Aussie four-piece Approachable Members Of Your Local Community (aka AMOYLC) are set to release their debut EP Love Thy Neighbour this Valentine's Day through AntiFragile. They speak to us about their career journey so far, and we listen to their latest single release 'Small Change'.

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For those who may be new to your music, how best would you describe your sound?

We make synth-driven indie pop music. We focus on writing catchy, anthemic songs with big hooks and lyrics that stick in your head. It all turns out to be a blend of funky chords, groove and melodies that change your perspective on life itself. 

What challenges have you faced in the music industry so far?

So far our time in the industry has brought with it some quite considerable challenges. The biggest challenges for us have been facing things for the first time. We find that in the industry there are a lot of these 'first times': First time in the studio, first time playing a show, first time meeting with a record label, first time supporting a band, first time travelling interstate. Doing something for the first time demands an incredible amount of risk and discomfort but looking back, each new experience has been incredibly rewarding and unforgettable.

Alongside touring and producing new music, we also have lives and careers that haven't stopped as well. It's been one big balancing act, and we're doing our best to keep all the balls in the air.

How difficult would you say this career path is in terms of making a name for yourself?

There's certainly no straightforward pathway to getting your name out there. There are truly so many incredible young and emerging artists who are creating phenomenal music, and building deep and meaningful connections with listeners around the world. What we think is really important is getting weird, being ourselves, and persistence. Seemingly nothing in the industry happens overnight - it all instead asks for tireless work. Our name is obviously and literally very long, and we think it is a symbol for everything we want the band to stand for. We hope our name is being made as a band that embraces collaboration, community and inclusion.

How important is it for you to have creative control over the work you produce?

We have found that it is crucial for us to be really involved in the writing, recording and production for all of our work. We have always independently written our own music as a band and this has never changed. Additionally, over time we have regained more and more control over production and recording of our music. In our early stages, production was a great unknown, so we put trust in producers to record and create sounds for our records. Overtime and as we have gained more experience, we have begun recording and producing our songs ourselves, which has allowed us to really push our sound further. But the work we produce isn't only music - we take pride in being able to create a significant amount of our own content such as photos, videos and other visual media that we share online. In general, it is a big mix of collaboration and creativity, with us as the band taking the active role in building a cohesive body of work, whether that be music or visuals or anything else.

Where do you draw influence and inspiration from for your work?

We see our greatest inspiration as stemming from the musical process itself. We are all passionate about making music. It is a wonderful creative process filled with emotion, commentary, thoughts and reflections which we can share with the world. We also enjoy working towards collective goals. It is important for us to feel inspired by each other and anyone we work with. Influence may come from the funky sounds of Stevie Wonder one day, or the pop-hooks of Carly Rae Jepsen another. But the main driving force is working together and with others. It is the process and the experiences that drives us and continues to inspire our work.

If you could collaborate with anybody going forward, who would you choose and why?

Wow. This is always such a tough question. We are all big suckers for pop anthems. So firstly let's go with Madonna. She is the number one pop icon and was super open to collaboration for ages in like the '4 Minutes' era. That track with Timberlake and Timbaland was awesome, so maybe she would be open to working with four unusual local Melbournites? Other than that it would be awesome to get Lizzo to lay down a flute solo on our next single. If she is unavailable we would happily take Sting on tour as our new vocalist and tour uncle (Sting is definitely the uncle kind of guy).

Tell us a random, funny fact about you that not many people know.

We have all known each other since we were as young as ten and went to the same school together in Melbourne for most of our lives. This includes the fact that our mums love having coffee together. We have all inherited this amazing quality of lounging in a cafe drinking a strong soy latte (or piccolo) and avocado toast.

Do you have definitive aims or goals for your career?

Our biggest mission is to be able to keep creating music that we are truly passionate about and sharing it with our listeners around the world. We love getting to travel and perform our music and there are so many other amazing things about being in a band, but it all comes back to the music - being able to create songs that we're proud of is our biggest ambition for the future. Essentially, the goal is to create an awesome community of people who feel connected to our music and can join Team Approachable.

Where do you hope to be this time next year?

This time next year we hope to be able to have put out a full-length album. So far we have been able to put out many singles, but we have never been able to create a fuller body of work. So that's where we hope to be, celebrating music with a full length album. If this comes to fruition we hope that in a year we will be tired but also proud of an awesome full-length record which can be cohesive in sound, feel and vibe. This is something we have always wanted to do and 2020 seems like it could be the year of hardcore album-work.

What should we expect from you in the coming weeks and months?

The next couple of weeks and months are set to be a very eventful period for the band. In February we will be releasing our second EP, 'Love Thy Neighbour'. Following the EP, at the end of February we will be embarking on our biggest tour to date across Australian capital cities to celebrate the release. These weeks and months will be busy with neighbourly activities, communal lunches, releases and shows. A dream combo!