Name: The Teskey Brothers
Nationality: Australian
Members: Josh Teskey (vocals), Sam Teskey (guitar)
Interviewee: Josh Teskey
Current release: The Teskey Brothers' new single "London Bridge" is out via Decca. Their full-length The Winding Way will follow on June 16th. To pre-order it, go here. They are also still on a UK & Europe tour. For tickets, visit their website.
Recommendations:
1. BB King live at the County Jail’.
2. ‘When A Man Loves A Women’ - Percy Sledge

If you enjoyed this Teskey Brothers interview and would like to stay up to date with the band and their music, visit their official website. They are also on Instagram, Facebook, and twitter.  



When I listen to music, I see shapes, objects and colours. What happens in your body when you're listening? Do you listen with your eyes open or closed?

I don’t often listen with my eyes closed unlike when I’m singing or making music.

I don’t see any shapes or images, but when I’m really touched by something I get goosebumps like physically on my skin.

What were your very first steps in music like - and how do you rate gains made through experience versus the naiveté of those first steps?

Music and singing is something I’ve always done since I was a kid or since 12 years old at least - at first busking most weekends, to then gigging most weekends right up to this day.

The growth has been slow and steady, each year or so developing in different ways.

According to scientific studies, we make our deepest and most incisive musical experiences between the ages of 13-16. What did music meant to you at that age and what’s changed since then?

I think I can remember being really, truly engulfed in pieces of music back then. Listening to things on repeat, feeling very touched by things.

I still do, but there was something truly beautiful about those experiences of that time.

Over the course of your development, what have been your most important instruments and tools and how have they shaped your perspective on music?

Voice has been my main tool over the years.

I love developing as a singer, I’m constantly making new discoveries and working out the mysteries of my chords and working out how to keep them fit.

What, would you say, are the key ideas behind your approach to music and what motivates you to create?

The simple answer for me here is all music. I love listening to it and asking the question ‘can this go on in the background and set a great mood to the room?’ The kinda stuff I’d feel proud to put on in the background with some dinner with friends.

When I listen back to something that I’ve made I always try to give it that test: Ddoes this sounds like something I’d listen to?

Paul Simon said “the way that I listen to my own records is not for the chords or the lyrics – my first impression is of the overall sound.” What’s your own take on that and how would you define your personal sound?

I would I agree. I like to hear things that I’ve made to be timeless, and just feel and sound right.

Sound, song, and rhythm are all around us, from animal noises to the waves of the ocean. What, if any, are some of the most moving experiences you’ve had with these non-human-made sounds? In how far would you describe them as “musical”?

Australian bird song has always been a background to my life. The sound of a laughing kookaburra will always bring a smile to my face, or a magpie song.

I’ve always lived among the gum trees and their sound has always made its way into many voice memos and recording when creating.

From very deep/high/loud/quiet sounds to very long/short/simple/complex compositions – are there extremes in music you feel drawn to and what response do they elicit?

I’ve always loved hearing singers push the boundaries. When I hear a vocalist killing it in any way that can totally bring on the goose bumps.

From symphonies and traditional verse/chorus-songs to linear techno tracks and free jazz, there are myriads ways to structure a piece of music. Which approaches work best for you – and why?

Lyrically I’ve mostly always started with a chorus line. From there I try to work out what the subject of this song is and go from there to work out more lyrics.

As for as the structure and music I try to feel and hear what feels right and what this individual song needs.

Could you describe your creative process on the basis of one of your pieces, live performances or albums that's particularly dear to you, please?

Some of the most fun songs to write have been what I would call the easy-going songs. It just lands on you somehow and then the whole track is written before you know it. An example of this would be ‘Forever You and Me’.



We were just sitting around camping and I had rush of inspiration. I jotted down all the lyrics in minutes, and not too much changed from that moment.

This is not always the case though, some songs take years!

Sometimes, science and art converge in unexpected ways. Do you conduct “experiments” or make use of scientific insights when you're making music?

Don’t do any experiments as such. But what I do know, is that when I go long stretches of time without playing live or singing, it effects my life massively.

It’s certainly something that I need.

How does the way you make music reflect the way you live your life? Can we learn lessons about life by understanding music on a deeper level?

I feel like I can get quite obsessive over many things in my life. When I get into something, I find it hard to think about anything else. This is the way I make music, whether it be writing a song, recording a song or performing I put everything into it, I get transported.

This is the way I live life. I let it take me.

Do you feel as though writing or performing a piece of music is inherently different from something like making a great cup of coffee? What do you express through music that you couldn't or wouldn't in more 'mundane' tasks?

Very different for me. When I sing live, it’s like it takes every part of me into a different place. The nerves and adrenalin are a full body experience. It takes it out of me, but I love it!

Writing on the other hand is much more mathematical. I think of songs kinda like puzzles that just piece together. Although sometimes it’s hard to find all the pieces.

Every time I listen to "Albedo 0.39" by Vangelis, I choke up. But the lyrics are made up of nothing but numbers and values. Do you, too, have a song or piece of music that affects you in a way that you can't explain?

For sure, some of the simplest songs touch like no other. It’s hard to explain what it is.

An example for me is Wilson Picket singing ‘I’m In Love’. When I look into these lyrics, I think there nothing to it - but I love it!



If you could make a wish for the future – what are developments in music you would like to see and hear?

If I can keep on writing and singing the way I have been, I’ll be very happy.

Sometimes I think “How I can keep this standard up?” I hope I can.