Collaboration is the Ethos behind Fetch Tiger’s artistry

​Fetch Tiger has a way of blending the contrasting elements of both euphoria and gloom by making incredibly sad and disheartening lyrics feel sonically groovy and lively. The London bred, Brooklyn based indie duo, Lorenzo Montali and Tanner Davis recite how the band formed, their philosophy on artistry as a whole, their time in Texas for SXSW, and the freedom that came with experimenting on their upcoming EP while still maintaining “much melancholia.”

How did the band start? What made you want to be a duo vs. a solo act?

Lorenzo Montali: I grew up a drummer and started playing guitar in high school. I had always wanted to be in a band from a young age, but the only other people that wanted to play music around me at the time were metalheads and I never really wanted to play that, so I started learning guitar to play the type of songs I wanted. My senior year of college I joined a cover band as a drummer and had such a great time. When I graduated I didn’t want it to end and so I started writing my own songs. A year after I moved to London, Tanner’s part of the story picked up after meeting at work and discovering we both were interested in developing a music project. We started jamming and after a couple of times Tanner and I went to this mastering session together. At that moment, I realized it was much more fun to create with someone. Music can be kind of a lonely experience, I don’t know how solo artists do it. We had fun playing off of each-other and meeting other weirdos in the process and we just stuck together!

Tanner Davis: It was very random how it all happened. When Lorenzo approached me nonchalantly, music was actually something I had been thinking about pursuing again for a while. I was into music growing up and had taken piano lessons as a kid but I kind of fell out of it in college and so this opportunity became a catalyst for me to go out and buy a keyboard. Nothing forces you to re-learn an instrument than telling someone you’re committing to joining a band with them. 

What have y’all learned from each other creatively and/or musically?

TD: Lorenzo has been way more open to evolving his sound than I would have anticipated. It was refreshing that he was so collaborative. It’s been fun to feel like we are both contributors in a way that we feel like it’s not just one person’s project, it represents the voice of both of us, now both musically and creatively.

LM: At the beginning I was still trying to find my confidence as a songwriter and as a musician in a “real band” whereas now I have built that confidence and I am more open to feedback because I have proven myself to myself. Tanner has really good melodies which I struggled with early on. He is really good at building choruses and stringing different parts together and making each section stand on its own. I tend to write more abstractly but Tanner has helped me to write differently and specifically enough where someone can actually apply the lyrics to themselves versus just being poetic, the style of writing I tend towards. 

What makes Fetch Tiger distinctly ‘Fetch Tiger’? 

TD: The fact that we are undefinable— we sit somewhere in between this nice pocket of indie pop/ indie rock. Double lead vocals are kind of our staple though, even some of the more somber songs can feel very cinematic and I feel like that is the thematic and sonic landscape that we like to live in. 

LM: One of our phrases is “much melancholia.” We kind of like to have these mismatching combinations. If the music is more positive, the lyrics might be more somber which end up forming that overall melancholic feeling.

What do you hope the project embodies?

TD: The visual identity we create is really important. To me, I feel like we are not musicians, we are artists. That distinction is significant to me because my strength doesn’t lie by playing the keys alone.  Artistry kind of touches the whole 360 of the experience of being in a band. Whether it be the music itself, or the cover art, or the merch, or the visuals on stage; there are so many connecting pieces that come together to build this world that go beyond just the sound you are hearing through the headphones. We aren’t just getting on stage and playing songs and getting off, there is a whole world that is being connected, and there is a story being told. Our music lives on in-between those moments.

Talk about your collaborators, it seems as though collaboration is really important to the both of you and the project’s ethos. 

TD: Yes! Having Dan and Jordan [Toledo], our producers on our last album Walking To Camera as a creative springboard has been really magical and brought our sound into something new. Different engineers and different producers offer different services. Some sit behind a computer and some are hyper involved and want to make it with you. On the spectrum of those, I think where we have thrived is to have them use their talents being multi-instrumentalists to add new sounds and layering into a song that wasn’t in the initial demo. They have a way of bringing beauty out of a grainy Logic file that we wouldn’t otherwise have thought to do. 

LM: On the other end of the spectrum are our collaborators on-stage as well. Shoutout to our boys, Jared (Drums), Bobby (Guitar) and Brennan (Bass). Our recorded music is one thing, but how it comes to life on-stage is a lot of times pretty different than the recording. We like allowing the guys to take the parts from the recording and kind of do their own thing. Some songs we like to have a little bit closer to the recording but others might need something different to make a better live set. I am glad to have found a group that can do that really well! Both our producers and live band are equally important and make up the whole of the Fetch Tiger experience. 

How was your experience at SXSW? Any favorite acts you saw?

LM: We had been in Austin one other time in 2023 on our first ever longer tour. But we were only in Austin for a day, so this was a million times better than being on the road everyday. It was fun running into other bands from Brooklyn that we had maybe heard about but had never gotten to see live. An act I can’t stop thinking about was YHWH Nailgun. We were walking by Cheer Up Charlie’s one day and heard some kind of weird sounds on the street but it was weird in a way that was intriguing, like you just had to go see what was happening. Their sound is almost the complete opposite of what we play, but it was so cool to see a band command that much attention with an unconventional sound. You’re watching their set and trying to figure out why this is so cool and why their sound is working so well. We saw a lot of great bands at South by Southwest but that’s the one, even a week after, I am still thinking about. 

What can we expect on your upcoming EP?

TD: It’s been freeing to be in this project because we have all these inspirations— loud stuff, quiet stuff, vibey stuff, really sad stuff— there’s a spectrum of influences. Our next EP will be kind of an abrupt evolution to where we have been and some may not think it fits all together, but for us the red thread isn’t so much that it should make sense as it is about both Lorenzo and I being on the tracks together. 

In the meantime the band will be digesting having Whataburger five out of six times throughout their time in Texas while they gear up to promote their new EP set to release this fall. The five track project will feature songs their audience has only ever heard live such as “Motorbike” and “Good Room.” Their sophomore album will follow in the spring. Check out their latest single As Weird As It Seems and follow their evolution here!

Words & Styling: ​Kassi Reyna

Photography: ​Skyler Brown