On the Rise
Sunday (1994)

It beckons for a world that perhaps doesn’t even exist. The synths, guitars and dreamy cadence of vocalist Paige Turner's delivery are the recipe to Sunday (1994)’s signature sound alongside introspective lyrics that are both self-deprecatingly funny one moment and then all too heartfelt the next.

Creatively, Paige Turner and Lee Newell are two sides of the same coin; one complimenting the other and finding space for each others’ ideas at any given moment; listening to their music there’s a kindred chemistry. So it would be hard to believe that they grew up on opposite sides of the world, one in LA, the other in Slough.

Newell, hailing from England – and previously the vocalist in reviled indie band Viva Brother – was raised on “whatever my dad was listening to," he tells me. "He was very young, so I had quite a contemporary sort of musical upbringing in terms of a parent's point of view. So I was listening to Prodigy, The Clash, REM, and then, like, Britpop stuff, Oasis and Blur and all that Suede.”

Turner however leant on the likes of jazz through her grandfather. “I don't listen to too much jazz, but some of that influence definitely I would take into my vocal approach. My dad loved classic rock, Led Zeppelin, and Steely Dan. I mean, The Beatles, obviously.”

Locations and upbringings aside, their pursuit of music and willingness to share it is what enabled them to find common ground and expand as artists. The pair met backstage while Newell was touring as part Brooklyn synth group Love Life and supporting The Neighbourhood. It was the ultimate meet-cute for musicians. Becoming friends first, he tells me they “haven't really left each other's side since, truthfully.”

Since forming as a group – along with an enigmatic drummer known simply as "X" – they’ve released a self-titled debut EP and are now gearing up for the deluxe edition, with the first single being “TV Car Chase”. Given that introductions only happen once (and they say first impressions count) they tell me just why the deluxe EP is so important, for both the fans and for themselves. “So we'd released six songs before, and the first one we put out was ‘Tired Boy’, which is a similar pacing to ‘TV Car Chase’. So it felt like a reintroduction,” Newell tells me.

Turner agrees on the sentiment: “The other two songs that are on the deluxe that are coming out, are maybe like, a different side to us. So we didn't want to scare people and make people think, ‘oh shit, they've already changed.’ I mean it doesn't sound too different from what we put out. We just wanted to ease back into the release.”

What reaffirms the pair's confidence in their music is that they aren’t ready to stray away from it to shock listeners, with Newell explaining, “We tend to sort of go for more mid paced, slower songs, because I feel like you can get the message across easier lyrically, at least.”

Such mid-paced tracks are becoming a signature for the group, making it clear that lyrical content is as important as all the other elements that make up the DNA of Sunday (1994). Their process is usually organic and much like many musicians, it’s a coping mechanism, a time of reflection and in this case, survival as Turner tells me. “I went on antidepressants, and I was still very in a very dark place while we were writing the song," she says. "And if anything, these three songs on the deluxe were kind of the thing that got me through that period. I was feeling so terrible. But I would be like, ‘no, let's just sit down and write a song’, because it was the only thing that distracted me from what was going on in my mind.”

It also happened to be the first track they wrote for the deluxe, and Turner tells me that its fruition “started acapella, like that was just a melody idea I had for the chorus, and then Lee instantly picked up the guitar and kind of just knew where the chords would fall.” Their partnership in private is arguably what allows such standouts like “TV Car Chase” to happen. Turner muses: “I feel on my side lyrically, I can let my guard down a bit with him, because I'm just... I've known him for so long. Yeah, it almost gets to a point where it's telepathic.”

The Sunday (1994) moniker was born from their love for old films. It presents like it could be hung on the outside of an old movie theatre, and as with most things they do, this comes with intention. The DNA of their music and of both Paige and Lee as individuals is rooted in what’s seen as much as what’s heard. Turner explains: “I think that the visual world of our band is also so important, and that's what I love about film. And I feel like when we're writing our music and when you listen to it, you can, or at least the goal for me is to be able to step into the world of what maybe a film would be like.”

Newell reiterates this: “We didn't want it to look like a music video. We wanted it to look like a timer, sort of a time capsule, almost a time that never really happened. There's a nostalgia, and we want it to feel like it could take place today or it could take place 30 years ago.”

The deluxe EP is ultimately an extension of such a love for long-form media, about not moving onto the next thing too fast. “We also wanted to sort of secretly put out an album, or, like, sneakily put out an album rather, because that's really what it is” Newell states.

“And I do like long form, and that's our way of getting around it without putting out an album first.”

Turner is on the same page. “We also saw that fans were reacting really, really well when we put out the EP," she tells me. "It was motivation and fuel to be like, ‘Okay, let's keep going and let's not stop and go away for six months and write an album.’”

In an era of fast-paced and ever-changing trends, the duo are in no rush to move past their current body of work. “I think people are still discovering us," concludes Tuner. "I don't know. I wasn't ready for it to end yet.”