Tomorrow’s Forecast on the release of ‘Speaking Terms’, working exclusively with female and gender-diverse creatives and evolution as a band

Tomorrow’s Forecast. Photo credit: Phoebe Faye (@phoebeefaye)

Jordan Royal (Sonic Alien 4ZZZ) caught up with Olive and Bonnie of Tomorrow’s Forecast to talk about the band’s second EP ‘Speaking Terms’, a raw and cohesive collection exploring relationships, heartbreak, and growth. The Meanjin-based band opened up about their evolution since their debut, leaning into a grittier sound and the importance of working exclusively with female and gender-diverse creatives. With themes rooted in real experiences, ‘Speaking Terms’ captures a snapshot of where the band is now and hints at where they're headed next. Read the full chat below.

Interview aired on Sonic Alien 4ZZZ 25 June 2025.

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Jordan: I want to talk about the EP, of course, but it's your second EP that you've put out. Your first one you put out when you were quite young. You guys have obviously evolved sonically, emotionally, as people as well. I want to talk about maybe what was different this time around for this EP and what you did differently in the studio and writing, or different influences that you drew on as well.

Bonnie: I think we kind of tried a bit harder this time around to make it a bit all-around more cohesive as a body of work. We recorded all of the tracks with the same producer for the first time, which I felt really kind of brought them together and makes them really fit in well with each other. But I think it's cool to have this EP that kind of represents a certain time where we've written all these songs and we've worked as a band together. I don't know, it's nice to listen to it.

Olive: Yeah, for sure. I feel like there was a lot more intention in it as a project, and all of the songs just actually happened to all be about relationships. We’re like, ‘yeah, that works, we’ll make it like that.’ It's nice to have it as a moment in time of us as a band. I think it's exactly that.

Jordan: They're all so cohesive and they all work together so amazingly. And you can hear it throughout, you guys leaned into a bit of a grittier, heavier sound at times too for this one. I was wondering if that was something that you guys intentionally set out to bring in, more heavy themes or influences, or if it was something that just ended up happening?

Bonnie: I think it's kind of just been a natural progression. As we've gotten older, we've kind of had a lot more real experiences and we've got a lot more to write about, and that ends up coming to exist in ways that are a bit more authentic and gritty, as you said. Like, I think it's just kind of a natural thing. We don't even think that much about it. It's just how it plays out.

Olive: Yeah, I agree. And I think, you know, some of these songs we wrote a while ago, but I think they change every time we play them live. And a lot of them we've been playing live for a long time. I think, yeah, we just have been leaning into that sound. I think Isaac and Rowan as well, that’s a lot of their listening habits, have always been like that. And then Bonnie and I, as we've grown older, have been more drawn to that rockier sound. So yeah, it just happened. And then in the studio, like—yeah, let's keep it like that.

Jordan: I like it. It's like, go deeper, deeper, deeper. And since I mean, it's not a recent move, it was like basically a year ago that you guys moved to Brisbane but I guess it's your first full body of work that you've put out since moving to Brisbane. And you guys are so integral to the Brisbane music scene now, seeing you guys gigging around, 4ZZZ album of the week. And I mean, Olive as well, having a radio show now too, awesome. Has Brisbane unexpectedly seeped into your music in any way? Any influences? I know that you guys are huge local music fans too.

Olive: Yeah, I think so. I feel like we are always drawing inspiration from what's around us and who we're seeing play. And I think I've been really getting into the older, like 90s Brisbane scene. I had someone who was, you know, been around since then, and he said we have that sound in this EP and that was like the biggest compliment ever. I think, yeah, Brisbane just has this really cool sound and I think I'm really drawn to that and I hope that we reflected it well in our EP. What about you, Bonnie?

Bonnie: Yeah, I just—it’s very inspiring. I feel like, yeah, and going to all the live music and seeing everyone just releasing this incredible music. It just makes you want to do the same.

Olive: That's right. It pushes us harder.

