Tame Impala

Tame Impala is the psychedelic music project of Australian multi-instrumentalist Kevin Parker (born: January 20, 1986 (1986-01-20) [age 39]).^[1] In the recording studio, Parker writes, records, performs, and produces all of the project's music.

History

Early Career (2007-2008)

The origins of Tame Impala can be found in the Perth music scene. Musician Kevin Parker played in a number of bands, one being the Dee Dee Dums, a rock duo that consisted of Parker and Luke Epstein. Tame Impala emerged in 2007 as a home-recording project created by Parker, and he posted a number of tracks on Myspace. This generated interest from a number of labels and eventually, he signed a worldwide deal with the independent Modular Recordings in July 2008.^[2] To transfer these recordings to a live setting, Parker enlisted the help of Dominic Simper and Jay Watson, and they began playing at local gigs.^[3]

2008-2009

The signing to Modular was soon followed by the release of Tame Impala's self-titled EP in September 2008.^[4] It reached the number 1 position on the Australian Independent Record Labels (AIR) Chart and number 10 on the ARIA Physical Singles Chart,^[5] with three songs—"Desire Be, Desire Go",^[6] "Half Full Glass of Wine", and "Skeleton Tiger"—receiving national radio airplay on the Triple J radio station.^[7]

Tame Impala appeared on Triple J's Hottest 100 list in 2008—their first appearance on the list—with "Half Full Glass of Wine" at number 75. The song also appeared on the Hottest 100 compilation album.^[8][9]

2009-2010

"Sundown Syndrome" was premiered by Richard Kingsmill on his "2009" show on Triple J on Sunday May 10, 2009. The song was released in July 2009 on vinyl, and digitally with a cover of "Remember Me" by DJ Blue Boy.^[10]

The band then headlined the inaugural "Rottofest" in August 2009, an annual comedy, film and music festival held on Rottnest Island off the coast of Western Australia. Following Rottofest, they embarked on a national tour through September and October 2009 in support of the single. "Remember Me" appeared at number 78 on Triple J's Hottest 100 for 2009.^[11]

"Sundown Syndrome" was included on the soundtrack of the Oscar-nominated film The Kids Are All Right.^[12] "Half Full Glass of Wine" was used in HBO's popular television series Entourage as the closing song for an episode.^[13]

2010

Tame Impala's debut album Innerspeaker was released on May 21, 2010. In the UK the official release date was June 28, but iTunes accidentally made it available for purchase on 12 May. The album was released in the United States on June 8 to general and critical acclaim. Pitchfork named it Best New Music.^[14]

In an interview with Triple J talking about the album's nomination for the J Award, Parker stated that they had secretly been recording a new album. "Jay and I have been recording pretty compulsively and album number two is nearing potential completion already and I'm so excited about it that I'm having trouble keeping myself from telling you all about it". This came only months after Innerspeaker was released.

On November 29, 2010, Innerspeaker won Australian youth-oriented radio network Triple J's highest honour, winning the J Award for Album of the Year.^[15]

2011-2014

Parker said that Lonerism "represents a departure from his previous work by incorporating an expanded sonic palette, more emotional song writing, and a more pronounced narrative perspective". It was created in a similar set up as Innerspeaker, whereby Parker wrote and recorded the majority of the album by himself at his home in Perth, Western Australia.^[16]

In November 2012, Lonerism won the 2012 J Award for Australian Album of the Year. It was the second time Tame Impala had won the award, after also winning it for their debut album, Innerspeaker, in 2010. They are the first band to win the J Award more than once. In January 2013, Lonerism was selected by Rolling Stone for the 2012 Album of the Year award after the band also won the award in 2011 for Innerspeaker. It was also announced as album of the year by UK magazine NME. Additionally, Lonerism was voted number one overall by Rolling Stone, Triple J, NME, Filter, Urban Outfitters, FasterLouder and Obscure Sound's 2012 Album of the Year polls. Lonerism became the first Australian album to win NME's album of the year. "Elephant" and "Feels Like We Only Go Backwards" appeared at numbers 7 and 9, respectively, in Triple J's Hottest 100 for 2012.^[17]

The band began an international tour in 2012 through 2013, supported by The Growl. During this tour, they played major festivals such as Coachella and Sasquatch Festival, and appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.^[18] For this tour, Watson switched from drums to keyboards, and Parker recruited Julien Barbagallo on drums.^[19]

On May 18, 2013, it was announced via Facebook that Allbrook would leave the band to focus on other musical endeavours, and that Cam Avery of Pond and The Growl would take his place. Allbrook played his final gig with the band on their last Australian tour date of 2013 at Perth's Belvoir Amphitheatre, the same venue that Allbrook played his first gig with the band at in 2008. As a farewell gesture, the band played a cover of Outkast's "Prototype".

