In 2010 Australian band Tame Impala released their debut album, Innerspeaker. In 2019, it wasn’t just Coachella’s headliner, but it also became the biggest psychedelic rock band of the decade. With just three deleted albums, the band saw their fan base swell into the millions worldwide, with each album making them even bigger.
The group which was created by Kevin Parker has other members including Jay Watson, Dominic Simper, Julien Barbagallo and Cam Avery.
The beginning of Tame Impala
The psychedelic music project was started in 2007 by Kevin Parker, a multi-talented instrumentalist who writes for the band and is also the singer.
The group began by recording at the homeproject. However, as soon as he uploaded some of his recordings to Myspace, he attracted different labels. In 2008 he made a deal with Australian label Modular Recordings. Parker then enlisted Jay Watson and Dominic Simper in an effort to stage the recordings.
In 2008 he released his debut EP Taming Impala [HITS 003] which had one of the band’s first popular songs, “Half Full Glass of Wine”, which was listed as one of Triple J’s Hottest 100 Songs of 2008 His next EP, Tame Impala was released the same year in October, followed by Peace and Paranoia Tour 2013.
In 2010 the band released Innerspeaker, which peaked at number 4 on the ARIA charts and 144 on the UK charts. Two years later, Solonism. He was ARIA: Platinum and BPI Silver certified. The next album, Currents which came in 2015 was even more successful than the previous two recording ARIA: Platinum, BPI: Gold and RIAA: Gold.
Profile of group members
Kevin Parker is the core member of the band and many even consider him a solo artist. However, the group also has other live members. Here’s everyone who makes the group:
Kevin Parker
The singer of the group, Kevin Richard Parker was born in New South Wales, Australia, on January 20, 1986. His father was Zimbabwe and his mother South African. When he was only three years old, his parents’ marriage ended.
Growing up, he had a passion for music because his father also loved music and played it as a hobby. In fact, he started playing musical instruments with the help of his father. He began by learning the guitar, then the drum, at the age of 11, following in the footsteps of his older brother.
At 18, Kevin was becoming popular in the pubscene even though his father had warned him to make music a career because he thought it would destroy his magic. The problem for him was that he couldn’t get his passion outside of music anymore, so he pursued it until he formed Tame Impala.
Jay Watson
Popular as GUM, Jay was born on May 27, 1990 in Carnarvon and raised in Northam. Although more popular as a band member, Watson also has a solo career and he is also a member of the band Pond.
As a solo artist under the name GUM, he has released several albums, including Delorean Highway (2014), Glamorous Damage ( 2015), and The Outsider (2018). With Pond, he has released albums including Psychedelic Mango (2008), The Weather (2017), and Tasmania (2019).
Dominic Simper
He has been part of the band since its formation in 2007. He was a bassist until 2010, when he became a guitarist and keyboardist.
He was born in Pert, Australia on January 2, 1986. He went to John XXIII College, Perth where he met Parker and the two immediately bonded over their love of music.
Cam Avery
Avery is another creative member of the group. He is also a member of Pond and leads the group. The rumble. He is the band’s bassist and vocalist.
Julien Barbagallo
He joined the band in 2012 as a drummer and vocalist. Before that, he was part of the French indie pop music group Tahiti 80.
What to know about Tame Impala
1. Their next album
Four years after releasing their last album in 2015, Tame Impala is working on their fourth studio album which Kevin Parker says will be released in 2019.
2. Former band members
Since the beginning, the group only had one member who left, Nick Allbrook. The bassist, guitarist and synthesizer was part of the band from 2010 to 2013.
3. Price
With their last two albums, the group received Grammy nominations for Best Alternative Music Album; it was in 2014 for Solonisme and 2016 for Les currents. He has won many other awards including WAMI Awards, Australian Rolling Stone Awards, Brit Awards and ARIA Awards.