Jade Imagine are Tim Harvey, Madeline Lo-Booth and Jade McInally with Marcel Tussie (Stella Donnely, Rolling Blackouts C.F) on drum duties for the recording. Before founding Jade Imagine, front-person and key songwriter Jade McInally had been a stalwart of the indie scene for more than a decade. After winding her way to Melbourne from somewhere consistently sunny, McInally cut her live-performer teeth with her own electronic project Tantrums, before playing in the bands of local favourites Jess Cornelius (Teeth and Tongue) and Jess Ribeiro. After signing with Milk! Records, Jade Imagine’s debut EP ‘What the Fuck Was I Thinking’ was released in April 2017.
Following the release of the EP, Jade Imagine played with The Pretenders, Angel Olsen, Alvvays, Lucy Dacus (US), Stella Donnelly and Julia Jacklin.
Jade Imagine released their debut album Basic Love in August 2019, released on Courtney Barnett’s Milk! Records in Australia and New Zealand and Marathon Artists for Rest of World. Cold Memory, their sophomore album, was written and recorded between Melbourne, Warrnambool and Fremantle, Western Australia and is out now via Marathon Artists. 

What Jade Says: “It’s taken me a really long time to unlearn the notion that to make art that’s worth anything you need to suffer or be really tortured in one way or another. I think it’s a side effect of growing up in the 90s being surrounded by all the idols I had like Kurt Cobain, Elliot Smith, etc… ‘The Instinct That I Wanna Know’ film clip is an ode to art being fun and intuitive. I had the best time filming it. It was about the feeling and process just as much as the end result, and that is something I’m super proud of because that’s how I wanna live this life.”

“Cold Memory was written in Killarney after a freezing cold mid-winter swim in the southern ocean. It was inspired by the coastal bumpy drive we took to the beach and the rush of adrenaline after swimming, and then being completely ruined by march flies that were waiting to bite us on the beach after swimming. What started as a very simple almost childlike joke idea for a song became something far richer, full of light and shade.. And now I feel it represents so much, which is why we named the album after the song too. I love how songs can gain more and more meaning over time; the memory of the coldness we’ve been through over the past couple years & depending on one another when life feels dark. This song features a sample we created with piano and SPD percussion. One of my fave parts about the song is how the drums and bass parts become one big formidable train powering through the song. A week before we had to send the song to get mastered, Tim sent me a version with vocoder on the final chorus.“

Their Mixtape:

Tim Harvey: “This mixtape is inspired by touring in a band. But a mixtape also has a practical use when touring – keeping the driver awake and alert, keeping everyone engaged. Stimulating conversation, or creating space and time to tune out.  
As such this is a love letter to ‘the road’ and to my band mates. 
It’s for those long stretches of highway, taking turns driving, djing, and the abstract chatter that can only exist as a result of vast expanses of time spent in the company of like-minded people. 
Things can go deep.
This is what I’d play if it were my turn to be DJ 🙂

Serge Gainsbourg – New York USA

Serge Gainsbourg has always been a touchstone for Jade Imagine. 
From his beautiful, complex music (see Melody Nelson) to his tendency to play enfant terrible, we love him.
Serge was punk before Punk.

Francis Bebey – The Coffee Cola Song

Over the years, whilst on tour, we have invented (out of necessity) several drinks based on whatever was at hand. One of them involves coffee, cola and red wine.

Amadou & Miriam – Diarra 

This whole album is amazing, but the groove in this song is so satisfying. It takes a mid tempo song and makes it feel both fast and slow. At this point in the dj set I don’t know whether to dance in my seat or stare out the window.

Renee Geyer – Say I Love You

Yaaaay. Instant party! Just add that keyboard line (Fender Rhodes?), the sound is so kooky and sooo vibey.

Use No Hooks – Do The Job

This is where we knuckle down and do the job. The long stretch before we pull into a town for all the important snacks.

Ajak Kwai – Red Sands

This keyboard line feels like it’s always been in my life.
An epic melody gets me every time. Written after a trip to the desert in Northern Territory, Australia. You can feel the heat and the intensity of the light.

Amadou & Miriam – Bofou Safou

The chorus of Bofou Safou arrives like a revelation. How can things possibly get better than the verses?! 
…And yet there it is.

Architecture In Helsinki – Heart It Races

Sometimes you want to be reminded of old friends and good times.
A sweaty dancefloor at your friend’s CD launch at a dive bar in a stinky alleyway. All the electricity in the whole joint comes from one power source and everybody knows to avoid tripping over the cord and pulling the plug. Nobody wants to be the one who stops the music!
This band was so full of clever people and were so far ahead of their time.

Cold Memory is out now on Marathon Artists. Look HERE for more information on Jade Imagine.