor)'.
Bringing back more of that fun and fresh funk-inspired aesthetic they are known for, 'O.T.F. (On The Floor)' makes for an incredibly bright and infectious return to form. With its bold and bouncing flavours, shimmering atmosphere, and killer hooks layered throughout, they are returning to the fold with one of their most impactful cuts to date here.
So with the new single available to stream now, we sat down with them to find out more about their origins and what has inspired them most over the years.
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What was the first instrument you fell in love with?
ELLIOTT: Piano. The versatility, dynamic range and accessibility grabbed me right from the out-set. I started off taking super cute group classes at a Yamaha Music School outlet at age 4 1/2 years old with other preschoolers and their mums and then transitioned into formal classical lessons at 6 years old across piano and music theory. I ventured into jazz ensembles and improvisation throughout high school, where I briefly picked up an alto saxophone but never mastered it. I later studied composing at university, jumped into a rock band and fell in love with writing, arranging, producing & performing songs. A piano has never been far from me since.
RYAN: First instrument I fell in love with was piano. Started lessons when I was 10 and managed to get pretty decent. But with the combination of ADHD and an unbelievably boring teacher, I lost interest. Wasn't until late high-school when I found singing, fell head over heels with it and never looked back.
CODY: I had a brief stint playing percussion for the school band in primary school. I quickly realised it wasn't for me and didn't consider myself musically inclined until my friends wanted to form a band in Year 9. They needed a singer/rhythm guitarist for an alternative reggae outfit. To put it mildly, singing was certainly not my forte, but I became incredibly attached to the guitar.
JOSH: Despite not being my first, the bass caught my eye from a young age and became the first instrument I fell in love with playing in a high school band.
What kind of music did you love when you were younger?
ELLIOTT: Super diverse. At first, it was dense, guitar-driven alt-rock for me; the wall of sound on Green Day’s American Idiot and Good Charlotte’s angsty epic The Chronicles of Life and Death. I also remember loving everything from Gorillaz to OutKast. My parents introduced me to a wide range of sounds too. Dad had me listening to the sweeping orchestras on Nat King Cole and Frank Sinatra records, with the poetic grit of New York art-rock on Billy Joel’s The Stranger. Mum was my introduction to classic disco: Earth, Wind & Fire, CHIC, Kool & The Gang and Hot Chocolate. She grew up in the Caribbean during the ‘70s, so she also had me listening to Calypso too. I’ll never forget car rides with Mighty Sparrow’s Congo Man blasting on full volume. A Trinidadian icon fit for a dance-floor.
RYAN: Around 12 I absolutely loved Creed to be honest haha… but I loved pop too - Brittany Spears, a bit of Rick Martin, The Backstreet Boys, S Club 7. I also rocked a little Smash Mouth and Blink-182 when the mood called for it.
CODY: I grew up with my mum playing contemporary Thai pop, and my dad being more inclined towards heavy metal and rock. Upon reflection, a hallmark of those two genres seems to be blistering, and slightly obnoxious guitar solos, so it certainly had a subconscious effect on me.
JOSH: I never really loved music when I was younger. It wasn’t until I looked further than the popular music I was hearing in the car on family road trips that I ended up frothing jazz fusion from the ‘70s.
What was the first album you remember owning?
ELLIOTT: 50 Cent’s Get Rich or Die Tryin’. A friend handed me the CD in our primary school playground at Newtown North Public in 2004 with a twinkle in his eyes. I didn’t actually listen to it properly until years later, long after CDs went out of style. Dr. Dre’s production is nothing short of cinematic and 50’s flow is just ferocious and impassioned. One of the first albums that I actually listened to full-length at a young age would have been Monkey Business by The Black Eyed Peas.
RYAN: The single greatest collection of music known to man - Shrek: The Soundtrack. Honourable mentions: anything from Smashmouth, Counting Crows or Joan Jett. Come on now!
CODY: I ashamedly have to confess I was a bit of a pirate when I was a kid. Though, the Gun N' Roses Best Of compilation was the first long recording I vividly remember listening front-to-back, repeatedly.
JOSH: First physical album I ever owned was King Krule’s 6ft Beneath The Moon on Vinyl. Such a cool combination of genres in his music.
What is the one song you wished you could have written yourself?
ELLIOTT: A close show-down between 3x all-time musical masterpieces: Somebody to Love by Queen, Untitled (How Does it Feel) by D’Angelo or anything that Quincy Jones and his Killer Q Posse cooked up across the legendary Michael Jackson albums Off The Wall and Thriller. Honourable mentions would go to Dreamgirls: The Musical soundtrack, composed by Henry Krieger, Jamiroquai’s dance anthems and the raw, heartfelt songs of Jonathan Larson.
RYAN: Untitled (How Does it Feel) - D’Angelo, Claire De Lune by Claude Debussy or The Circle of Life from The Lion King by Hans Zimmer, Elton John, Tim Rice and Lebohang Morake.
CODY: Honestly, if I can reach a musical calibre where I can comfortably write Japanese city pop tracks I will have considered myself an accomplished musician. STAY BY ME by Anri is a particularly gorgeous song. Writing the entire 'Silk Sonic' album would be a truly otherworldly feat.
JOSH: There are literally so many making it impossible to choose, lets just say ‘Good Times’ by Chic.
