The Jungle Giants

All four members of The Jungle Giants attended Mansfield State High School in Mansfield, Brisbane. Singer-Songwriter-Guitarist, Sam Hales and Cesira Aitken (Lead Guitarist) played in one band and, bassist, Andrew Dooris and Keelan Bijker (Drummer) in another.

After completing school in 2009, Hales tirelessly worked two jobs to fund a debut self-titled EP, which was recorded with local producer, Yanto Browning at Airlock Studios in January 2011. Hales contributed drums, as well as vocals and guitar on the EP, with the help of Aitken (Guitar) and Dooris (Bass), before recruiting Bijker to complete the band. The EP was released independently in March 2011. The Jungle Giants EP contained lead single "Mr. Polite", which was picked up by Triple J Unearthed and led to widespread national touring in support of established Australian bands Ball Park Music, Boy and Bear and Last Dinosaurs.

The band's follow-up EP, She's a Riot, was released via Create/Control on 27 July 2012, drawing on life experiences and telling stories of friendships and relationships in Hales' life. In late 2012, The Jungle Giants supported Last Dinosaurs' national Satellites tour with Twinsy. This was followed by an early 2013 tour with Two Door Cinema Club, playing a series of concerts throughout Australia along with The Vaccines. On 26 January 2013, single "She's a Riot" ranked 83rd on the Triple J Hottest 100, 2012.[1]

In May 2013, The Jungle Giants released "I Am What You Want Me to Be", the first track from their debut album Learn to Exist which was released 30 August 2013.[2] The band toured Australia to celebrate the release which included both headline performances and appearances at Splendour In The Grass 2013 & Spin Off Festival.[3] The album received positive reception overall. It was a featured album on national radio station triple j in the week leading up to the release. The band extended the tour due to popular demand with extra shows in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne.[4]

In 2014, The Jungle Giants performed on the national Big Day Out touring festival alongside acts such as Arcade Fire and Pearl Jam. They were also announced shortly afterwards to perform on the national regional touring festival Groovin' the Moo in April & May 2014, which includes performances by Dizzee Rascal, Disclosure, and Karnivool. The band additionally announced headline performances as part of the "Tuss Tour" that will take place shortly prior to their Groovin' The Moo performances, performing in Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne and Perth.[5]

In August 2015, the band released their second studio album Speakerzoid.

In May 2017, their song "Come and Be Alone with Me" was featured in the trailer video for series 3 of Casual.

In July 2017, they released their third studio album, Quiet Ferocity.[6] which spawned the singles "Feel the Way I Do", "On Your Way Down", "Bad Dream" and "Used to Be in Love". At the 2018 AIR Awards, the album won Best Independent Album or EP.[7]

On 8 July 2019, the Jungle Giants released the song "Heavy Hearted". In January 2020, the song polled at number 8 in the Triple J Hottest 100, 2019 and became their first single to chart inside the ARIA top 10. On 17 January 2020, they released the single "Sending Me Ur Loving".

Notes

The Australian Independent Record Awards (commonly known informally as AIR Awards) is an annual awards night to recognise, promote and celebrate the success of Australia's Independent Music sector.

The ARIA Music Awards are annual awards, which recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of Australian music. The Jungle Giants have been nominated for one award.[31][32]