TeleChild, as you may have guessed from the name, take a lot of inspiration for their alternative rock sound from the magical and addictive world of television.
Their name directly links to their child-hood obsession in the 80s and 90s when TV channels and formats were really finding their groove. Their logo is a child with a TV for a head (which is probably most kids’ dream).
In addition, the band composed of Lebanese childhood friends Hadi Baba and Charles Anouzi, has created their debut album so that it sounds as if you’re surfing through the best music TV channels.
"As you listen through the songs with the different rock styles between them, you’ll get the same feeling of randomness as if you’re zapping through TV channels but hopefully you won’t be able to stop.” says Hadi.
Those different musical styles span the whole of indie and rock music, taking in blues rock, indie rock, progressive rock, surf rock, pop rock, a bit of funk and soul, soundscape and orchestral. “There’s even a pseudo bosanova part in one of the songs!” jokes Charles.
Musically the band count Pink Floyd, The Beatles, Radiohead, Arcade Fire, Blur, Led Zeppelin and U2 as inspirations, channeling their inventive rock sound into Turn On Your Favorite Show.
“There’s a lot of tempo changes for example within the same song and a lot of the tracks don’t follow the typical verse-chorus-verse-chorus-bridge formula.” Just like their whole TV image and brand, their work process is clearly thought out to make sure “the parts flow into each other seamlessly.”
There are also some clear TV hints in the track titles. Track 2 ‘Tarantino’ is named after the Pulp Fiction director and rocks and rolls with real drama while ‘The Act’ is a dramatic indie pop track that’s as clever as it is fun.
Turn On Your Favorite Show has been created over 3-4 years, with most of the tracks written in Dubai, expanded during a trip to Thailand, and then recorded at Tunefork Studios in Lebanon across two separate sessions. Impressively, the album was mastered at the famed Abbey Road Studios of The Beatles, giving them a seriously cool bragging point.
But while TeleChild might have crafted a seriously fun and cool brand, their lyrics cut deep.
“Lyrically, we wrote from our experiences and what we were going through during the writing process. The songs explore family bonds, relationship struggles, regret, a sense of escape, and our cynical view on society.”
Combine those hot-button topics with killer riffs, tightly honed imagination and a finely tuned image, and you have a smash hit winner.
