South Summit Reveal The Five Albums That Influenced Their Debut Album ‘The Bliss’

South Summit don’t want to be put in a box. Combining elements of rock, reggae and hip-hop, the Western Australia band have been snowballing into something bigger than the five band members could ever imagine.

As of today, the band have announced the release of their debut album The Bliss. The 12-piece album contains hits such as Ottoway, Exceptional, and most recent hit Catacombs, detailing the journey inwards through pain and self-discovery.

Lead singer Zaya Reuben said of one of the standout singles from the album, “The main themes are coming of age and how we deal with certain aspects of pain. Catacombs is a track that helped me delve deep within myself, so I hope others can too. The inspiration behind catacombs comes from certain experiences from my life, and ‘catacombs’ represent that to me.

“The catacombs are a dark place beneath a somewhat beautiful place. I feel that everyone has their own catacombs hidden within them. So, I wanted to tell a story about what my catacombs look like…”

Recorded at Blackbird Sound Studio with WA producer legend Dave Parkin (Spacey Jane, Tired Lion, Bob Evans), each track offers a unique sonic experience, with lush layers of guitars, bass grooves, and synths, anchored by frontman Reuben’s chilled out vocal presence. 

For South Summit, creating The Bliss meant drawing from the albums that have inspired them over the years—an eclectic mix of records that shaped their vision and sound. Here, they reveal the five albums that have the most significant influences on their debut:

Album: 'L.A.B IV' by L.A.B

Song: Boy King 

This album is well put together. It takes you on a journey, and that's something we wanted to do for our album. We were driving through New Zealand blasting this tune (Boy King) and you can say we definitely got some inspiration from this. 

Album: 'Exodus' by Bob Marley & The Wailers 

Song: Natural Mystic 

This album has been cemented in our heads since we were kids. It's one of those albums where it not only influences our sound but how we perceive ourselves and the message we want to tell the world. This is one of our favourite songs from this album. 

Album: ‘Aquemini' by Outkast 

Song: SpottieOttieDopaliscious 

This album is a masterpiece, the way it transitions between songs is something we wanted to try. This song by Outkast goes for about 7mins and we love jamming so we definitely had to add in a piece of us. We grew up on a lot of Outkast aswell so they've been a huge inspiration in the making of this album. 

Album: ‘Rumours' by Fleetwood Mac 

Song: The Chain 

This band played a huge part in the making of our album. Getting in the right creative space as a band and writing feel-good music was a main focus for us. We feel this album (Rumours) really ties in with the process and how our dynamics work aswell. From working as a band on Instrumentals, to working on harmonies, and more. This song definitely had some sort of impact and influenced our sound for 'The Bliss'.

Album: 'Land of Pleasure' by Sticky Fingers 

Song: Velvet Skies 

This album definitely nailed the production side of things. We wanted our album to sound as fat as possible and this album by the boys really ties in with where we kind of headed in terms of production and experimenting on different sounds. This song is one of our faves and is a banger from this album.

South Summit’s new album is available now on all streaming platforms. More information can be found on their website.