Foley Better Than Love Interview

New Zealand duo Foley manage to deliver yet again with another masterfully crafted electro-pop new single "Better Than Love"! "Better Than Love" is the prospect of love, versus the reality of love - closing yourself off from emotion to save yourself from future heartbreak. When love is so built up to us as extravagant, dramatic and awe consuming, how can it ever live up to our expectations?

"This song was incredibly therapeutic for me - coming from a place of fear and mistrust and finally saying it out loud," said Ash. "Gabe has been in a relationship for a long time, and by comparison being thrown into something completely new and terrifying, it's the first time the two of us have had really contrasting experiences like this in our writing. When you have been hurt in the past you get into the mindset that nothing can be as good as it seems. I felt at one point like I shouldn't try anymore because the way I built love up in my head could never be reached in reality. Self-sabotage is really powerful and you end up manifesting disappointment instead of hoping for something great"

Their debut EP On My Conscience, saw huge success across commercial radio and streaming platforms, hitting #10 on the NZ Album Charts and plastered the pair across multiple Spotify playlist covers. Their single "Midnight" was added across all major NZ radio stations, landing the pair their first radio Top 40 chart position, while also becoming the #1 independent song on NZ Radio on both the overall chart and the Pop Top 40 (a feat also achieved with previous single "Cola").

Now gearing up for 2021, Foley have unveiled "So Personal", which was added across-the-board to major radio playlists instantly on release & fan-track "Rendezvous" - setting the stage for their sophomore effort.

Interview with Foley (Ash)

Question: How would you describe your music?

Ash: Our music is a big splatter of all of our influences- but mostly its funk pop with a real strong groove. We always start with the groove first and go from there. This track is kind of different for us because its more pensive and vulnerable, but we like to change it up and show all the different threads of ourselves.


Question: Can you tell us about Better Than Love?

Ash: Better Than Love was written essentially in one day with our good friends and collaborators Josh Naley (Wells*) and Jono Boyle. It was at the start of my new relationship when I was in the total love bubble wave of emotion, feeling the massive onslaught of emotion all at once, and the doubt that comes with that. I was definitely self-sabotaging and questioning whether this was too good to be true - I think it's really common when you've been through pain and disappointment to not believe in something fully straight away because you don't want to get hurt. Better Than Love was this mixed bag of being really cautious and careful, and also diving in super deep because I was falling in love so fast.


Question: Is there a particular message you hope listeners take from your music?

Ash: We always just aim for honesty. At the end of the day music is about bringing people together over a common experience or feeling. BTL is kind of hard to listen to now because I can so clearly see the self-sabotage that I was carrying out, plain as day- BUT the fact that it's so vulnerable is what brings people together. The message in all our songs is really that you aren't alone, and although being in your teens or 20s is rough as guts it's also essentially the same shit for all of us.

Question: Do you prefer performing live or recording?

Ash: So different!! We are both massive lovers of collaboration so being in the studio allows us to create things with all of our favourite people. It's really where you get those juices flowing and talk a whole bunch of shit and see what happens. That's always going to be a massive winner for us because our friendship is so deeply rooted in those moments where we get to create new things together. Live is just energy energy energy and I think we both crave that a lot. We spend the whole time racing around in total madness and it's the most exhilarating and life breathing exercise there is. It just gives the songs a whole new wave, and its where we get to meet our fans face to face the most so.... Impossible to pick!!


Question: Which is your favourite song to perform live and why?

Ash: We have a new track on the horizon that is probably my favourite but it's still a secret! Of the tracks that are out Cola goes pretty hard live - that bassline is too stanky for its own good!


Question: How did you two meet and when did you start making music together?

Ash: We met as teenagers through a high school music competitions, but essentially we just started hanging out as a bunch of mates and were really great friends for a long time before we ever wrote music together. Looking back it's such a no brainer that we ended up writing as a duo, but I am really glad that our friendship was so solid and came first, because its meant our creative relationship is built on a lot of trust and history together.


Question: What motivates you most when writing music?
Ash: We always want to write from an honest place so we always draw from what's going on in our lives, but that doesn't always have to be big life moments- sometimes it's just a feeling, or something small that happened that day, or an observation. Once there's a small idea we can usually land somewhere unique because the collaborative energy keeps things moving.


Question: What or who was your inspiration to go into the music industry?

Ash: Gabe – Prince
Ash – Fleetwood Mac
BLOODY LEGENDS.


Question: If you could collaborate with another artist, who would it be?

Ash: This question will haunt me forever because I honestly think about this all the time ! At the moment it would be SZA because I am totally intrigued by the way she writes with this stream of consciousness vibe that totally on the fly. It would just be so amazing to be totally in the moment with her and see where it goes.


Question: What is the biggest challenge you have faced along the way to your musical success?

Ash: It's pretty rough sometimes being a partly female act and seeing the way that male acts are treated in comparison. I am really lucky to have Gabe on my team, but we are constantly fighting for representation and inclusion in festival line-ups and media in particular. That can be really full on sometimes to be handling your music and the imposter syndrome that comes with it, while also being part of this wider fight and cause.

Question: What has been your favourite part of becoming a music artist?

Ash: We have met so many incredible people in our journey so far and there and so many more to meet. Getting to travel around and collaborate with so many outrageously talented and kind musicians is just a total dream, and once you write one song together you form a bond like nothing else.


Question: What's a typical day like?

Ash: We both work full-time so we are pretty much night owls when it comes to music! We work during the day then clock off and write!! Usually fried chicken is somewhere in the mix around lunch time, and some type of panicked email chain between myself and Gabe about something irrelevant we are overthinking. Good times!


Question: What's next, for you?

Ash: Our EP is dropping really soon and we are absolutely buzzzing! Being in New Zealand means we can tour the release and get our to see our local fans which is awesome, so hopefully we can capture some cool content for our wider fanbase while we wait to get back out internationally! We miss travelling so so much and can't wait to get over to Aussie and the US as soon as possible. In the meantime we are just writing more and more heaters and serving them to those who need them xx


Question: Can you share your socials? (links please)

Ash: Facebook 
Instagram  
Twitter  


Interview by Gwen van Montfort