Perth might be one of the most remote capital cities in Australia. But the WA music scene is having its moment.
It’s thanks to acts like South Summit. Fans can’t get enough of their melodic songs, fusing a variety of music genres into one catchy sound.
Especially when the band plays their bangers live. That’s what they do best. And that was the main subject of my conversation with Nehemiah “Nemo” Reuben, South Summit’s rhythm guitarist and vocalist.
PART 215 OF “AM I EVER GONNA SEE YOUR FACE AGAIN?” A RANDOM COLLECTION OF UNKNOWINGLY OBVIOUS FACTS ABOUT THE AUSTRALIAN MUSIC SCENE
If you’ve ever lived in the Land Down Under, you’d know that the internet is somewhat funny in some regions.
So, in true Aussie fashion, when Nemo connected from Perth on a hot and sweaty Friday evening in January, our virtual catch-up was subject to a few connection drops and tech glitches.
Despite those minor hick-ups, South Summit’s rep was super accommodating and fun to chat with, letting me in on a few details regarding the band’s upcoming headline tour in Australia, New Zealand, the UK and Europe.
Yes, you read that correctly. South Summit are about to embark on a headline tour of the Old Continent. They might have played together as a band only since 2020. But the WA group has already achieved what many Aussie acts can only dream of.
Image by Cedric Tang
The band’s songs have racked up hundreds of thousands of streams. Their debut album from 2024, The Bliss, reached #2 on the ARIA album charts. And they sold out most shows in Australian capital cities on their current national tour, promoting that highly successful record, two months before it even started.
If those achievements aren’t enough to convince you that the WA collective is the “one to watch”, the road to forming South Summit might change your mind.
When I ask Nemo to describe the band briefly, he says “We are a 5-piece from Perth, WA. We play music and we like to party. That sums us up in a nutshell.” If I were directing a biopic about the band, I’d probably make that intro the opening scene.
The longer version of the story starts with the bass player, Josh Trindall, as the “connector”. He’s been friends with Nathan Osborne [drums] since high school. He found Fynn Samorali [lead guitar] through uni. And he met brothers Isaiah “Zaya” Reuben [lead vocals] and Nemo through mutual friends at a party.
There’s, however, an odd element in this puzzle. Normally, people bond over similar tastes in music. In the case of the Perth outfit, it was the members’ interests in widely different genres that brought them together.
“Everything gelled pretty naturally for us. We use that unique blend [of genres] to our advantage.”
“Nathan grew up on The Police,” Nemo tells me. “Fynn loves his Arctic Monkeys. Me and Zaya were raised on reggae music, like Steel Pulse and Bob Marley, and heaps of R’n’B, soul, and bands like Fleetwood Mac. And Joshy digs Red Hot Chilli Peppers.”
As a result, South Summit’s signature sound is a blend of all those different styles. If you check out the band’s back catalogue, you’ll hear the reggae aesthetic, psych rock, indie music and even hints of grunge in some places.
“Everything gelled pretty naturally for us,” Nemo clarifies. “We use that unique blend to our advantage.”
The band’s musical versatility is a solid reason for their rising popularity. But I can imagine South Summit isn’t the first music industry experience for the five members. Their level of sophistication in songwriting and dexterity with their respective instruments is impossible to attain when you’re a newbie.
“We all had a bit of history with other stuff. And I think it’s what’s made us confident and comfortable in the music industry now,” Nemo states with conviction. It turns out he and his brother started in an acoustic outfit, playing at weddings, and corporate gigs, for example. While Josh, Nathan and Fynn were in (high school) bands before.
South Summit’s exceptional musicianship is also reflected in how the band writes music.
Sometimes, Josh and Zaya do demos separately on their laptops. Then, they bring it to the band’s rehearsal and the rest of the instruments are added then and there. On other occasions, the band comes up with a guitar riff out of the blue and they jam together for hours, building ideas from each other until the track is pretty much ready.
“The only rule is that it all has to come naturally,” the guitarist points out. “What feels right in the moment is what counts. Nothing’s forced.”
It’s slightly different when it comes to the lyrics, though. While the other band members try to suggest a word or a line at times, it’s pretty much Zaya’s department. The singer loves writing and has proved time and again that he has a story to tell, honing his craft with every new track. “So we kinda let him do that,” Nemo states with a smile. “Unless he has a writer’s block. Then we try to help out and pitch in.”
South Summit are quite prolific in writing and releasing music. They dropped their first EP, Merlin’s, in January 2021. Two years later, they followed it up with two bodies of work: Creatures in January and Tales of the Yeti in August.
“[When we’re writing songs], the only rule is that it all has to come naturally. What feels right in the moment is what counts. Nothing’s forced.”
Speaking of Creatures, there are tracks on that EP referencing the First Nations culture, both as song titles and using the yidaki (or what we foreigners call “didgeridoo”). So I can’t help but wonder how important that part is to the band.
Nemo explains that South Summit are all about incorporating bits and pieces of their heritages in their music whenever it feels appropriate. “It’s paying homage to our ancestors. And we love it,” he adds passionately. So, for example, the opening track on Creatures is called “Yaama”, which means “Hello” in Josh’s native Kamilaroi language.
Going back to more recent times, the band started dropping new bangers in mid-2024 again. And I reckon that was enough to finally get the attention of triple j’s “Like A Version” team.
Appearing on the Friday morning radio segment is on every Aussie act’s wishlist. So I pose the cheeky question: Had they been expecting the invite for a while? Or were they genuinely surprised when they got the call?
“We’d wanted to do it since we first started as a band,” Nemo admits. “So being able to tick it off our bucket list was a dream come true. Especially since we got to cover such a classic track.”
The band were also stoked by people’s reception of their rendition of “Roxanne”. And that is an important factor in what happened next.
