RADIO FREE ALICE TUNE IN

Radio Free Alice are defining a new generation of music in Australia. The four-piece new wave, post-punk band was formed in 2020 by Noah Learmonth (vocals, guitar), Jules Paradiso (guitar), Michael Phillips (bass, saxophone) and Lochie Dowd (drums). Since releasing their second EP, Polyester, last year, Radio Free Alice have skyrocketed into the Australian music psyche with their high-energy, rebellious sound. The urgency in their music, which feels fitting for the world we’re living in right now, has led to sold-out shows for the band across the country, the UK and Europe. In the new issue of 10 Men Australia, the band wears Prada, and discuss being Radio Free Alice:

Roxy Lola: Radio Free Alice is the most excited I’ve been about an Australian band in a while. The sound you’ve crafted over the past four years is so persistent and re-playable, and it feels like you’re right on the precipice of global recognition. What was it that sparked your interest in playing music?

Jules Paradiso: Noah and I went to high school together in Sydney and we started playing music together in class. We decided to move down to Melbourne, where we met Lochie and Michael through university [studying fine arts] and the music scene in Melbourne. That’s the origin of the band. In terms of playing music growing up, a lot of it was from my dad. He showed me loads of music from the ’70s, like David Bowie and Lou Reed.

Noah Learmonth: That was the same for me. I have a very musical family and, growing up, all my friends were also musical. It was just part of our culture and friend group, showing each other songs and bands.

Roxy: Do you think that growing up in Australia has informed your sound?

Noah: Definitely. The Go-Betweens are my favourite band. There’s a distinct Australian quality to those bands like The Go-Betweens or The Triffids. There’s something very early-’80s Australian about our music too. We also love The Saints [one of the first punk bands]. We love Nick Cave too, although we probably wouldn’t cite him as an influence as much.

Roxy: I’ve been playing your EP Polyester on repeat for months. I love the single Johnny, it’s the best song to drive to. I think that project has really solidified your sound and place in the music scene here. What’s your writing process like?

Michael Phillips: The writing process for that project spanned a year. We recorded the EP in February 2024 and leading up to that was when we wrote all the material. That included several other songs that didn’t make the cut but will be released. It was just a slow refinement process over that year where we would collaborate and meld together ideas until we had some songs we were proud of. Then we recorded them in Melbourne with a producer called Nao Anzai.

Noah: We write the music together and then I write the lyrics.

Roxy: Does anyone ever say to you that a lyric is absolutely not happening in a song?

Noah: Sometimes. [Laughs.]

Roxy: How is the dynamic between you? Have you found your groove as a band together?

Jules: Yeah, I think so, just by virtue of us putting so much time into it. We’re trying to write every day and if we’re not writing then we’re rehearsing or refining the songs in our list of demos. We’ve developed a good dynamic that works for us and is quite constructive.

Roxy: How do you feel about inviting a producer into that collaborative space?

Jules: We haven’t developed a relationship with a producer yet that’s been super-collaborative. Often we’ve had the songs that we’ve been happy with. For Polyester we pretty much completed the songs and then went to the studio to record and mix them. We’d love to explore the artist-producer relationship. It can change a lot of the music.

Roxy: It can completely shift your sound. Who are the producers you admire and would love to work with?

Noah: We’re going to work with Peter Katis, who [produced] Interpol’s first album, Turn on the Bright Lights [in 2002]. I really admire him and love that album. In terms of other current producers, we love James Ford and Dan Carey.

Roxy: I’d love to hear James Ford’s take on Radio Free Alice. Are you guys very intuitive with the world you’re building?

Noah: It’s intuitive because I don’t think you can calculate that. It is important to change and evolve and not be typecast as a certain thing, just for the longevity of the band. Any band that has longevity has evolved. You’ve got to take risks.

Michael: And I suppose it’s just boring if you don’t. Trying to control and force anything will feel contrived and redundant.

Roxy: Who are some artists or bands you admire?

Noah: Radiohead. For that reason. They evolved but everything they did was good in different ways. They took risks.

Roxy: What’s your favourite Radiohead album?

Michael: OK Computer [1997] is consistently one of my favourites.

Jules: I listened to The Bends [1995] first and I find it very sentimental. But it’s probably not necessarily their greatest.