Jordan: Not to like I don't know if it's a pun but you guys would have been a bit of an island at the Gold Coast.

Olive: It's true, yes. So funny.

Jordan: So, like moving to Brisbane is so awesome.

Olive: I love the music here. It needed to happen.

Jordan: Brisbane can claim you now. And we sort of talked about it off air a little bit, a little bit on air too. It’s about I mean, at its core, it's about heartbreak and going through relationships and ending and beginning, navigating that space. Which I think would be quite cathartic to write about. Some experiences that happened to you. I was wondering if there was a song in the EP that particularly helped you move through something, or like come out the other end of something, if you learned anything from one of the songs?

Bonnie: I think most of the time when I write my songs and stuff, I don't even really know what I'm feeling. It just kind of comes out and I'm like, ‘oh, true. Okay, that's what's happening.’ But it's nice to be able to write stuff and it just kind of makes more sense to me. But I find even now listening back to it and I've had even more stuff happen and I'm just like, oh, it's still relatable in every situation. So, it's just like, I don't know. It's nice to be able to be like, oh, okay, this isn't the first time I've experienced this and it won't be the last time.

Olive: That's right. I think Pathetic, which is funny because I wrote that like so long ago. I think I wrote it like three or four years ago. My first true love broke my heart and that really hurt my feelings. And I think, yeah, that song definitely helped me go through. And now it's like, I don't even care about that. You know, I’m so over it. But I think performing it it’s still, yeah, I was like listening to it today and I said, I don't have to relive my trauma of three years ago, of what I was feeling. But I think I remember writing that and it felt so good, and performing that for the first time. I think it's always going to be cathartic.

Bonnie: It's very like real.

Olive: Yes. Yes. These are real stories.

Tomorrow’s Forecast. Photo credit: Phoebe Faye (@phoebeefaye)

Jordan: It must be like a nice, I guess, snapshot of time that you can come back to. And even if your experiences are different, there'd still be similar threads that you might impart still on particular songs.

Olive: No, that's right. For sure.

Bonnie: And it's also nice for some of these songs where it's like, oh, the people we write them about were horrible but at least we got a good song out of it.

Olive: Exactly.

Jordan: At least I wrote an awesome song.

Bonnie: It attaches a good memory to it.

Olive: Whenever anything bad happens, that’s like the first thing my parents will say—‘you’ll write a good song though. You’ll write a really good song about this.’

Jordan: There's an upside.

Olive: Exactly.

Jordan: I'm really excited because I feel like I've heard these songs evolve maybe-ish, but I've seen them so many times live. And it's so awesome to hear the sort of finished product that’s recorded, mixed, and has a bow tie sort of on it. And I feel like there's a dreamy, ethereal quality that comes through in the production. I think it's so cool listening to it for the first time after hearing it live so many times was such a treat. I was wondering if you guys specifically wanted anything to come out in the mix or the production specifically?

Olive: I feel like the kind of dreamy quality—I think it's because we recorded Pathetic before we started the project as a whole. And I think that was a lot of from there, and then we wanted to tie that through and it was trying to make it all cohesive. And I think it also kind of ties to our older style and it's always been a lot about vocals and a lot about harmonies and kind of the beauty of that. So, I think that's probably where it came from. But yeah, recording was so awesome because we got to really nail everything, play everything live. And we did a week of pre-production a couple months before we went into the studio where we played every song. And we just went in bit by bit and really got it tight. Because I think once we play it live, we just keep playing it live the same after. So, I really enjoyed that.

Bonnie: Yeah, I think because in our music I feel like a big priority of it is kind of the way that we perform the vocals. And I think we really wanted to kind of get that across in the EP. We don't really care if it sounds perfect all the time—we can have vocal slips and stuff like that—but it kind of just makes it more real. But we didn't want to shy away from making it sound too polished or perfect in the vocals. So, I think that's nice to be able to listen back to it and hear that.