The Bliss dropped approximately two months after South Summit’s triple j appearance, to rave reviews. It was perfect timing for the band to build on that newly gained visibility because the record is a comprehensive summary of the band’s musical trajectory to date.
Perhaps a little unfairly, I quiz Nemo about his favourite song on the debut album. Surprisingly, it coincides with my top three.“‘Givin’ It Up’ is just such a good vibes track”, he reckons. I also highlight “We are the Lions” and “Exceptional”. The latter is a particularly pretty love song that combines South Summit’s unmistakeable elements: a catchy hook, melodic guitars and Zaya’s soaring vocals in the chorus.
Since the WA band has reached various milestones in its fairly short but sweet career, I also ask Nemo about their experiences in the music business to date. Keeping in mind emerging bands are sometimes subtly pressured to do things in a certain way, I’m wondering how the five musos approach that tricky part.
“Staying authentic and true to ourselves, and not changing it for anyone else, is very important to us,” he replies almost instantly. South Summit are determined to forge their own path in the industry, not being influenced by what everyone else is doing or what the traditional model might dictate. And it seems to have been working for them so far.
“Staying authentic and true to ourselves, and not changing it for anyone else, is very important to us.”
We switch the topic of our conversation to the WA scene for a bit. It’s the one I’m the least familiar with within the Aussie music business overall. So I pick Nemo’s brain about music suburbs, cool venues and acts worth checking out.
“We’ve got heaps of places on the water,” he says. “Scarborough and Freo [Fremantle] are the main stomping grounds for emerging WA bands. There’s a lot of history there in terms of venues and bands that have played there”.
Still, one of his top choices is the Rosemount Hotel in the city, probably because South Summit played their first-ever headline show there. But it’s also because it’s “good sound, good people, and just a great place to put on a gig”, according to the guitarist.
We both agree the WA scene is booming right now. Quite a few local bands are currently making waves in Australia and overseas.
When prompted to drop names of some of his faves, Nemo mentions two groups that happen to be on my radar, too. “I gotta give the love to Old Mervs – they’re popping off at the moment,” he says. “And Coterie, they’re going hard, too, so shout out to them. If you’re reading this, you gotta listen to their music.”
Jokingly, I suggest South Summit should hang out with Tame Impala one day. Nemo points out that Kevin Parker currently resides in the States, so it’d be difficult to pin him down. “But we’ve rubbed shoulders with some members of Birds of Tokyo. And we’d be keen to catch up with them properly over a few beers or even to write some music in the future,” he casually puts it out there.
Talking to the South Summit guitarist I can tell the band are enjoying their wild ride in the music business. They even start being recognised in their hometown with people coming up to say hi sometimes.
Their natural habitat is definitely playing gigs, though. With the AUS/NZ tour underway, Nemo can’t hide his excitement when he tells me about the preparations. The band is “super pumped for these live shows, and to show everyone the new album live.”
“We like to suss the crowd out and see how they’re feeling. We write the set to what the crowd’s looking like.”
Rumour has it that South Summit write the setlist 5 minutes before going on stage. That “on the spot” approach has my attention. Normally, bands with decades of live music experience under their belts would risk it. So isn’t it a little stressful?
“We’ve got all the songs prepared, so it’s just a matter of choosing the order,” Nemo assures me. “And we like to suss the crowd out and see how they’re feeling. We write the set to what the crowd’s looking like,” he adds.
I inquire about some other touring rituals. Nemo shares that the band tends to take it easy before the shows, having a few beers and chatting with friends. Sometimes, they play cards to relax as well. Interestingly, the guitarist himself likes to have a nap before going on stage. So it’s all in line with their music’s laid-back vibe.
The setlist for the 2025 tour is surely going to please fans, with the band’s catalogue amplified by the 13 songs on The Bliss. “We’re stoked to play it for the first time in the UK and Europe as well. It’s gonna be our biggest show to date in terms of the length of the set.”
On that note, I want to know whether they notice a difference between the crowds back home and on the Old Continent. After all, they toured Europe in 2024 with The Cat Empire so they can make that comparison.
He reckons the crowd energy levels at their performances are equally high on both sides of the world. He also mentions that no matter where South Summit go, and whatever language is spoken there, “people dance to our songs anyway. It’s a good challenge for us to try and overcome the language barrier with our music.”
The guitarist also tells me an anecdote about the band’s visit to Spain in 2024. South Summit had a day off in the seaside town of Santander in the northern part of the country. “It was such a surreal experience. The places over there are just so beautiful,” he says. So all five members collectively decided to retire there in the future because they loved it so much. Besides, they’re all swimmers, so living on the water is right up their alley.
“It’s a good challenge for us to try and overcome the language barrier with our music.”
To wrap up, I steer the conversation towards South Summit’s biggest ambition in the music business. And I can’t say I’m surprised by Nemo’s reply. “Seeing the world and playing music while doing that? I couldn’t ask for anything better. And I think the boys would say the same.”
But wait – there’s more. Boldly and unapologetically, they’re aiming to play Glastonbury one day.
I wish Nemo and the rest of the band all the best in making that dream come true. It would be awesome to see them close the famed Pyramid Stage one day indeed.
I also shyly suggest they should add more European countries to their tour next time they’re in this part of the globe.
“We haven’t forgotten about Spain”, the guitarist replies, knowing I currently reside here. “We’ll try to make it over there again. So – hopefully – see you at a gig one day.”
You can catch South Summit live in the UK and Europe in May 2025.
They’ll be visiting London, Manchester, Cornwall, Amsterdam and Rotterdam and showcasing at the Great Escape Festival in Brighton.
Tickets are still available through the band’s official website here.
Cover image: Cedric Tang
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