New NEO
Following the release of four singles throughout the year, the wait is finally over as The NEO’s highly anticipated fourth album officially drops this month.
By Kate Conway
10 years in the making, King FOTU is the culmination of creative collaboration and the band’s commitment to honing their craft, all wrapped up in the signature brand of soul-funk raucousness that is synonymous with the high-energy ensemble.
With a back catalogue of three albums, two EP’s, and multiple regional, national and international tours under their belt, The NEO have built a solid reputation for enthusiastic shows that involve the audience and deliver tunes to get the dancefloor started.
Frontman Tim Sinclair says King FOTU embodies the atmosphere of their previous performances, in particular their iconic first gig, the nude millennium party, aka Nude 2000.
“The energy we carried into that show we always take into any show we do. Admittedly, we don’t always take our clothes off! But that kind of irreverent fearlessness – once you’ve played a naked gig, everything else seems not as scary. In those ways, this album is still true to that initial ethos,” he says.
While the drive from that now infamous show will always be inherent to the fabric of the band, King FOTU heralds a new era of technical prowess for The NEO after some members pursued formal music study, including attending jazz school. One of them has even gained a classical degree!
“We have all worked really hard on our musicianship. People don’t necessarily find it exciting that you’ve been working on being better musicians, it’s not as relevant in pop music. It’s more about the characters, but we’ve always been characters. We thought, maybe we better work on our music,” Sinclair laughs.
“For me this album is really exciting because it has more challenging stories and challenging music, but it’s still got that great millennium energy.”
Supported by Will Hatch’s all-star reggae band Kaivilli, the launch event features The NEO’s true outlandish style, with multimedia and elements of the band’s 2019 sci-fi musical, Breaking the Dub Barrier, incorporated into the concert.
“We like to throw down in a way that is quite unique and make it a big dance party. This will be the biggest party we’ve thrown in 10 years!”
The NEO King Fotu Album Launch
WHEN SAT 12 NOV | 7.30-11.30PM
AT DARWIN RAILWAY CLUB
COST $25 | $20 CONC
INFO theneo.com
Photos: Anja Bretfeld
