Meet Owen Aitken and Thomas Hamilton-Stone, two Perth-based musicians. Asides from studying music and playing in the band The Atlas State, both Owen and Thomas have recently started a small AV rental business. We talked about all things music, their band The Atlas State and providing affordable AV equipment to young artists.

 Owen Aitken

1. What are the benefits to studying music at a TAFE level? 

Like WAAPA, the benefits of studying a Diploma of Music Business at North Metro TAFE is the fact that there are so many industry professionals that you can learn from as well as get valuable advice! 

2. How long have you been involved with The Atlas State? 

I have been with The Atlas State since the band’s formation back in late 2017. 

3. What is your favourite thing about making music? 

It’s hard to say, as there are so many things I like but I definitely really do enjoy experimenting with pieces of equipment and using them for things other than their intended purposes. I recently got a Moog Grandmother synthesiser and have been getting my fellow band member Matthew to play guitar & bass through it and it sounds very cool!

4. What exciting things do you/The Atlas State have coming up over the next year? 

The Atlas State has a lot of exciting things coming up later on this year, including the release of our debut EP. What I am most excited for though, is that we will be going down to the Waves House Studio in Yallingup to start writing and recording new songs! This is where Tame Impala recorded their debut album “Innerspeaker” and we still can’t believe we’ll be sharing the same space as them!

5. If you could give any advice to a fellow young musician, who would it be? 

Keep playing music and see where it takes you! 

6. Can you tell us a bit about your business?

In addition to the band, Thomas and myself as well as some of the other band members run a small AV business. We want young musicians to be able to great gear for affordable prices and thought it would be a good idea if we setup our own audiovisual hire business. This has already opened doors to new opportunities for us, and we are excited to see where it goes.

Thomas Hamilton-Stone

1. What are the benefits to studying music at a WAAPA level? 

The best thing about studying music at WAAPA level is the amount of great knowledge we gain from all the professional musicians who teach at WAAPA.

2. How long have you been involved with The Atlas State? 

I have been involved in the band since it began back in 2017.

3. What is your favourite thing about making music? 

I love the connection between the musicians when we are all creating music. Also seeing all the positive audience reactions at live gigs is also very satisfying.

4. What exciting things do you/The Atlas State have coming up over the next year? 

There are a few cool things planned but I think one of my favourites is that we are currently in the studio recording a lot of the bands music which is super cool.

5. If you could give any advice to a fellow young musician, who would it be? 

Make sure you go out and find things that keep you interested in music, whether it's going to WAAPA, joining or forming a band, a new teacher or even buying a new record and CD. It’s always important to keep broadening your musical understanding to enrich how you play music.

6. Can you tell us a bit about your business?

I believe this question is regarding the small audio visual business some of the band members and myself set up a few months ago. Essentially we looked at the numbers of playing gigs and having to consistently rent PA equipment, and the effort required to have someone who is knowledgeable enough to be able to use lots of different PA systems depending on the company that had equipment available for our shows. So we decided to bring that aspect of our business in house and purchase all our own equipment, but wanted to make this investment more than just a band PA system. So we created an entirely separate business to allow us to expand in others areas of equipment rental to others bands, venues, expos and more. It is still a very new business, but we are excited to see where it goes.

INTERVIEW BY: CAITLIN PAROCZAI