Teether and Kuya Neil Share Double Single "DIAL UP and "SEA LEGS"

TEETHER & KUYA NEIL EXPAND INTO CREEPY RAP TERRITORY WITH DOUBLE SINGLES “DIAL UP” + “SEA LEGS“

Teether and Kuya Neil by Jason Hamilton

“True to its name, “BLUSH” is far gentler than any previous material we’ve heard from the duo… but their take on romance isn’t entirely devoid of realism” – The Line Of Best Fit

“Fun, witty, and imaginative, ‘BLUSH’ remains tethered to their left-field roots, a kind of abstract pop song with a killer beat” – CLASH

“A powder keg of bangers primed to shake the rat race to its core” –
The Guardian

“Undeniably charismatic” – NME

“(a) rap wrecking ball” – Electronic Sound

“two of the country’s most forward-thinking artists” – Acclaim Magazine

“Simultaneously chaotic and precise, no matter whether the palette is fierce rap, punk energy, slinking beats, or whatever else” – Rolling Stone AU/NZ (Best of 2023)

Enhancing Teether and Kuya Neil’s creative sphere from forthright and playful to downright unsettling comes their latest drop “DIAL UP” and “SEA LEGS”. In the wake of their triumphant Golden Plains debut, today’s double release is an eye opening window into the depths of their forthcoming debut album YEARN IV out May 2 via Chapter Music.

LISTEN HERE + WATCH ‘DIAL UP’ HERE + WATCH ‘SEA LEGS’ HERE + PRE-SAVE LP HERE.

Wild and wholly untraditional, “DIAL UP” and “SEA LEGS” remain in step with the off-kilter, experimental rap branding synonymous with Teether and Kuya Neil. Here, warped dub and gutter Soundcloud rap twists that stamp further into their most offbeat and haunting moments, in stark contrast to recent releases “ZOO” and “BLUSH“. “DIAL UP” and “SEA LEGS” use entirely different sonic worlds to capture the duo’s defiant, unflinching vision. “DIAL UP” is a blown out and forceful collaboration with Melbourne producer Stoneset, while “SEA LEGS” recalls the brooding lo-fi sounds of 2010’s Soundcloud rap.

“DIAL UP“, directed by Teether & Kuya Neil’s ongoing visual partner Phillip Dixon VII is a rattling illustration of cultish ritual. Dixon shares “Pushing the album’s visuals toward something more tactile and handcrafted, I drew inspiration from the movies of Sergei Parajanov and Andrzej Żuławski for this clip. Texture, ritual and emotional rawness felt like the right language for the paranoid, psychedelic epiphany Teether unravels over Kuya Neil and Stoneset’s bouncing production. With Ryan Bell’s deep-focus super 16mm cinematography, Erika Beiza’s surreal face paint, and Klari Agari’s handcrafted costumes, we set out to make every frame feel like a cracked relic from another time.”

WATCH “DIAL UP” HERE

“Stoneset is one of the most underrated producers in the city,” Kuya Neil shares of their collaboration on “DIAL UP”. “He brought the heavy low end and bounce and I added the synth and leads,” he continues while Teether adds, “I swear I left the room to no music and came back to him and Kuya Neil with this instrumental almost finished. I just knew it was hectic and we needed this track to exist.”

Of “SEA LEGS“, a resolutely honest recount of life as non-white people in so-called Australia, Teether reveals “Lyrically, I feel like this captures the first person day to day experience more accurately than any other.”
Neil expands, “I loved pushing the darker broodier lo-fi sound with this track. Building tension but never fully releasing or resolving. My favourite Teether line on the record is ‘not off the boat but I still got the sea legs’.”

Expanding to collaborating with cult videographer Passive Kneeling (Ninajirachi, BAYANG (tha Bushranger)), ‘SEA LEGS’ visually greens out. The moniker of director Tom Vanderzeil, he explains, “Around the time of filming the sea legs video I think all 3 of us were feeling a bit burnt out and overall creatively depleted. We set some loose boundaries for the video, I had some locations in mind then we just spitballed ideas on route to shooting. We ended up having a really fun and productive night, one of those projects that came together naturally after not putting too much stress on it.”

WATCH “SEA LEGS” HERE

Recorded in Naarm / Melbourne and completed in London, YEARN IV captures both Teether & Kuya Neil’s global influences distilled with the strength of their connection to the local scene – illustrated by today’s feature with Stoneset alongside forthcoming collaborations with Alice Skye and 1300’s Nerdie. A blur of sonic and thematic boundaries, the record captures the brooding and vivid world of two musical outsiders raised by the internet.

A sharp, serrated release for Teether and Kuya Neil, debut album YEARN IV is surreal but not esoteric, jagged but singular. Their knack for beats, hooks and flow is seemingly out of this world, infused with unparalleled swagger, but with enough aptitude and pragmatism never to betray form. Teether and Kuya Neil dance with musical structure just as they roast and eulogise the societal structures that formed them, finding their voice amid a sea of clashing cultural experiences, sonic histories, and the isolation of contemporary urban Australia.

“DIAL UP” / “SEA LEGS” are out now, buy/stream it here.

YEARN IV artwork

LP TRACKLIST
SCRATCH THE FLEA POINT FT NERDIE
ZOO
COSPLAY
BLUSH
CHANEL FT ALICE SKY
DIAL UP FT STONESET
SPIDERWEB
WAY OUT
HOTEL
EPHERMERAL
SEA LEGS
BULLET POINT
BIG AXE

MORE ABOUT TEETHER AND KUYA NEIL

There is no cadence like Teether’s to be found in Australia, where the immersive storytelling of his delivery filters through Neil’s unorthodox, hyper-modern production. They converge as vanguards of the Naarm/Melbourne underground scene together and in their own right, orchestrating a brooding and vivid world of two musical outsiders. Releasing their first mixtape GLYPH via Chapter Music in 2021, the duo saw global radio support across triple j, NTS, Dublab, fbi.radio, Triple R, Skylab and more, writeups via NME, Brooklyn Vegan, Acclaim, Tone Deaf, Beat Magazine, with four songs from the mixtape featuring in the iconic Australian Netflix series Heartbreak High the following year.

2023 follow-up STRESSOR charted in the Australian Independent Top 10, earned Feature Album placements across Triple R, fbi.radio, RTR FM and Edge Radio, and made it into end of year best of lists for Guardian Australia, Rolling Stone and NME, before receiving a nomination for Best Hip Hop Album at the 2024 AIR Awards. Renowned for their electric stage presence, the duo have performed at Bigsound, Melbourne Music Week, RISING, Meadow, Vivid Sydney, NGV Melbourne and Parramatta Lanes, supporting the likes of international peers MC Yallah & Debmaster and They Hate Change, as well as veteran alt-rap outfit Shabazz Palaces and Chicago Footwork pioneer RP Boo.

As a solo artist, a member of Too Birds, and an in-demand collaborator, Teether has a deep dive catalogue of releases to his name. From working with New York rapper billy woods from Armand Hammer – who he supported in Australia in 2023 – to supporting Kim Gordon in Melbourne in 2024, he’s even featured on a single from metal band Dregg, released by the legendary Epitaph Records. Kuya Neil’s output is just as prolific: as the founder of Australian creative collective content.net.au, he’s produced tracks for the likes of Mirasia, BAYANG (tha Bushranger), Papaphilia, ZK King and more.