Teether & Kuya Neil interview – “I have a sentimental connection to cheap gear”

Punk, rap, electronics – and brilliance

Blending elements of hip-hop, punk, electronics and all executed with minimal, lo-fi gear, rapper Teether and producer Kuya Neil originally hail from the Naarm district of Melbourne but now work across the ocean, one in the UK, the other in Australia.

With their latest album YEARN IV set to drop on May 2, we asked the pair to give us the full story…

Hi and thanks for your time….  First of all, can you tell us where you are right now, and what kind of day you’re having…  Been anywhere already or going anywhere interesting later?

Neil: I’m in Sydney at the moment. I’m taking a few weeks off to work on music, see friends and finish projects. I’m playing a show tonight and will be testing out some new tracks

Teether: I’ve been in Brisbane for a few days for a family wedding. Doing as little as possible today before resuming the hectic day to day when I get home.

Tell us who you are, what you do and how you hooked up – what was your common ground initially and how did it all take shape?

Neil: I’m Neil, I make music, visual art and organise shows + workshops. I met Teether in 2014, while we were both studying sound engineering. We would cross paths at shows around Melbourne, but didn’t start hanging out and making music together until the lockdown (2020). I really liked his sound and visual aesthetic, and we shared a very similar outlook on life and making music. When we linked up, our chemistry was immediate and the music came easy. Shortly after dropping our first tape ‘God of Surprises’ on X-Amount Records, we were contacted by Ben + Guy from Chapter Music who quickly signed us and have guided us along the way ever since.

Teether: I’m a vocalist/producer/composer/engineer or whatever and I have been on a mission to make music since I was a teenager. Neil summed it up mostly but I’ll add that we bonded as well over both spending large amount of time playing guitar in our rooms growing up. We have quite different musical backgrounds but there are also a few niches that we both came up on. The way we are able to put each other onto new sounds and reminisce on our common influences has been a really productive environment to make music in.

Give us a quick rundown of your musical upbringings – parental/sibling tastes and your first musical loves, first steps into music making, embarrassing teenage bands etc

Neil:My earliest memories would be listening to ‘Stars on 45’, (a Beatles disco medley CD) on long car rides. Karaoke was also a big part of Filipino parties growing up. My older sister was an early adopter of the internet. She taught me how to illegally download music and games and exposed me to a lot of internet culture, art, fashion and alternative music – which saved me from the boredom of growing up in Hastings (small town in the south of Victoria, Australia). I owe a lot to her for that.

Teether: It all started with The Wiggles if we trace it all the way back. Shout out to Murray Wiggle who allowed me to fanboy at him on the street in Sydney once. I always wanted to play guitar and committed to it when I discovered the first five Metallica records. I don’t even know where to start with all the other shit I listened to back then but some of it holds up and some of it not so much, all important to have absorbed though. My parents played an array of stuff: Bob Marley, Sade, Craig David, Buckshot LeFonque, Us3, Joni Mitchell, etc. I didn’t realise how cool their taste was ‘til I got older. My first band was called Eritherium. I wrote all the music on Guitar Pro in high school and we recorded it at our houses on whatever equipment we could get our hands on. We made an EP and three albums and that was my first experience playing live. Some of it is cool.

You were initially based in your spiritual home of Footscray West Melbourne, and have said its culturally mixed character plays a part in your own sound…  Tell us about it and how it has shaped your sound.

Neil: It’s helped me stay connected to migrant culture. There’s a strong South East Asian, Italian and African presence in Footscray and for a time a lot of my family lived there. It’s a reminder of growing up and visiting places like Springvale, Sunshine and Dandenong as a kid, going to Asian grocers and getting a $5 bowl cut from the Vietnamese uncle. Vibrant, but also low key

Teether: I grew up North East but it just feels like home, you know. Neil summed it up pretty well. My ideal day is a day off in Footscray: getting my hair braided, getting lined up after across the road, getting a coffee and banh mi, smoking on the market car park roof, heading home and chefing up some music and food. It’s heaven on Earth.

These days you’re based between Melbourne and London. What made that necessary and how does it work in terms of making music?

Neil: In terms of our project, it doesn’t affect it hugely – we don’t gig regularly, preferring to play shows only when it feels right. We started off making music remotely, sending beats and verses back and forth over email, so I feel like this is just part of the natural cycle of our project and exploration of our own music, individually and as a duo. I hope to make my way over to London for some shows soon!

Teether: I lived in Naarm my whole life so I needed a change, somewhere where I can be a fan of music and go into hibernation. It has been a challenge to find my footing but I took some time but have been mad inspired. Been making a lot of solo music. I can feel and hear the growth which I think is important for us making a new record with a distinctly different sound and energy. We can easily work online and I’m writing again so I’m excited to hear what we do next.

You’re proud about using what you describe ‘entry level’ equipment – why? What quality do you feel it brings to the sound?

Neil: I have a sentimental connection to cheap gear, as it’s what we grew up using. At the core, we are bedroom musicians and that is an important part of the process. The limitations of these tools push us to be creative and focus on the raw, emotional qualities of the music, over professional music industry standards.

Teether: You can’t really hide behind the bells and whistles when you got cheap shit. The songs and the choices you make just have to be good. It’s taught us to make decisions. I think each piece of gear has its own sound too and that, paired with the fact that we mix our own music, allows us to really craft a sound that feels like us.

After two mixtapes, you’re about to release your debut album.  What’s the difference in how you approach an album compared to a mixtape? 

Neil: We dedicated a week away in a beach-side house in the Mornington Peninsula to write and record the album. Having the luxury to have the time to sit with ideas and be fully immersed in the writing and recording process was a huge part of the sound. We also developed the album for about 2 years before releasing, which is very long for us! Working with Phil Dixon (long time collaborator) on the art direction, gave the album an extra level of care and detail with the visual aesthetic.

Teether: STRESSOR was supposed to be our debut record initially, but it just didn’t feel like an album when we had all the tracks done. We got rid of half of them and dropped it as a mixtape instead. We approached YEARN IV as a project with a set goal of sorts, though I think the music decides for itself. There’s only so much you can control. This one just felt like a proper record.

Talk us through the make up of the album, both in terms of musical flavours and lyrical concerns?

Neil: Musically, it blends all our influences into something which feels really unique and personal to us. Heavy metal and guitar-based music was something we always bonded over, and this sees us incorporating those influences with the digital, sample-heavy laptop production.

Teether: Yeah, it’s just us making what felt right in the moment but we had enough time to really explore the recesses of our brains. Quite stream of consciousness both musically and lyrically which is usual for us. But life changes and so do we and so do the ideas.

What’s next for you in the short/medium/long term?  What are you hearing that’s inspiring you?  Any more live or release action we should know about?

Neil: YEARN IV comes out May 2 on vinyl. We have some cool merch and more videoscoming out too. Big shout out to Phillip Dixon on the visuals, and Wei Huang on the caps.
I’m heading to Vietnam and the Philippines mid year, and hopefully touring Australia with Teether at the end of 2025 and eventually the UK. More solo and collab releases from the both of us through our label/collective CONTENT.NET.AU

Teether: Everything Neil said. Personally, I’ve got a couple solo albums almost finished and working on a collab with a friend, as well as new shit with Neil to get stuck into. I’m trying to take things slow and let it happen as it happens. Focus on real life shit and sort all that out so I got more time to dedicate to music. Mad inspired by the people around us and my new environment. Excited for the future, whatever that may be.


Pre-order your vinyl copy of Yearn IV by clicking here