Taking influence from bands like The Brian Jonestown Massacre, Oasis, and The Black Angels, Sydney band Sundown State soaks up inspiration in the daytime and transforms it into psychedelic tunes when the sun goes down. They’re geared up to bring their totally original brand of psychedelic rock to The Lair next Thursday, May 29th as part of Emergenza Festival Australia. But before the show they take time to indulge a few of our curiosities.

HOW DOES THE NAME SUNDOWN STATE EPITOMIZE YOUR MUSIC?
We write all our music at night generally, it’s when we musically come to life. Sundown State also has two meanings, which is another thing we liked about it, it can be a state of mind as well as a place where it's always nighttime.

IF YOU COULD DESCRIBE YOUR SOUND IN THREE WORDS, WHAT WOULD THEY BE?
Human. Hypnotic. Imperial.

WHAT'S THE 'PSYCHEDELIC' COMPONENT TO YOUR SOUND?
Psychedelic music is difficult to define as it comes in many incredible forms. However the psychedelia we dabble in mostly revolves around bringing a sound that is lost in time while also staying fresh and modern. We try to write music that you feel you can relate to, even though you've never heard it before, it sounds familiar... to us that’s what proper psychedelic music is all about.

WHO ARE SOME OF YOUR MAJOR MUSICAL INFLUENCES?
The bands that inspire us are: The Brian Jonestown Massacre, Elephant Stone, Oasis, The Grateful Dead, Massive Attack and Jimi Hendrix.

WHAT'S THE CRAZIEST THING YOU'VE DONE TOGETHER AS A BAND?
Individually we all have some pretty awesome stories of being loose, but as a band we tend to just get on with the music. We'll save the wild times for tours.

WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO MOST ABOUT YOUR SHOW AT THE LAIR?
The things that we're looking forward to at The Lair include being able to grace the stage as well as checking out the other musicians. It'll be a good place to unleash our brand of rock n' roll. We've seen some top acts play there and we can't wait to be a part of it.

WITH OTHER BATTLE OF THE BANDS COMPETITIONS AROUND, WHAT MADE YOU CHOOSE EMERGENZA?
Emergenza has an amazing reputation, a global network and amazing venues.

For more details on the show at The Lair @ The Metro Theatre in Sydney on May 29th, click here.