Roxy: For the record, mine is 2001’s Amnesiac. Let’s talk fashion. You look great on stage, in shoots and on social media. A lot of bands don’t consider that, especially in Australia. Is there a method behind what you’re doing?

Noah: If you haven’t already picked it up, there’s definitely a Joy Division influence with the look we go for on stage, with the button-collar shirts. But you’re right, people don’t think about it enough. Bands used to say, “What do we sound like and what do we look like?” That second question doesn’t get asked enough any more and I think that’s a missed opportunity because this is showbiz. How you look is a huge part of that and it can add a lot in terms of clarifying the message and story. We just want to mirror what we sound like in how we look. It’s meant to be on the nose.

Roxy: Are there brands that you love? Keeping in mind you’re wearing Prada in this story…

All: Prada!

Noah: And we love the history of Vivienne Westwood. We have a lot of respect for the role she played in shaping the music we’re influenced by.

Roxy: I love that you’ve mentioned Westwood’s influence on punk. Is there any kind of movement you can sense happening in Melbourne right now? What does it feel like to be part of a scene that’s bubbling away there?

Noah: It’s hard to be self-aware of a movement while you’re in it, but I can definitely say there’s an inundationof talented bands. There’s a real scene here that blows other cities out of the water in terms of how much unrecognised talent there is. Everyone there is friends and everyone’s really talented, too. Particularly in North Melbourne.

Roxy: Is everyone actually friends…?

Noah: [Laughs.] Yes, I think so.

Roxy: Do people stick to their genres or is everyone support of each other’s music?

Noah: There’s possibly a snobbishness sometimes against pop music.

Roxy: Do you experience that snobbishness or pretentiousness toward what you guys are doing? Or are you the snobs?!

Noah: The worst part is that, in some contexts, we’re the snobs, and in other contexts we’re the opposite. In some circles in Melbourne we feel like Wham!.

Roxy: You supported The Killers at the end of last year, which is obviously a massive achievement. How were those shows?

Lochie Dowd: Our live show is definitely something that comes very naturally to us. We just let Noah go berserk. It’s all about the high energy and a bit of chaos both on stage and in the crowd. Playing with The Killers was really cool. It’s surreal to think about it now. We went from pubs and clubs straight to arenas, so it was a massive jump and took a bit of getting used to on the first show, in terms of how reverb and sound works in an arena.

Roxy: How did you feel when you got the call that you had booked The Killers’ opening slot?

Lochie: Pretty good.

Noah: The people that go to The Killers show are mostly families. I don’t know if they’re necessarily the people that would be interested in an up-and-coming indie-rock band. How many people you play in front of is important, but I think who you play in front of is important. It was a great experience, though.

Roxy: Well, actually, when you look at your YouTube videos there are many comments along the lines of, “I’m 65 and from Australia and so excited to find a band doing what you’re doing.”

Lochie: [Laughs.] Yeah, it’s usually the 60-year-olds.

Noah: Mature audience. But you really do have to bring something different to a small show. Like we played this pub in Melbourne the other day and you have to be more immediate, intimate and primitive in that space, whereas that style of performance doesn’t translate on a huge stage.

Roxy: Where’s the dream venue to play?

Noah: There is no dream venue because the bigger the venue gets, you lose something as you get bigger. But you also gain something else. It’s like playing in a room of a hundred people is in its own way a dream venue.

Roxy: That’s a good, diplomatic, philosophical answer. What are your star signs?

Michael: I’m an Aquarius.

Jules: I’m a Virgo.

Lochie: I’m a Capricorn.

Noah: I’m a Cancer.

Roxy: Okay cool, so everyone’s different. Love that. I’ll have to look into your compatibility.

Noah: What’s yours?

Roxy: I’m a Taurus.

Jules: Oh no.

Roxy: What? Taurus women are great. It’s the men you need to watch out for.

Lochie: At least none of us are Geminis.

Roxy: Exactly. Okay, so you’ve had some experience in the past couple of years with the dreaded music industry! But is there anything you’d like to change about it based on what you’ve experienced?

Noah: There’s so much talent, especially here in Melbourne, where you’ll go and see these shows and they could be legendary and there’s not a single A&R or label person there. It feels like people don’t pay enough attention to the local scene in a way they used to. There used to be people out every Friday and Saturday going to shows and now there never are. They’re scouting on Instagram reels. But there’s a lot of talent who isn’t in that world, so you’re missing out on so much.