Jordan: It's so awesome. I, like, I don't know, when I first listened to the EP all the way through and I got my hands on the new songs, I was like, oh my goodness. They did such a perfect job with these songs. And like, oh, it's just so amazing. 

I want to talk about as well—you guys exclusively worked with female and gender diverse creatives across this project, which is such an amazing choice and is really true to your values. I mean, I know that you guys really champion women and gender diverse people in these spaces, especially in your lineups and curation and everything. I was wondering if you could walk me through why that's important to you and that choice?

Bonnie: I think it's just come with playing in a band for so long and coming even from a place on the Gold Coast where we were kind of very much in the minority of female and gender diverse acts. And it just kind of felt right for us to work with a more diverse group of people because it just gave these people opportunities and also gave us the opportunity to feel more comfortable recording. And I don't know, it's just that kind of industry where we have to support each other.

Olive: Yeah, that's right. Look out for each other. And I think we, you know, we got a grant to do this project, and we've had this great opportunity to pay other creatives to be involved. And we knew that from the start, that's what we wanted, that's how we've been doing our lineups. And I think, yeah, it's really important to look out and employ. You can advocate for each other as much as you want, but if you're not actually putting these people on lineups or supporting creatives, nothing's really going to change.

Jordan: I mean, you guys are so authentic in that sense. And I think it's such an important thing to advocate for and champion for. Especially—you know, I think it's kind of—it’s just amazing. I think that it's sort of sad that it has to come from a band that does that.

Olive: With no money.

Jordan: It's amazing that you guys are doing that. It should definitely come from above. But I mean, you guys are paving the way. You guys are also going on tour, which is so exciting. Can you walk me through what you're excited about for your tour? What's going on? What's happening?

Bonnie: I think we're excited to hang out as a band. Me and Olive have been in Brisbane working and Isaac and Rowan have been in Europe and they're there for like four weeks and then they come back and we go on tour and we're just going to force them to hang out. But we’re also, I mean, we’re also obviously very excited to play. But yeah, Melbourne will be cool because we have never played Melbourne.

Jordan: I was going to say is this your first time going to Melbourne?

Olive: Yes. I'm so excited. I haven't even really been. So, I'm so excited. That’s going to be my Europe. But yeah, we've got like six stops, so it's our biggest tour and we're putting together an all-ages mini festival on the Gold Coast that is still yet to come out. But we're really looking forward to that. We've never done anything like that. And yeah, we've got some cool lineups on the hometown show, so I'm excited to announce that.

Jordan: Oh, awesome. And all-ages gigs are so important.

Olive: Yes. Bringing it home.

Jordan: The last question I have for you is I know that you guys, I mean, you guys are very involved in music, obviously, but you guys have a sort of variety of tastes and genres over different periods that you like. I was wondering if you could get an artist to remix the EP, which artist would it be and why? You guys could have different answers. You don’t have to agree.

Olive: Yeah, what are you thinking?

Bonnie: I was thinking Confidence.

Olive: I was thinking Confidence Man as well.

Bonnie: I was also even thinking like Neon Archives.

Olive: Yes. And then I went to Fcuker’s as well when I was like—because I knew we were both going to say Confidence Man. And this is a great question for us because we're all about dance music. So if you're listening, Confidence Man, let's do it.

Bonnie: I was even also thinking maybe Jungle.

Olive: Yes. I love Jungle. Yes. Oh, anyone, anyone.

Jordan: I would pay infinite money to literally like any of those remixes. That would be so cool.

Bonnie: I just want our song to be a remix.

Olive: Yeah, we've been talking about this actually. We're like, we need one.

Jordan: This isn't like a remix but Tomorrow's Forecast DJ set.

Olive: Yeah. We can't DJ. We want to learn, but there are so many things in the world. But we've always said—I love when it's two DJs and one is dancing and the other one's DJing and they swap. That's going to be us one day.

Jordan: Again, I'd pay like infinite money to see that too.

Listen to Tomorrow’s Forecast’s latest EP ‘Speaking Terms’ below.