Melbourne emerging act group ONE, featuring vocalist Vanessa and multi-instrumentalist Jan, join Paul Cashmere at Noise11.com ahead of their appearance at SongMakers Live at The Espy in St Kilda. In this in-depth Q&A, the young musicians/songwriters discuss the formation of their band, their creative development and the influences shaping their sound as they transition from school-based performances into original songwriting.
group ONE originally met during a SongMakers workshop at school where they performed in different groups. Despite working separately, both musicians quickly recognised their complementary strengths and stayed connected after the program, eventually forming a band that reflects their shared artistic instincts.
Drawing on influences as diverse as Radiohead, Jeff Buckley, D’Angelo, Erykah Badu, Hiatus Kaiyote and classic jazz icons including Coltrane and Miles Davis, group ONE blends introspective songwriting with textured, contemporary arrangements. Vanessa explains how her lyric ideas often begin as poems written in a bedside notebook, while Jan describes songwriting as an instinctive process sparked by spontaneous chord progressions or rhythms on guitar or keyboard.
In the interview, group ONE explore how their creative ideas often evolve dramatically from first draft to final version. An original song began as a video-game-style keyboard sketch before morphing into a psychedelic, rhythmic composition with layered vocals and shifting dynamics. Meanwhile Stargaze, drawn from two separate school SongMakers groups, brings a jazzy, soulful feel that sets them apart from the more rock-oriented bands in the program.
With two contrasting original songs ready for the stage, group ONE step into the historic Espy for SongMakers Live — a venue where countless Australian acts have built their reputations. The conversation reveals a young band with authentic artistic instincts, deep musical curiosity and the enthusiasm to keep evolving.
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