In the Green Room: Tonix

‘I Was Asleep’ is just a taste of Tonix’s euphoric, expansive and genre-defying sound. Here, the three-piece give us a vibe check on their launch gig for the fresh single.

Congrats on ‘I Was Asleep’. Tell us more about the song.

It’s one of many new songs written this year! It began with a chord profession and simple synth bass. We wanted the song to be about youth naivety and how a harsh breakup can age you. That’s what we tried to get across in the lyrics. It is a fast-paced song too, which invites a sing-along and comes from us being in love with festivals.

What interested you in The Lab for your single launch?

It’s an interesting one. One of our favourite shows we’ve played was Scouted, which was there last year. So we link The Lab with good times. We’ve also played a lot of venues around Adelaide, so we wanted to change it up. Obviously, having 50-square-metre LED screens will make it quite an immersive experience. We’re working with Vipop Coombs [for visuals]. He’s a legend. It’ll be more of an artistic curated set where people not only participate, sing and dance but there’s also a visual element to it.

You’re breaking the interstate market with a debut Melbourne gig. How does that feel?

Honestly, it’s a big experiment, but we’re super excited. To play interstate and at a venue like Revolver reinforces that we’re doing some things right. Not everything goes our way and there are numbers we constantly wish were higher. But with music, the wins aren’t always quantifiable. To take our music to a different state and new ears is one way we can measure we’re on the right track. We also get to check out Melbourne music! I’m super keen to see our support act Zero City.

What’s next?

We’re always working – pretty much 24/7. If you can’t get a hold of us, it’s because we’ve got headphones in listening to Tonix music! After the tour, we’ll be in the studio doing new music. Towards October, you might hear some new singles with hopefully – eventually – a larger project early next year!

See Tonix play August 9 at The Lab, with Tushar and GUSH on support.