When Australian four-piece In Hearts Wake released its breakthrough album Earthwalker in 2014, it grabbed the attention of American audiences. This May, the band dropped Skydancer, a companion album to Earthwalker. Both records were recorded at the same time in 2013, and the concept albums touched on the themes of masculine and feminine worlds. “Many indigenous cultures believed that the human body was a bridge between Mother Earth and Father Sky. One could not exist without the other, and therefore everything was one. To me, the essence of these two divine energies could be seen even within my own parents, and I felt like I was the product of both,” said lead singer Jake Taylor.

Ben Nairne, guitarist, talks to Myspace about In Hearts Wake’s double album, his dream of collaborating with Linkin Park, and why there’s no place like home.

Hometown and current residence: Byron Bay, NSW

How did In Hearts Wake come together?

Most of us grew up in the same area and would play soccer together when we were in primary school. We would all go to local shows together and started jamming together when we were 14 and that's where it all began.

Where did your name come from?

We came up with it when we were 16 and needed a name to play our first show. I think we had a bunch of names on a bit of paper and thought that one sounded the coolest so we stuck with!

I read that the relationship between the feminine and masculine was the inspiration for Earthwalker and Skydancer. What personal experiences influenced the way you made music for both albums?

Jake (our vocalist) came up with the concept and wrote all the lyrical content for the albums, so it's hard for me to speak about that on a personal level. What I can say is that when he was younger his parents split and he would experience two completely different worlds when spending time with either parent and this helped him realise the significance of having both.

It’s rare that bands release full albums these days, much less a double album. And why did you make them concept albums?  

We've always liked to do things a little differently and to give ourselves a challenge. Releasing a double record was definitely different and challenging for us but we are so glad to have followed through with it.

What are your day jobs? Do they help you make music?

I work in a bar, Eaven works in a bottle shop, Jake works at the cinemas and Kyle owns a carpet cleaning business. Having those jobs help us fund our passion and allow us to travel the world doing what we love so we are very lucky to be able to come back from a tour and still have a job.

You had a lot of collaborators on both albums; who else would you love to work with?

I personally would love to work with anyone from Linkin Park. I've listened to that band since I was in primary school and still listen to them just as much now. I watched them play at Soundwave a few years ago and their live performance just blew me away so it would be so cool to work with them.

What's been the highlight of your career as a band?

Playing Soundwave last year was a massive achievement for us, and in my opinion has been our career highlight so far. We are about to embark on a sold-out Australian tour playing some pretty big venues so that might take over as our biggest highlight.

The whole band is involved in nonprofit work and environmental causes. Do you think it's important for artists to give back to their communities?

I don't think it's particularly important for artists to give back to their communities but more so for them to be spreading a positive message. We've always been about using our music to spread a positive message and I think that by supporting our local community we are doing just that.

Does living in Australia influence your music in a good or bad way?

Being from Byron Bay means that we are surrounded by some absolutely beautiful scenery and this is where we draw much of our imputation from. We've travelled to some pretty nice places over the past few years, but nothing compares to our home.