Gang of Youths

History

Gang of Youths was formed in Sydney, Australia in 2012. Members of the band met in an evangelical church although lead-singer and song-writer David Le'aupepe described himself during this time as a 'loner' and stated that while "I still align myself with Jesus. I’m just not a great poster-boy for it – I’m a fornicating drunkard who swears a lot and listens to a lot of black metal." Guitarist Joji Malani is Fijian, keyboardist Jung Kim is American, bassist Maxwell Dunn is from New Zealand while David Le'aupepe has Samoan-Jewish heritage.

They started work on their debut album, The Positions, in 2013. In September that year some tracks were recorded in New York's Marcarta Recording studio with Kevin McMahon. By June 2014 they were in the Sony Music Australia recording studios in Sydney. Le'aupepe is the sole songwriter and his lyrics deal with his relationship with his former wife, her melanoma diagnosis and treatment for the cancer, their separation and his suicide attempts.

The band performed at South by Southwest festival in March 2014. The Positions peaked at No. 5 on the ARIA Albums Chart in May 2015. At the ARIA Music Awards of 2015 Gang of Youths received five nominations: Breakthrough Artist – Release, Best Rock Album, Best Cover Artist (by Nathan Johnson) for The Positions, Engineer of the Year (Adrian Breakspear, Peter Holz) for "Radioface", and Best Australian Live Act for the Gang of Youths National Tour. In December they were recognised as the Live Act of the Year of 2015 and Best Domestic Tour in The AU Review. Their single "Magnolia" came in at number 21 in the Triple J Hottest 100, 2015.

In June 2016, a single, "Strange Diseases", was released alongside an announcement of an upcoming EP due to be released on 29 July titled Let Me Be Clear. The band are due to play Splendour in the Grass in the same month.

Singles