Roxy: How do you guys navigate social media?

Lochie: We’re very conscious of our image, whetherthat’s in person or stage or even on social media. Instagram and social media is essentially the MTV replacement, so we do want to curate some sort of identity. Most people find our music through our live shows or word of mouth.

Roxy: Who have you discovered recently?

Noah: Shock Corridor – they’re a Melbourne band. Very cool.

Lochie: I’ve been listening to South [an English rock band from the early 2000s]. They released their first album, From Here on In, in 2001 – there are so many great songs, some shoegazey and some folky. I’ve been trying to find that record in every record store I’ve gone into and I can’t get it. That’s a good one.

Roxy: What else has been inspiring you, aside from music?

Noah: We saw Midnight Cowboy [from 1969, and the winner of three Oscars, including Best Picture] the other night. I really liked that. It was an incredibly interesting film considering the plot and the way it looks at the American dream. Like, he’s a cowboy [Jon Voight’s character] but he’s not actually a cowboy [he’s a sex worker]. He’s commodifying old America to make money while living in Warholian-era New York with Dustin Hoffman in this shitbox. Just looking at America as an idea and the different versions of it.

Roxy: Speaking of, have you guys been over to Los Angeles to do the writing-session thing?

Noah: The cliché of going to LA and cutting some tracks? Not yet. But we’re doing the South by South West festival [in Austin]. Are we allowed to say that?

Roxy: Tell me all the things you’re not allowed to say. Are you working on new music?

Noah: Umm…

Roxy: Okay, so in terms of the music you have been working on, have you noticed how you have evolved as a band already?

Noah: We’ve gotten a little more sophisticated. [Laughs.]

‍Roxy: Great. We’ll leave it at that. Do you guys have a mentor?

Jules: Our manager, Stephen Pavlovic. He’s our guru, our godfather.

Roxy: What has he taught you?

Noah: He has a very ‘take no prisoners’ attitude toward life. We’ll play a show and come off stage and feel like it was a disaster and then he’ll just say, “Well, everyone in there is a fucking idiot.” It’s really quite a good attitude. Or alternatively we’ll play the best show ever and he’ll say that it was terrible. It’s really up in the air with him but he is so experienced and has been so successful in the industry. Big personality.

Roxy: I need to find out his star sign. I should probably ask how you got your band name, although I think I know. But it’s a great name.

Noah: There’s a record store in Darlinghurst, Sydney, called Radio Free Alice run by James Tsai. We owe it to him. I was in there the other day and he says he’s getting inundated by people trying to book us through him. It has a crazy collection of records in there.

Lochie: But there’s also the story of how he got his name for the store, from the pirate radio station [Radio Alice] based on ships. He explained it to me… a rebel radio station in Bologna that couldn’t play progressive musicon the stage so all these pirate radio stations existed.

Jules: We need to rehearse this answer a little better.

Roxy: Well, there’s some rebelliousness behind it, which fits well with what you’re doing. Do you have any words to live by as a band?

Jules: Yolo.

Noah: No, do not print that. I had a good one yesterday. Do you have one?

Roxy: Yes, I’ve been living by the ‘let them’ theory. It’s quite life-changing – it’s about not letting other people’s dramas and opinions affect your life. I’ve applied it to everything. If something’s making my life difficult I take a breath and just let them.

Lochie: But what if you ‘let them’ and it goes too far?

Roxy: I haven’t got there yet. So what’s next? What do you want to plug? I’m very excited for you guys.

Noah: Our new single, Empty Words, will be out when this story comes out. It’s energetic, immediate, discordant. A post-punk banger.

Roxy: Perfect.

Listen to Empty Words HERE.

Taken from 10 Men Australia Issue 25 - MUSIC, TALENT, CREATIVE - on newsstands now.

Photographer JAMES J. ROBINSON
Fashion Editor ABBY BENNETT
Talent RADIO FREE ALICE
Text ROXY LOLA
Grooming BRADWYN JONES at Assembly Agency using MR SMITH
Photographer’s assistants MIRABAI HAZELL and FINIAN DAVID
Fashion assistants JACK TAYLOR and RUBY THOMPSON
Grooming assistant JENNA GRAEBER
Production R D PRODUCTIONS
Special thanks to Genna Alexopoulos