“Why do we expect things to be perfect and neat? They really never will be, we’re not owed anything, and I think there’s a beauty in just accepting that.”
Some conversations feel like catching up with an old friend, sharing stories and talking about everything that’s happened since we last spoke. Returning to the world of SUNDER, Australian artist and producer JVLY invites us into SUNDERLUXE, a dreamlike parallel universe of familiar feelings, shifting perspectives and new interpretations. The new EP opens softly with ‘IT’S FINE/SOJU ON THE MOON’ on Disc 1, before taking a slightly funkier turn with ‘SOJU AGAIN’ on Disc 2. A track we’d definitely recommend starting with if you’re not familiar with JVLY’s music yet. You might just find your new favourite track.
We caught up with Kayle once again to talk about the roads not taken, finding peace in imperfection, his love for unsettling films, and the beautiful blue world he has created around his latest release.
Photography by Kayle Butler
Kayle, it’s always lovely to catch up with you! How have you been? What has life been like for you lately, outside of music? (smiles)
Yeah, it’s so nice to catch up again! I’ve had a lot going on outside of music this year, to be honest, but just taking things as they come and trying to enjoy all the good bits along the way.
Last time we spoke, SUNDER was just coming to life. Now you’re returning to that world with SUNDERLUXE. I find it interesting how we sometimes revisit things from our past and see them completely differently. Has working on this album changed the way you look back at the original songs, or perhaps even at that time in your life?
It’s funny how it works, because making those original SUNDER songs actually helped bring a lot of clarity back then. Making songs is about capturing moments to me, kind of like a photo, so even with time passing, I don’t think I look at them too differently. They’re just memories now.
You describe SUNDERLUXE as a kind of parallel universe. I love that idea, because sometimes I wonder how different our lives might have been if we’d made just one different decision. Do you ever think about the roads you didn’t take?
I think about that a lot, all the different versions of reality that could exist. Then you think, do things happen the way they’re meant to? I don’t really think so, I think they just happen, but who knows!
‘SOJU AGAIN’ opens the second half of the album, and it turned out so beautifully calm and atmospheric. Did working on it bring back old memories, or did it feel like something completely new?
It really felt like that parallel universe thing I was talking about. I needed SOJU AGAIN to be the shift from that original world into this new one, so when I started working on it, I was thinking, how can I transport that feeling into a totally different space but still keep the essence of what it is? So in a way, it kind of distorted the old memory into a new one.
“I don’t really feel entitled to peace, so I don’t hold onto the idea of it. It’s just something that comes and goes, enjoy it while it’s there!”
The album brings together some wonderful artists, including Mel Blue, Contrecoeur, Lemonade Baby and dj poolboi. Was there a particular moment when someone else’s interpretation of your music really surprised you or made you hear your own work differently?
You spend so much time with your own music that you get used to hearing it a certain way, so getting to hear all these incredible artists take it in directions I never would’ve imagined was crazy. Mel Blue took SOUTH and completely shifted the energy of the track, in a way that somehow still felt so natural within the SUNDER world. It’s like the different paths we talked about, they all found something in those songs that I never would have found myself.
We’ve talked before about the cycles we find ourselves in, and how difficult it can sometimes be to break away from what’s familiar. Looking back at the past year, is there something you’ve managed to let go of, or something you’ve finally made peace with?
That’s one thing that’s changed a lot for me. I don’t really feel entitled to peace, so I don’t hold onto the idea of it. It’s just something that comes and goes, enjoy it while it’s there!
I remember you once telling us that you tend to think a little too much, even though you’re often joking around in everyday life. (smiles) Has that changed at all? And what helps you switch off when your mind gets too busy?
I would say that neither of those are any different really, still doing a lot of both! It’s weird but I’ll watch the most disturbing movie to wind down, relax with some Midsommar or something (laughs) but a lot of just simple things too, I’ll go surfing or just walk and see my friends or whatever, have some tea. I’m in the gym right now talking to you!
“Making songs is about capturing moments to me … so even with time passing, I don’t think I look at them too differently. They’re just memories now.”
I think there’s something beautiful about allowing things to remain unfinished, rather than always trying to find a perfect ending. Is that something you’ve learned to accept in your music, or perhaps in life as well?
I completely agree with you on that. It sort of goes back to what I was saying before. I don’t mean it in a nihilistic way either, it’s just, why do we expect things to be perfect and neat? They really never will be, we’re not owed anything, and I think there’s a beauty in just accepting that, like you said.
On a completely different note, something caught my eye recently. I noticed that your recent videos on Instagram all have a beautiful blue tone to them. Are you going through a blue phase? (smiles)
Haha yes, the blue dream! I wanted this side of the record to feel like the dreamstate parallel world to the original visuals, so if they were side by side in a film you’d know which world you were in. One of my favourite filmmakers, Gaspar Noé, was a big inspiration for that. His film ‘Enter the Void’ influenced not only that choice, but the whole visual world I wanted to create for the SUNDER/SUNDERLUXE story.
And finally, what are the little things in life that are making you genuinely happy these days?
Well, I know you had me getting all in my philosophical bag before, but I think it’s all really not that deep. Spend time doing things you like and being with people you like, and go see the world!