Do you have any habits or rituals you go through when trying to write new music?
ELLIOTT: Yes and No. I can be really neurotic about my process and have to lock myself away from the world at a piano and computer for a while to laser focus on a meticulous, scrupulous process. In other instances, I can love the undisciplined pandemonium of a jam session - just chasing your impulses at will… I wonder where this will go? Either way, my process will end up with me blocking out a rough structural arrangement for a song or section of a song on my own. I often start with a Chorus and work backwards to “figure out” how the rest of a tune gets there. And then there’s those special moments: when the inspiration of a real, lived experience moves me so deeply that a song emerged fully formed in my head. It’s rare but it does happen. Produces my best music every time.
RYAN: I'll usually find some sort of chord progression and just improvise on top until a line or melody makes me go "OooOooo". I try not to think about it too much and just jam.
CODY: I feel like most of what I write tends to be a funk-filled Frankenstein of all my favourite motifs, ideas, and structural organisations in songs. Almost an eclectic plagiarism, but 'creative inspiration' is a gentler euphemism.
JOSH: Probably just sink a few beers.
Who are your favourite artists you have found yourself listening to at the moment?
ELLIOTT: I’m a big fan of what Harry Styles has accomplished on Harry’s House. I’m equally in love with the music of Dua Lipa on Future Nostalgia and Lizzo’s Cuz I Love You. Dr. Dre’s album Compton from 2015 is another straight-up masterpiece in production and arrangement from the king himself. I’m also obsessed with everything that P.J. Morton does. I love A Written Testimony by Jay Electronica, with some of the best Jay-Z features I’ve heard in years. Loved Adele’s album 30. Special shout-out to growing Australian hip-hop star Tasman Keith for A Colour Undone - phenomenal album.
CODY: Cory Wong will always be an undeniable staple in my musical diet, but Japanese city pop artists (Mariya Takeuchi, Yurie Kokobu), BSSM era Peppers, Silk Sonic, and disco (Jamiroquai, Chic) are also sprinkled in there.
RYAN: D'Angelo (always), Silk Sonic and some Portuguese music (I’m there at the moment).
JOSH: KAYTRANADA, The Love Unlimited Orchestra & CASIOPEA.
If you could open a show for anyone in the world, who would it be?
ELLIOTT: Bruno Mars. His live show in Sydney was hands down the greatest production and performance I’ve ever seen, on all fronts. World class.
RYAN: Silk Sonic baby, my god that would be a match made in funk heaven. Have a Lil jam backstage, possibly join them for a song or two - oooft!
CODY: I’d be split between Cory Wong, Silk Sonic, and the Red Hot Chilli Peppers. If I had to land on one, probably Silk Sonic.
JOSH: The Red Hot Chilli Peppers
What do you find is the most rewarding part about being a musician?
ELLIOTT: The autonomy to live life on your own terms and share your uncompromisingly original voice with the world. The chance to move people so deeply and open their mind that you might change their life forever. The thrill of performing to a live crowd at a sold-out venue is still second to no other feeling in life too.
RYAN: The fact that by doing the thing I love most in this world I can make a crowd of people feel fantastic. I can't begin to describe how fun it is and how good it feels. When I'm onstage doing my thing, it feels like every molecule in my body is exactly where it's supposed to be. Very few experiences can top it.
CODY: There isn't a feeling that compares to creating an idea and seeing it executed. The nervous energy of explaining an idea, fumbling over its execution, and culminating towards this inspiring zephyr of seeing your band mates dig an idea and thinking: 'Hey... we created this!'
JOSH: Friendships formed through a love for music both in my band mates, other musicians, and listeners are invaluable. The invigorating feeling of playing music, whether it be in a rehearsal or on a stage tops. It’s like a drug.
And what is the most frustrating part?
ELLIOTT: Don’t get me started on the hustle and grind of trying to make a living. Worse yet, the constant logistical headaches as a bandleader - trying to delegate, schedule and execute countless administrative tasks on behalf of a group. Finally, more than anything else, the occasional loneliness you can feel as an artist when most of the world will never really understand what you’re fighting for.
RYAN: The industry. The hustle, grind and business of trying to get your music heard by as many people as possible. Douchey sound technicians at live venues that have a shit attitude. Musicians with egos and chips on their shoulders. The bureaucracy of radio and streaming platforms. And last but not least, when my guitar falls off its fucking strap halfway through a set.
CODY: The writing process can present the most palpable frustrations. I suppose it's equivalent to birthing a child (not that I can relate in any way)... a period of intense pain and frustration leading to the inception of something beautiful. And eventually, that beautiful thing will start grating on you and you want to create another.
JOSH: Money
And what is the best piece of advice you have received as a musician?
ELLIOTT: “Your music can never be more or less than you are as human being” - Nadia Boulanger to Quincy Jones
RYAN: "You have every chance at failing at what you don't want to do, so why not try to succeed at what you do want to do?” - Jim Carrey
CODY: The best pieces of advice I've received have certainly been non verbal. There's so much to be gathered by simply watching people play. I resonate with watching players who feel every note.
JOSH: Enjoy music now, don’t look too far into the future.
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Honeydrip's new single 'O.T.F. (On The Floor)' is available to stream now. Check it out in the player below.