Jungle will be playing at Auckland’s Town Hall on July 26.
One of the top bands at this year’s Elemental AKL is UK-based electric duo Jungle.
Made up of Josh Lloyd-Watson and Tom McFarland, the pair have been making music since they were 9 years old – having lived nextdoor to each other in Shepherd’s Bush, London.
Lloyd-Watston describes Jungle’s origin as “a meeting of happenstance”.
“Like most kids, we bonded over similar things in our lives, like making music,” Lloyd-Watson told Stuff.
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He said the duo realised “very early on” they wanted to turn their hobby into a career.
“I remember thinking when we were 14 –we’re going to make it, we’re going to do it,” he laughed.
“[But then] you start to grow up… the world starts to break you a little bit. You lose that child naivety.”
The band took a step back, trying their hand again when they were 23 – when things took a quick turn. Justin Timberlake tweeted the music video to one of their songs, Platoon, launching the band into stratosphere overnight.
Filmawi/Supplied
Lloyd-Watson used to work for Kiwi company, Hell Pizza.
“The number got quite big quite quickly, it had four million in a weekend. For us at that time it felt like a big thing,” Lloyd-Watson chuckled.
The viral online spread was helped by B-Girl Terra, a then-6-year-old breakdancer who starred in the music video for Platoon, and has joined Jungle on stage in the past.
“Dance is everything. It’s the baseline of people’s reaction to music – when you hear one of your favourite songs, you’re excited, it makes you want to dance,” Lloyd-Watson said.
“We just like to work with people who have this contagious energy, almost like you want to be them,” he said.
As Jungle’s fame took hold, Lloyd-Watson and McFarland made the decision to put their music on centre stage, instead of themselves.
“I always wanted to make things that inspired me, not things that were about me. I like to look at my own stuff and be lost in it as if I didn’t make it,” Lloyd-Watson explained.
“That’s when I think it’s amazing, when I can look at video or listen to one of our songs as if it didn’t come from me. It feels otherworldly.”
Lloyd-Watson compared this concept to an artist continuously painting portraits by themselves.
“The internet has made everyone obsessed with themselves rather than the world around them. Without sounding nihilistic, it’s kind of the downfall of our species,” he said.
“If everyone looked outwards, and looked to each other, the world might be a better place.”
Filmawi/Supplied
The pair have known each other since they were nine years old.
The duo is looking forward to playing at Elemental Nights and Lloyd-Watson admits he has “always had a soft spot for New Zealand”.
“I feel like it’s a little like England but upside down or the other way round, it’s a beautiful place,” Lloyd-Watson said.
Lloyd-Watson has even worked with Kiwis in the past, but not in the music industry.
“I worked for a company called Hell Pizza, [in London] where I delivered pizzas before I started this whole music thing,” he said.
He remembered that the Kiwis he worked for were “really, really lovely”.
Jungle are playing at Auckland’s Town Hall on July 26. Visit Auckland Live to book your tickets.
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