FBi Radio’s Independent Artists of the Week Nervous Tension are the latest addition to the Melbourne punk and noise scene.

Teasing the release of their debut EP Dosage with singles ‘Comedown’ and ‘Plunge’, the band sound native to the remerging Melbourne punk and noise scene. El and Krishan dropped by the studio on Mornings with Sam Lane to chat the band’s origins, and their journey so far.

Consisting of members Krishan (bass, vocals), El (vocals)  Fin (guitar) and Prince (drums), the band bring together a range of varied talents and personalities that have collaborated across a variety of other projects – much in a way that local bands do these days. Though for El, Nervous Tension was a project with more intention.

“I think for me, [Nervous Tension] is playing a style of music that I really like. I’ve been chucked in bands before – I’ll randomly play bass or guitar in bands I really like, but it wasn’t really what I endeavored to do. This band for me is like something that me and Krishan have a very cohesive idea of what we want to do with stylistically…it just feels like a good personal achievement to do something we set out to do,” said El.

As a relatively young project, El and Krishan shared their experience and roles in the writing process, barriers, and methods of production that seemed to come naturally.

“At first I was trying to write songs for El and just be the producer and do instrumentals. I was getting a bit sick of how long it would take me to send vocals back so I just decided I was going to try something and they can sing that and then that kind of stuck,” said Krishan.

As far as band names go, Nervous Tension is quite self descriptive – anxious, thrashing and visceral in a way that naturally translates to live shows, particularly as the local punk scene revives itself. Krishan describes Nervous Tension as an essential live band, likening their shows to an exorcism.

“I think music is back. I think rock and roll is back. I think people are looking for catharsis”, says El.

“It’s nice to have a sense of identity within our own country and not to look overseas for it” adds Krishan.

Listen back to the full interview with Krishan and El of Nervous Tension up top. Stream Dosage EP on Bandcamp below. Also, Nervous Tension will be hosting their Dosage EP launch at dshut in Melbourne on 18 November alongside Bughunt and Licklash – details here.