Lonerism received a 2014 Grammy Award nomination in December 2013 in the Best Alternative Music Album category.^[20]

"Be Above It", the first track on the album, is featured in the 2019 movie Waves. This includes the studio version, the live version from the Live Versions album and the "Erol Alkan Rework" version.

2015-2017

In May 2014, Parker spoke of his growing inclination toward the recording of another album in a triple J radio interview, explaining: "I'm getting more and more sucked into the world of making an album. It's weird how it happens naturally, it's almost feels like a seasonal thing. I've started to think about tracklistings and all the things that come with an album."^[21] Describing the sound of the new album, Parker said, "I'm gonna try to make it a bit more minimal this time; only use what's needed ... instead of a supreme pizza, where you just throw everything on".^[22] Watson added, "[It’s] probably gonna be less rock again and more electronic again, even more than the last one".^[23] Parker later stated that the inspiration behind the new polished sound of Tame Impala's third album came from listening to a Fleetwood Mac song. He said that the pureness and cleanness of Fleetwood Mac's song prompted him to attempt to create a more streamlined musical style within Currents.^[24]

During the same April 30, 2015, Reddit AMA, Parker said: "Up until recently, from all of Tame Impala's record sales outside of Australia I had received.... zero dollars. Someone high up spent the money before it got to me. I may never get that money."^[25]

2018

In July 2018, during an interview with Beats 1 anchor host Matt Wilkinson, Parker confirmed for the first time that he had begun working on a new Tame Impala album, adding that he was "ready to play some other songs live" and expressing an interest to headline a stage at Glastonbury Festival in 2019. He also stated that he would be "very disappointed" if the new record by Tame Impala wasn't released by summer 2019.^[26]

In October 2018, Parker played bass for rapper Travis Scott for a performance of "Skeletons/Astrothunder" on Saturday Night Live, with singer-songwriter John Mayer also part of the backing band.^[27]

2019-Present

Josh Terry of Vice named Tame Impala his "Artist of the Decade" for the 2010s, writing, "No artist captured how genres cross-pollinated throughout the 2010s better than Tame Impala". He added, "In the age of streaming and the big-box festival bubble, Parker's discography seems factory-made for both a crowd of thousands and a chill night alone with a vibe-heavy playlist" and that "his music embodies the technology-driven sense of loneliness of this decade better than any of his peers".^[28]

"The Less I Know the Better" was voted number one in Triple J's Hottest 100 of the Decade on 14 March 2020. This was the highest ranking for Tame Impala in a Hottest 100 Countdown and the first time the project had attained number one in any Hottest 100.^[29]

On March 20, 2020, Parker appeared on The Weeknd's album After Hours, producing and providing background vocals on a track called "Repeat After Me (Interlude)". At the 2020 ARIA Music Awards in November, Tame Impala won a further five trophies: "Album of the Year", "Best Rock Album", Engineer of the Year" and "Producer of the Year" for The Slow Rush , as well as "Best Group".^[30]

The track is the lead single from the Jack Antonoff-produced original soundtrack album for the film Minions: The Rise of Gru. With the exception of this track, the album primarily features new spins on classic '70s hits by artists such as Brittany Howard, St. Vincent, H.E.R. and many others.

in August 2022, he appeared on Gorillaz's track - New Gold alongside Bootie Brown from their album Cracker Island.

Discography

Albums

• Innerspeaker (2010)
• Lonerism (2012)
• Currents (2015)
• The Slow Rush (2020)

Live Albums

• Live at the Corner (2010)
• Live Versions (2014)

Extended Plays

• Tame Impala (H.I.T.S. 003) (2008)
• Tame Impala (2008)
• Peace and Paranoia Tour 2013 (2013)
• The Slow Rush B-Sides and Remixes (2022)

Singles

• Sundown Syndrome (2009)
• No More Lies (2023)
• Journey To The Real World (2023)

Tours

• InnerSpeaker Tour (2010-2011)
• Lonerism Tour (2012-2014)
• Currents Tour (2015-2017)
• The Slow Rush Tour (2020-2023)

References