GRAN SLOW TURISMO IAN MCCARTHY SLOW TURISMO are one of those bands that fill you with an immeasurable amount of civic pride, and one of those bands for whom no amount of success would be undeserved. Big call, I know – but any Canberra scenester will tell you that brothers Sam, Max, and Riley Conway and their childhood friend Louis Montgomery have been slowly building the foundations of Slow Turismo for the better part of a decade (Google ‘Rubycon’, I dare you). Well all of that time and hard work is starting to pay off, with an infantry of blissfully intricate indie-pop tunes and some of the tightest, most fun live performances you’re likely to come across in the capital. I caught up with the band earlier this week, to discuss the excitement surrounding their upcoming EP release. In some ways, the manner in which the band discuss their development makes their success seem almost pre-destined. Speaking about some of their earlier musical memories, Sam – the oldest brother – said, “For us, it sort of felt pretty smooth, to be honest. I mean obviously me, Max and Riley have been playing together for ages. I mean, [Max and I] used to busk a lot. When we
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started getting a little too old and earning less money, we were just less cute, so we got this little guy [Riley] to just sit in the middle. He was tiny. He was four I think when we started getting him, and he sat in the middle just like smiling, slapping some bongos.”
We’re all pretty committed to not doing what is initially obvious
Adding to the humorous back-story, Sam goes on to divulge some more embarrassing memories of Louis and Max. “They used to play in the most hilarious screamo metal bands in high school and college. Lou – at one point I remember in high school – was playing to like assembly or something weird… and they would actually like touch necks while they were soloing.” Now, a few years on, their tastes and ambitions have obviously changed significantly. As Louis put it, “I think we’re all pretty committed to not doing what is initially obvious. Whenever it gets to a point where it’s like, ‘Well, certainly it could go here,’ we’ll do our best to make sure it goes to something completely unexpected.” That’s a mentality that seems to translate into the business side of things as well, with the band getting ready to release their first EP in a quirkier format than usual. Sam explains, “We looked into doing CDs and we were really close. We got the artwork and… it was really cool, and not actually to specs of CDs,” he says. “And then just the more we thought about it, apart from having something physical to sell at a show, CDs don’t really offer much these days… and then we were like ‘Maybe we can just sell these as like prints’.” Slow Turismo will launch their new EP at the White Eagle Polish Club on Saturday August 8. Tickets at the door will be $12, $10 concession, or $8 for CMC Members.
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