SILKY ROADS | INTERVIEW + TRACK REVIEW

Few bands in Australia are fusing groove and introspection as seamlessly as Silky Roads. With a sound that drips with funk, soul, and a distinctly danceable energy, the Sydney-based four-piece is carving out a unique space somewhere between the beach and the nightclub. Their upcoming EP captures this evolution—blending influences from Pink Floyd to Parcels, and placing movement and feeling at the core of everything they create. We caught up with the band ahead of their Harbord Hotel single launch to chat Triple J wins, the joy of collaboration, and why their eyes are firmly set on Europe.

TRACK REVIEW

Crazy Tasty kicks off like a slick-backed carnival operator—smooth, cheeky, and full of charm. The intro sets the tone perfectly, luring you into a groove that’s impossible to ignore. Right away, you can hear the influence of bands like Jungle in the rhythm and arrangement, but Silky Roads put their own fresh spin on it.

The bass? Creamy. Confident. Locked in and laser-focused—there’s no messing around. The groove doesn’t waste a second, holding everything down while the silky vocals float effortlessly over the top. It’s sleek, it’s sensual, and it sits in that delicious in-between space where you’re not sure if you should be dancing or just vibing with your eyes closed. Either works. Both feel right.

And that lyric—“It’s the cherry on top”—nails it. That’s exactly what this track is. Crazy Tasty delivers on its name with flavour, finesse, and just enough funk to make it unforgettable.

LISTEN HERE

Your sound has been described as funky, soulful, and hypnotic, truly a breath of fresh air in the Australian scene. When you think about the musical space you’re carving out with this upcoming EP, what feels most different or evolved compared to what you’ve released before?

We’re finding that our musical inspirations are evolving all the time. Lately, listening to so much dance and house music, we’re finding that it’s bleeding into our sound more and more each time we sit down to write a song. That seems to be the running theme.. We feel like there’s elements from all stops of our musical inspirations that are being echoed in our music. From Pink Floyd, to Parcels, to Franc Moody, the inspirations lie somewhere in our music. We feel like the evolution of our music is just us collecting sounds and inspirations as we go. This upcoming EP definitely reflects that sentiment.

‘Crazy Tasty’ has just been accepted to Triple J TOPS, a huge milestone. What does a moment like that mean to you as a band, and how do you keep the energy grounded while you wait to hear it hit the airwaves?

It’s huge! We all did a double take when we saw the playlist that Crazy Tasty is being added to. It honestly means the world. We had some luck being played on late night Triple J programs with our first EP “Granada’, but it’s been pretty quiet since then. Seeing the payoff of all of the behind the scenes work that we’ve done since then to give the songs a chance to be played on a program like TOPS is extremely gratifying. Growing up listening to all of the Triple J featured bands and getting to share the airwaves with some of them is a dream come true.

You’ve worked closely with Jess Shao and Lucas Knight, who brought a whole new visual and physical element to your latest singles. How important is movement and choreography to the Silky Roads experience, and how has it shaped the way you think about your music visually?

Jess and Lucas have been incredible. They’re feeling just as important to the production of our music as any other element at this point. We’ve said for years that we just want our music to make people dance. It finally clicked one day that we needed to read between the lines and incorporate that into the production of the songs. We try to visualise the way that they would interpret the music through dance, and act on that throughout the writing process. We’re finding that the experience of music isn’t only through the audio.. It’s really important to be able to visualise the music too. Jess and Lucas are helping us do this in a massive way!

‘How It Feels’ struck such a chord with listeners. Looking back, what do you think it was about that track, sonically or emotionally that made it connect so deeply?

Honestly, we don’t know! It can be so hard to pinpoint how a song reaches so many people.. We’re just glad that it has. All we know is that we’re writing the music that we like listening to. As a band we all have pretty eclectic tastes, so we try to bring in as many elements from pop, house, funk, and disco into our songs as possible. Maybe ‘How It Feels’ covers that mix of genres, and so it opens the track up to a wider group of people? Who knows…

If you could sum up the ‘Silky Roads sound’ in a feeling, a scene, or a single moment in time, what would it be, and why do you think it stands apart from so much of the current Australian music landscape?

It feels like whenever we’re writing a song, we want to be able to move. If we’re sitting still whilst listening back, it’s probably not a good sign. For that reason, we hope that our music makes people want to move and feel excited. We feel like a lot of Aussie music does that, but maybe we’re drawn a little more to the European artists out there. A little more drawn to the dance and nightclub feeling that comes from that scene. Maybe that makes our music a little different to the music coming out of the Aussie scene at the moment.

There’s been a lot of talk about how your music feels tailor-made for the European festival circuit. What is it about the vibe, the crowds, or the energy overseas that feels like a natural fit for Silky Roads?

We’ve all spent considerable time in Europe throughout our lives. We’ve all just loved our time there, and the energy that comes from the night scene all over Europe. It feels as though a lot of the music over there is tailored towards that night life and festival scene, and for some reason we’re just drawn to it. We’re also very inspired by European artists, and when we’re inspired by artists we do major deep dives into everything that they’ve done. Maybe watching all of the festival sets throughout their careers has made those festivals our standard for the way that we think festivals should be, as well as the ones that we want to play at.

You’ve got the Harbord Hotel single launch locked in for May 2nd, a killer venue and a big moment. How are you planning to shape that show into something special for your fans? Any surprises in the works?

Well, we haven’t had a proper headline show in a while, so that carries a lot of weight for us. We’re taking our existing show tropes and amplifying them. More dance jams, bigger sounds, more energy. We’re making sure that when we take the stage on May 2nd that we leave nothing on the table. We feel like the new band room at Harbord Hotel deserves that, as well as the lovely people who are coming to see us play.

Touring can make or break a band. As you look ahead to the EP tour later this year, what are you most excited to discover or experience out on the road this time around?

We’ve played shows outside of Sydney here and there, but we haven’t yet had the opportunity to do a full blown tour up and down the east coast. We feel like the experience of doing that for the first time will be exciting as it is. Hiring a van and driving city to city is something that all of our idols have done, and we can’t wait to see what it’s like. There’s enough inside jokes and love between the four of us to make it a trip of a lifetime, everytime.

You’ve already shared stages with legends like The Rions, Winston Surfshirt, and No Cigar. If you could design the dream lineup for a Silky Roads festival slot, anywhere in the world, who’s playing alongside you, and where are you setting up?

Those names are definitely worth a mention. We’re so grateful to play with such kind and supportive acts. We’re sure that given the chance to play with our other idols, they’d be just as kind. Our dream festival lineup would be, in no particular order: Franc Moody, Neal Francis, Parcels, Jungle, Papooz, and L’Imperatrice. Surely we’d set up somewhere in France, but honestly we would love to play anywhere in Europe. It always goes off.

LISTEN HERE