From Footy Mates to Festival Stages: Ra Ra Viper’s Journey to ‘Big Speak’

Fremantle alt-rock band Ra Ra Viper have reached a major milestone this month, bringing the culmination of years of gigging around WA into a realised, honed sound on debut album Big Speak. Founded by Jack Tesser and Oliver Bolt, who met through their footy team, the band expanded with drummer Harry Tesser (Jack’s brother), guitarist Oliver Kruk, and bassist Julian Sanders, joining after a chance encounter in LA. Initially performing at open mics and house parties, the band gained attention with tracks like Paddy, as their music circulated up from the Freo music scene and projected out to the world via TikTok.

Produced by Andy Lawson (Noah Dillon, Verge Collection), Big Speak pushes the band’s boundaries, featuring dark guitars and glassy synth inspired by Fontaines D.C. and King Krule. Tracks like Shark and 4AM Child have been reeling fans in, and the band have recently kicked off their official album tour around Australia to show their debut off. 

"Knowing that this opportunity might not come again, we've poured immense blood, sweat, and emotion into this album over the last seven months. We are incredibly proud and happy to have created something that not only captures this unique period in all of our lives but does so in a way that will have a lasting, positive impact." The band said of the milestone. 

To better get inside of the minds of this breakthrough five-piece, Ra Ra Viper take us through their debut album.

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After the Show

After the Show is a tongue-in-cheek track where we tried to convey the universal experience of bumping into an ex unexpectedly, and the conflict/tension/humour/bravado that can all often come with that in one big hit. Musically we felt the song always had a bit of playfulness to it, especially once Bolty’s guide vocals went in, so we tried to lean into that with the lyrics + smaller instrumental touches (like the repeated use of a pill bottle shaker to fill out the verses).

Pinkies

This one started out with demo instrumentation heavily inspired by a combination of Dandy Warhols and Royel Otis. When we later came to write lyrics, Bolty (Oliver Bolt) brought his acoustic round to Jack's place one night and we knocked them out altogether after a few more beers than usual... What came out of that was a full nostalgia trip for us, with melancholy lyrics reflecting back on our younger days. This vibe was then built into the final tracking of the song, most notably in the very restrained lead vocal (very uncharacteristic for a Ra Ra song, for those who've been listening).

Big Speak

Big Speak was the first song written and recorded of the record, and perhaps fittingly ended up the title track, after a lot of rigorous debate as usual. It began with guitar and drums, but for perhaps the first time ever Jules came to a demo session with a bass line Krukky actually liked... Which ended up becoming the focus of the verses, before the more important instruments kick in hard during the choruses. The lyrics were a bit more difficult for this one, but Bolty led the way by falling back on a classic Ra Ra theme - reflections on how privilege can come back to bite us if we're not careful to keep it in check... 

Mothballs

Whilst still a muck around acoustic song, Mothballs was the first song and melody we had. As the focus was to write a destructive and loud album it took an initial back seat, however we quickly realised we needed a softer more vulnerable song. In deliberate contrast to “Howler”, Mothballs both sonically and lyrically explores sorrowful altruism. Although the two songs are in the same setting of self destruction, Mothballs emotionally explores how putting aside your own heartache and sadness to be kind and understanding of a partner or friend can be equally if not more damaging.

Losers

Losers came about around half way through the recording of the album. The song circles around self-comparison and anxious thoughts particularly with people that society may consider successful or role models, but this idea can perhaps be easily argued against. The line "what's the point in loving all these losers in their prime" is a tongue in cheek comment pointing out an idea of why we idolise some people in society when they may not deserve it. The song is hard hitting and heavily guitar based, giving it energy and a tone that reinforces the theme explored. 

Howler

Howler started in our Hammy Hill garage as a shameless almost dad rock sounding song. Through leaning into some obnoxious  instrumental hits, clanging up the guitar tones and some good old fashion yelling “Howler” quickly took on a distinct feeling of frustrated tonal anger. From this point the lyrics came easy,  portraying a darker and destructive feeling of personal anger knowing that what you want is bad and arguably toxic, yet you are selfishly willing to make things work through the primitive urge to connect and love someone although you both know it’s only petrol to the fire.

4AM Child

4AM Child was one of the first songs on the album that came about with a darker tone initially. The song was conceptually written mostly by our drummer Harry, before everyone else started to add bits and pieces and then the track came together. The lyrics for the song centre around a particular experience Jack had whilst travelling in South America a few years ago, where he came into contact with two orphan street children in the middle of the night that stuck with him. The experience is drawn upon in the song, and the lyrics reflect this and the general unfair nature of the world, particularly the idea of the lottery of birth.

Ode to David

Ode to David is the interlude of the album, it came late in the piece, when we were looking for something to connect 4AM Child and Shark. The chattering background noise followed by a pulse into the introduction of Shark serves its purpose in the album and is a good spacer to (hopefully) enhance the body of work. 

Shark

Shark was our first single of the record, I think mainly because it was the first one we actually started to hear coming together pretty well in the studio (while some of the other early tracks took a bit longer to find their feet). It's also towards the poppy end of the Ra Ra spectrum, which we figured would be a good transition into the somewhat different sound we've been working for on this album. Throw in some good old fashioned unrequited love-based lyrics and a bit of Bolty yelling at the end, and we were good to go.

Red Heels & Razorblades

Red Heels & Razorblades was initially a guitar riff recorded using a broken cable, giving the bass line a weird pulsating feeling. From there we were inspired to use our instruments in the complete opposite way to their intended uses which allowed us to create a more eclectic sound than we were used to. We were drawn back to creating a heavier rocky chorus to compliment the quirky verses to add a feeling and emotion to the song. After lots of experimentation and fun we were able to compile all the weird ideas together in order to come up with Red Heels & Razorblades. 

Storm

Storm started off as a bass line and drum beat with a basic guitar riff over the top. Overtime and after many renditions the track was about to be thrown away. With a large amount of guitar manipulation and synth work we were able to create a dark and moody atmosphere within the track and from there we took the intro into the studio and mucked around with it. With no guitars or drum beats set in stone the song really came together after a couple of beers and trying a bunch of different ideas. We just kept layering the most absurd sounds we could find and in the end we found the final song of the album. Thematically the song focusses on societal greed and angst among young people in relation to this topic - that seems to be making life more and more difficult for young people. 

Big Speak is now available on all streaming platforms, with the Australian tour continuing in Melbourne this weekend. More information is available via the band’s website.

Ra Ra Viper ‘Big Speak’ Australian Tour

Friday 15th November - The Night Cat, Melbourne

Saturday 16th November - Jive, Adelaide

Thursday 28th November - Oxford Art Factory, Sydney

Friday 29th November - The Brightside, Brisbane